The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains
Description
In this groundbreaking exploration, Nicholas Carr investigates how the Internet is fundamentally reshaping our cognitive abilities and capacity for deep thought. Drawing on historical analysis and cutting-edge neuroscience, Carr argues that the technologies we use to access information literally rewire our brains—and that the Internet's emphasis on speed and efficiency is eroding our ability to concentrate, contemplate, and think critically. By tracing how previous "tools of the mind," from the printing press to the clock, have shaped human thought across centuries, Carr reveals that every information technology carries its own intellectual ethic. As we increasingly skim and scan rather than read deeply, we risk losing the very mental capacities that have enabled our greatest achievements in creativity and understanding. Part intellectual history, part neuroscience, and part cultural critique, The Shallows offers a compelling and sobering examination of what we may be sacrificing in our rush to embrace the digital age.
Available Editions
paperback
W. W. Norton & Company
Published Jan 1, 2010
276 pages
ISBN: 9780393072228
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Details
First Published
2010
Language
eng
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