JVL
he wasn't even looking at me and he found me
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Aqua Utopia｜海の底で記憶を紡ぐ
art blog(derogatory)
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Origami Around
occasionally subtle
@theartofmadeline
will byers stan first human second
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Stranger Things
Alisa U Zemlji Chuda
if i look back, i am lost
Jules of Nature
Discoholic 🪩
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Today's Document
tannertan36
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@m-litchfield
Our world is quickly moving toward a future where we will lose our ability to think for ourselves, and therefore lose our brains as well.
Circuitry Rewiring, and You
While some might argue that connection to technology will improve our lives, Nicholas Carr, a Pulitzer Prize finalist and best...
More Tech, Less Brains?
Tech dominates our world. Some people embrace the integration of technology while others fear the adverse effects of dependance. The average American can be seen with an iphone in hand and a Fitbit strapped to their wrists, even driving cars that can parallel park...
New technologies emerge every day and change our lives. Companies compete to get the newest, coolest devices out the fastest. All these new toys are changing the way that we think as individuals and as a society, and we are adjusting to these changes to reap the benefits.
Whether or not these...
Tech has played an integral role in shaping human’s lives throughout out our history. Current tech has brought us to a new age of enlightenment and connection.
The Rise of the Super Human
The growth of tech has led to a rise of super humans. Our tools have moved from sticks and stones to...
Content overload stands to create the biggest social addiction in history. Modern forms of entertainment continues to evolve at a rapid pace. The amount of all this content gets bigger and access to it easier. And people are guilty of gluttony for gorging on this smorgasbord.
Pigging out on...
Technology Then and Technology Now
One day, my generation will tell their grandchildren about the mystical land of phone books, dial-up internet, and when the pound sign existed as a pound sign. Not a hashtag.
Today’s youth will never know life without Siri, Google, or iPhones. Back in my day, I...
Digital Revolution: The Web as a Step Forward for Human Thought
Leaping from Deep Concentration to Mindfulness
The Web’s central role in people’s lives advances human culture. Past advances included TV, radio, and books. They brought about similar changes, but on a smaller scale. They promoted concentration. I would argue that the internet promotes mindfulness.
Once, people needed to focus on individual data streams. Preserving and sharing knowledge used to require long texts like books and scrolls. Now people channel many streams of data thanks to the Web. Self-awareness adapted from deep concentration – a step forward, not a step back.
Nicholas Carr: The Critic of Internet Thinking
Carr’s book The Shallows argues that the Web makes people lose their ability to focus. Carr writes that “the Net seizes our attention only to scatter it” (118). People online receive a constant stream of notifications. Apps, messages, and websites distract and disrupt us while we try to process other information.
"The mental functions that are losing the 'survival of the busiest' brain cell battle are those that support calm, linear thought," he writes (142). Over time, Carr fears deep though will completely lose that battle. The cost will be our ability to think deeply - a set back one might compare to the Dark Ages.
Recognizing Cognitive Evolution’s Potential: Pamela Lund
In Massively Networked, Lund argues that the children of the information age will have a bright future. For her, taking part in the “network” creates a richer inner experience (38). In a way, she believes that the connection of every part of our lives to the network provides an interface to better know ourselves.
Lund’s introduction rings like anathema to Carr’s fears. She writes that “Engaging in a perpetually changing reality successfully requires an entirely different strategy than relying on a static set of stories - it requires actively engaging the imagination” (18). For Lund, the realities of the age mean more than losing the ability to focus. The Web - the network - calls us to imagine and reflect.
Lund conveys a grand sense of enthusiasm for the Web’s effect on our lives. Unlike Carr, her vision of the future does not fear for our culture and our minds. In Lund’s future, the potential for growth grows because of the internet, not in spite of it.
Works Cited
Carr, Nicholas. The Shallows. New York: W. W. Norton & Compant, 2011. Print.
Lund, Pamela. Massively Networked. San Francisco: PLI Media, 2011. Print.
