But, is the Internet \u2013 the Web, really \u2013 worse than TV? Didn\u2019t people wring their hands over kids sitting passively in front of the TV for hours \u2013 even as many used them the boob-tube as an electronic babysitter?<\/p>\n
We never seem to know what we need to when we need to. It always takes too much time to recognize the lead in the pipes. Lives are ruined in the meantime.<\/p>\n
\nRuth Marcus – Our gadgets, ourselves<\/a><\/p>\n
I must know — now — what has arrived in my inbox, even though almost all of it is junk. I live an alt-tab existence, constantly shuttling among the open windows on my browser. I have switched, in Carr’s formulation, from "reading to power-browsing." I am a lab rat "constantly pressing levers to get tiny pellets of social or intellectual nourishment."<\/p>\n
I love technology. It lets me work better and faster. It untethers me from a physical office and allows me to, well, alt-tab efficiently between work and family. E-mail and social networking, with the combination of ease of access yet remoteness of interaction, help make and renew personal connections.<\/p>\n
But technology also takes its toll — including physically. "The technology is rewiring our brains," Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute of Drug Abuse, told the New York Times<\/a>. The brain is malleable, and, like any regular exercise, the instant gratification world of the Web helps build certain neural connections while others molder.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Ruth Marcus – Our gadgets, ourselves<\/a><\/p>\n
Is Nicholas Carr right about the Internet and attention spans? – Newsweek<\/a> <\/p>\n
\nThere’s a lot that’s been written lately about how the Web is pur\u00e9eing people’s gray matter. The most thorough take on the topic is Nicholas Carr\u2019s new book, The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains<\/a><\/i>, but anyone who’s been spending a lot of time surfing is probably going to be so distracted by e-mails and Facebook, etc., that he won’t be able to finish the book. Instead, he’ll turn, with irony, to the Web, where he’ll find plenty to read, especially if he’s looking for it today: The New York Times<\/i> has just published two<\/a> stories<\/a>, a blog post<\/a>, and an interactive feature<\/a> arguing that the electronic methods by which they themselves are delivered are \u201cintrusive, have increased [people’s] levels of stress and have made it difficult to concentrate.\u201d [mjh: Even more links in the rest of the article.]<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Is Nicholas Carr right about the Internet and attention spans? – Newsweek<\/a><\/p>\n
[Updated 9pm]<\/ins> Newmexiken<\/a> posts a different view, but don\u2019t let that distract you:<\/p>\n
[begin Newmexiken\u2019s entry]<\/p>\n
\n\u2018[E]very time we learn a fact or skill the wiring of the brain changes\u2019<\/a>
[mjh: for some reason, this post title makes me think of the assertion that smell involves aroma molecules impacting smell sensors, therefore, when you smell a fart \u2026]<\/h4>\n<\/blockquote>\n\nOriginally posted Friday, June 11, 2010 <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\nIf you\u2019re reading this blog post on a computer, mobile phone or e-reader, please stop what you\u2019re doing immediately. You could be making yourself stupid. And whatever you do, don\u2019t click on the links in this post. They could distract you from the flow of my beautiful prose and narrative.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\nNick Bilton \u2013 Bits Blog \u2013 NYTimes.com<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\nBilton goes on to discredit that theory and survey some recent thinking on the topic. Among other things, his discussion led me to this:<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\n\u201cAnd to encourage intellectual depth, don\u2019t rail at PowerPoint or Google. It\u2019s not as if habits of deep reflection, thorough research and rigorous reasoning ever came naturally to people. They must be acquired in special institutions, which we call universities, and maintained with constant upkeep, which we call analysis, criticism and debate. They are not granted by propping a heavy encyclopedia on your lap, nor are they taken away by efficient access to information on the Internet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Steven Pinker<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\nBoth are worth reading if you\u2019re not too distracted. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
[\/end Newmexiken\u2019s entry]<\/p>\n
I\u2019m reminded of the word-nerds in Word Wars<\/a> or Wordplay<\/a>. They shaped their minds to be very fast with words. Did their checkbook-balancing skills suffer as a result?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
But, is the Internet \u2013 the Web, really \u2013 worse than TV? Didn\u2019t people wring their hands over kids sitting passively in front of the TV for hours \u2013 even as many used them the boob-tube as an electronic babysitter? We never seem to know what we need to when we need to. It always … Continue reading The Hundredth Monkey Asks, ‘What are we doing to ourselves?’ [updated]<\/span>