{"product_id":"the-shallows-what-the-internet-is-doing-to-our-brains-9780393072228","title":"The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains","description":"\u003cbr\u003eNow, Carr expands his argument into the most compelling exploration of the Internet's intellectual and cultural consequences yet published. As he describes how human thought has been shaped through the centuries by \"tools of the mind\"--from the alphabet to maps, to the printing press, the clock, and the computer--Carr interweaves a fascinating account of recent discoveries in neuroscience by such pioneers as Michael Merzenich and Eric Kandel. Our brains, the historical and scientific evidence reveals, change in response to our experiences. The technologies we use to find, store, and share information can literally reroute our neural pathways.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBuilding on the insights of thinkers from Plato to McLuhan, Carr makes a convincing case that every information technology carries an intellectual ethic--a set of assumptions about the nature of knowledge and intelligence. He explains how the printed book served to focus our attention, promoting deep and creative thought. In stark contrast, the Internet encourages the rapid, distracted sampling of small bits of information from many sources. Its ethic is that of the industrialist, an ethic of speed and efficiency, of optimized production and consumption--and now the Net is remaking us in its own image. We are becoming ever more adept at scanning and skimming, but what we are losing is our capacity for concentration, contemplation, and reflection.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePart intellectual history, part popular science, and part cultural criticism, \u003ci\u003eThe Shallows\u003c\/i\u003e sparkles with memorable vignettes--Friedrich Nietzsche wrestling with a typewriter, Sigmund Freud dissecting the brains of sea creatures, Nathaniel Hawthorne contemplating the thunderous approach of a steam locomotive--even as it plumbs profound questions about the state of our modern psyche. This is a book that will forever alter the way we think about media and our minds.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e W. W. Norton \u0026amp; Company\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 06\/07\/2010\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780393072228\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 276\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.22lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.30h x 6.44w x 1.07d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal Prepub Alert\u003c\/i\u003e 02\/01\/2010 pg. 50\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 04\/01\/2010\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 04\/15\/2010 pg. 104\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e 05\/01\/2010 pg. 62\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e 06\/06\/2010 pg. 22\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e 06\/13\/2010 pg. 26\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eCommonweal\u003c\/i\u003e 06\/18\/2010 pg. 26\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChristian Century\u003c\/i\u003e 10\/05\/2010 pg. 36\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 11\/01\/2010\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Review of Books\u003c\/i\u003e 12\/09\/2010 pg. 60\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eShelf Awareness\u003c\/i\u003e 01\/01\/0001\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBookPage\u003c\/i\u003e 06\/01\/2010\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Nicholas Carr","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":36636855566492,"sku":"9780393072228","price":25.49,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_d97b021c-2aba-4f31-95f5-af45053988c4.jpg?v=1603843165","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/the-shallows-what-the-internet-is-doing-to-our-brains-9780393072228","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}