The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains

Internet has given us so much convenience for us in accessing information. Anything could be found by entering keywords through search engine services, Google, for example. A variety of information we need with a flash presented in the monitor screen

Nicholas G. Carr, the author of The Shallows, What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains, criticizing the Internet as a "tool" which on the one hand help people gather information, but on the other hand give such impact on users. Rather than information that is very abundant it makes knowledge more and more people will be a deep problem, which occurs humans as the user (users) lose the space for contemplation.

Users will be encouraged to jump around from one hyperlink to another hyperlink from an email inbox, to which is trending on facebook and twitter. In turn the internet, as well as the other gadgets, disrupts the user's concentration.

Conceptually, human thinking is slowly being recognized or not to follow the workings of the appliance. "Our writing equipment takes part in the forming of our thoughts," said Nietzsche to Heinrich Köselitz, who asked his writing style changes. Since Nietzsche used a typewriter, Köselitz found Nietzsche's writing style becomes increasingly stringent and concise.

After the show the impact of the Internet that harm, Carr did not dismiss the contribution of the Internet is as large as the supplier of information. Seduction of Internet technology as a provider of information quickly and efficiently dammed heavy.

"But I continue to hold out Hope that we will not Go Gently Into the future our computer engineers and software programmers are scripting for us. Even if We Do not Heed Weizenbaum's words, We Owe it to ourselves to Consider Them, to be attentive to what We stand to lose. How sad it would be, particularly Pls it comes to the nurturing of our children's minds, if We Were to accept without question the idea that 'human elements' are outmoded and dispensable. "


What the interesting?

This book was developed from a provocative article entitled "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" published at The Atlantic edition of the July-August 2008 widely discussed in various Internet communities. This book opens with the ambiguity of the Internet as a keeper of "The Watchdog" and "The Thief". Then the author illustrates how the brain of a contemplative journey into mechanical interference due to the machine (tool) in human life, how the device has helped change the way people think and how to behave. For example the shift from printed to digital-book-book (e-book) has changed the way people read books. Even so, the author denies that the "conventional" it will be lost. No, the old-fashioned fixed-book that there will be, even he would still be required because the book (print) can be read while sleeping without any misgivings we may be damaged if fallen-dawn, read while relaxing on the beach without fear of dying because the water soaked.

This book is indeed playing at the level of discourse, and contributes what is given may be sounds cliche: that we should be wise in using the Internet.

After reading this book, it must be said that the answer was a simplification of something that is really complex delivered by the author. The author is not a health expert, so his explanation would be due to the internet for the brain is not supported by medical data; writer as observer the media especially the Internet, invites us as Internet users to look back at where we stand position that what appeared on the internet that have been through long intervention, and at other times we need to keep their distance, leaving a moment, or even for a long time for our concentration.

The author’s description of the human mind from that trip contemplative into mechanical is very interesting. Machine, in this case the Internet, it has been so far to control our brains and we realize it might not, and this book is more than just a wise suggestion that we use the Internet wisely invites us to stop our adventure in a virtual world for a while, and after that, passed away on our own decision.

And so, we do not necessarily accept that the human mind is not up to date and obsolete, it will happen to the information available on the internet if people as true information supplier personality eroded by the Internet.


About the Author
Nicholas G. Carr has written numerous articles and books dealing with technologies surrounding the Internet. His first book Does IT Matter? (2004), and The Big Switch: rewiring the World, From Edison to Google (2008) and the book The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains (June 2010) was developed from the article "Is Google Making Us Stupid?: What the Internet is doing to our brains "(The Atlantic, July-August edition, 2008). The writings of Carr who pitched discordant on Internet technology much criticism, both from the practitioners and those who have business interests that involve Internet technology. Healthy internet movement lately often leveled, and this movement is impossible without a consciousness of its users. What is done by Carr did not light work, namely to make people aware of something that has been taken for granted, everything is accepted without question-just taken for granted.