Deeper than you might expect.
The idea that our computers and smartphones have become an “ecology of interruption technologies” is not brand new. If you’ve made an attempt to get some actual work done on a computer recently, you should be all too aware of the potential for procrastination provided by the internet. With the array of inviting distractions before us, it’s becoming more and more difficult to concentrate for prolonged periods, and we are increasingly using computers and phones to multi-task.
‘The Shallows’ starts with the premise that the internet not just changing how we work, but that it is actually changing the way we think. The author – Nicholas Carr – attempts to break down exactly how it could be possible for these emerging technologies to rewire our brains, and examines the impact this change could have on the individual and on culture at large.
Braains…
On the workings of the brain, Carr describes the fascinating idea of neuroplasticity, or how the brain quite literally re-wires itself, depending on the habits of its owner. Additionally, a later section provides a quite detailed account on the workings of memory, but this piece is written in a style more befitting a medical journal than a book on technology, and is duller as a result.
On the development, impact and philosophy of technology, Carr is on safer ground. He draws interesting parallels between comments made about the ‘dumbing-down‘ effects of a number of technologies throughout history, and the contemporary idea that the web is also making us dumber. For example, maps reduced our spatial awareness and clocks imposed a more mechanical breakdown of time, making people increasingly slavish to schedules. Also, the introduction of the book reduced our need to commit swathes of information to memory, and signalled the end of the oral tradition, where knowledge was shared verbally.
So his point is…
Various technologies have been introduced throughout human history that have changed the way our brains work, and the internet is no different. ‘The Shallows’ provides objective analysis of the phenomenon applied to modern web technologies, but doesn’t condemn the relentless march of the web’s progress. Instead, Carr is simply cautioning us to be aware of what we are sacrificing through continued exposure to the medium. In his own words “we shouldn’t allow the glories of a technology to blind our inner watchdog to the possibility that we’ve numbed an essential part of our self.”
Personally, I enjoyed the book. The subject matter is relevant and interesting, and Carr’s research is consistently pertinent and vibrant. In a society that prizes the shiny and the new, and where people interact more and more through web-enabled ‘social’ media, it’s both healthy and wise to be cautious about the impact all this might have. Carr’s sober analysis in The Shallows provides this, and makes the book worth a read for me.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve some work to do. Actually, I might just check the sports news.. Oh wait, I have an email! Oh hey, someone commented on my status update! Lol, like that! Now, who’s been blogging…
References
Paul Graham’s essay: Disconnecting Distraction
Readability: Great tool to remove the dross from a web page.
Nicholas Carr’s blog: Rough Type
Clay Shirky’s essay upon which he based his book ‘Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Digital Age’.
Paddy Corry's Blog 