The shallows : what the Internet is doing to our brains / Nicholas Carr.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Carr, Nicholas G., 1959-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Neuropsychology.

Internet--Physiological effect.

Internet.

Internet--Psychological aspects.

Physical Description:

viii, 276 pages ; 25 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : W.W. Norton, [2010]

Summary:

As we enjoy the Internet's bounties, are we sacrificing our ability to read and think deeply? Carr describes how human thought has been shaped through the centuries by "tools of the mind"--from the alphabet to maps, to the printing press, the clock, and the computer--and interweaves recent discoveries in neuroscience. Now, he expands his argument into a compelling exploration of the Internet's intellectual and cultural consequences. Our brains, scientific evidence reveals, change in response to our experiences. Building on insights of thinkers from Plato to McLuhan, Carr makes a case that every information technology carries a set of assumptions about the nature of knowledge and intelligence. The printed book served to focus our attention, promoting deep and creative thought. In contrast, the Internet encourages rapid, distracted sampling of small bits of information. As we become ever more adept at scanning and skimming, are we losing our capacity for concentration, contemplation, and reflection?--From publisher description.

Contents:

Prologue: The watchdog and the thief

Hal and me

The vital parts

On what the brain thinks about when it thinks about itself

Tools of the mind

The deepening page

On Lee de Forest and his amazing audion

A medium of the most general nature

The very image of a book

The juggler's brain

On the buoyancy of IQ scores

The church of Google

Search, memory

On the writing of this book

A thing like me

Human elements.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780393072228

0393072223

OCLC:

449865498