Hello, future classmates! I've been reading Nicholas Carr's The Shallows, and I must say, I approached the the book with a grain of salt. Personally, I have disliked the argument that the internet is the main factor that has been draining modern-day youth of creativity and intelligence. I would often provide the counter-argument that I feel I have improved my knowledge through research online. Even though I now continue to stand by my opinion, this book has allowed me to rethink my mindset, and even change it. Carr, on page 10 of the book, says "Calm, focused, undistracted, the linear mind is being pushed aside by a new kind of mind that wants and needs to take in and dole out information in short, disjointed, often overlapping bursts - the faster the better." This statement has really forced me to stop and think. Though I have gained a plethora of information from online sources and articles, I have been much more impatient in how quickly I gain the information and put it to use. If I don't employ the new knowledge as soon as possible, I very easily forget it. I have never experienced this with books; if I read something, I can retain it for months, even years to come. Taking in information from online is often cluttered, disjointed reading, and I don't often allow whatever I have learned to properly sink in. This epiphany has caused me to rethink my previous opinion, and I had to decide whether or not my argument still stood.
However, I am still an adamant believer in the fact that the internet has allowed our generation to come into contact with new information and knowledge that we would not have been previously exposed to. While the way we take in these things may have changed, the fact remains that, without the internet, we would never have been exposed to it in the first place. While Carr may have caused me to revise my stance on the internet versus books debate, I must still stand by my original opinion: the internet may change the way we think, but it has yet to ruin it. And if the way we have been thinking is destroyed, is it irreparable? Are there any other ways we can revert out thinking to absorb information, instead of letting it drain from us the moment it is soaked up?
I believe that retaining and absorbing knowledge relies less on where a person gets their information and more on if they enjoy the subject they are reading about. Some people may love history and when they read it on the internet they learn just as much as if they would have read it in a book. Some people may hate history and they are unable to learn much from either way.
ReplyDeleteThe internet does have more distractions so Carr's reasoning may be because of that, but I think it matters more whether a person likes or dislikes the subject.
I completely agree with you, David. The internet is just an excuse. If we were really trying to be or were engaged in a subject we would use our self control to stay focused. The internet has many distractions, but when it comes to our way of thinking, that's all on us.
DeleteThe main problem with the Internet is that there is information that is not always true. Sometimes misleading. I agree that the Internet has allowed us to come in contact with new knowlege but there are many unreliable sites. On the other hand, as Postman puts it, books give people the option to make assumptions on what is true or not. Authors may be wrong about certain things. They use logic and arguements to convey something but it is all up to the reader to believe it. Reading was highly important in our earlier culture and that was when people could interpret complex information. Today, in some cases, the knowledge that television or the Internet puts out to people could be mistaken for entertainment rather than reason.
ReplyDeleteSo isn't it up to the reader to make assumptions on what is true or not on the internet?
ReplyDeleteThat is true, however, gaining information from credited sources is not always a difficult thing to do. If one is engaged enough, one can gain a plethora of information online. But our way of thinking has been altered on the internet, and I do believe that actually retaining and reading the online articles in-depth is easier said than done.
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