Written by Carr Nudge, ‘the shallows’ is a book that questions the capacity of our minds to grasp and store information for future use. The power to concentrate on a specific idea or something has been lost due to the frequent use of the Internet. Carr’s book tries to answer the effects of the use of the Internet on the human mind.
In his book, Carr states that he comes to realize that his brain had lost its concentration power, as info on anything he required was a click away on the Internet. He acknowledges that most of his life circulates around the Internet for it (Internet) provides him with the most essential things in his life. “ I use my browser to pay bills, schedule my appointments, book flights, and hotel rooms, and renew my driver’s license” (6) However, he claims that all this comes at a certain cost. According to Carr, while the net dictates an individual’s undivided attention, it also throws the mind in different directions. Carr continues down stating that the inability of an individual to concentrate when reading is decreasing at an alarming rate. However, he discovers that his mind had reached a point that it anticipated taking every information the way the net disseminated it. He supports this by saying, “ they supply the stuff of thought, but they also shape the process of thought” (6) (They here insinuates the Internet). Finally, it dawns on him that what has changed is not his thinking, but his school of thought. Evidently, Carr recalls his understanding of the brain and poses to question how it would be possible yet from his knowledge, after adolescence the mind of an individual is not supposed to change.
Carr travels to the past on neurology, presenting scientist who have made strides in the learning about the structure of the brain and its functions. Finally, he comes to learn that, human brains never stop adapting to change, thus they are constantly learning and coping with new ideas. In actual sense, human beings depend on the brain's high plasticity that aids in handling different conditions. The human mind learns the art of replacing old habits or knowledge with new ones depending with what challenges the mind. Neuroplasticity states that the human brain from time to time changes in response to experience. However, an individual can remain in a frigid behavior if he or she decides to do so (Carr 34).
Carr then takes us through history of reading books.
According to him, reading, and writing is a task that requires learning, therefore, the ability to concentrate over a long time is immensely utilized. Concentration becomes the key to both learning and writing because an individual requires practice in order for the two to be honed. From that understanding, one can acknowledge that concentration reading has the same neurological effect on the brain as real life experiences. Carr continues to cast a light on the way the brain functions by stating the brain has a short time span memory area. Eventually, some of the memories in the short-term memories are processed to other regions of the brain if an action is repeated from time to time. Failure to frequent repetition of the behavior may lead to forgetting because the capacity of the short-time memory is inadequate (Carr 44).
Carr goes on to indicate, the formation of words, paper, the press, and the punctuations while emphasizing on the advantages of deep attentive reading and concentration of the human mind (Carr, 71). According to Carr, concentration requires a quiet and attentive mind. However, one cannot compare the speed of the Internet to that of the brain. Carr says that the Internet may give us an extremely large amount of information, but it reduces an individual’s ability to store data in his brain. According to Carr, the book took human beings to the writer or authors’ world, something that one can never experience without concentrating on something. He then goes further to argue that books wired our minds to concentrate. However, the Internet’s instant power to paint a million ideas at once makes the human mind unable to concentrate. Carr uses this explanation to show how the Internet is rewiring what the book had wired (Carr 78).
Carr goes further to state that the introduction of windows operating system brought about multitasking because the operating system would handle more than two functions at the same time (Carr 92). However, the Internet provides clicks after clicks that an individual follow to the point that the direction of the search is at times lost. Internet junkies have a very difficult time concentrating on one task. The ability to multitask was thought as a strength and thus increased the production rate. However, that was not the case because human beings cannot multi-task, so the productivity rate decreased proving everyone wrong. Carr says, “ we are evolving from being cultivators of personal knowledge to being hunters and gatherers in the electronic data forest” (110). What Carr means here is that instead of individuals thinking in lines of producing information they have become slaves to the few who produce info. Carr further states that the brain can do better if only an individual can focus and train himself to concentrate on one thing at a time (Carr 193).
Carr states that the intellectual technologies champions reading that is speedy and skimming and does not allow the deep concentration on something in particular. According to Carr, print books feed the mind with well-directed and diverse ideas, opinions, and facts with than the Internet can. His sentiments echoed what he thinks the internet provides compared to what book provide. Finally, Carr brings the book to a landing by stating how we shape technology that later reshapes the human mind and its functionalities (Carr 207).
There are many lessons learned from ‘the shallows’ some of which are applicable to our daily lives. Nicholas Carr, in his book talks of lack of concentration whenever he is reading a print book or material, something that I experience from time to time. He goes on to talk about the simple distraction of the mind that makes it impossible to have a deep reading mentality (Carr 190). Often, I found myself deviating from the main idea that made me open a book or the Internet page in the first place. Like many individuals, advertisement pop-ups or flashy icons on the page have shifted my focus from the main reason of searching in the net.
The book has helped me understand some of my weaknesses, that if taken care off can change the way my mind interprets information and therefore enhancing my concentration level. Carr goes forth and explains what the net and the multimedia do. In Carr's words, “strains our cognitive abilities, diminishing our learning and weakening our understanding” (44). Due to the many pop-ups, most of the time I find myself skimming through information that requires deep concentration reading and understanding. Am always tempted to open different or many slides at the same time that I run my eyes through trying to locate information. Carr in his book shows that the human mind craves for interruption that is why the individual constantly looks up. An explanation that I agree with because often, I constantly find myself looking at my phone or tab just to confirm if I missed an email alert or WhatsApp text alert. It is as if I am craving for the distraction caused by the phone and tab. The book has encouraged me to discipline myself on following rules I set for myself. I have come to understand that just like the computer my brain is also a strong storage tool.
Carr argues that one can never free up space for other use in his short-term memory just by failing to consolidate facts. By that, I understood that my brain has the same capacity that my computer has, the only difference might be the processing speed. However, as it is noted, gamer individuals have a high remembrance power than other human beings. As I continue to read the book, I learn that the more I put my brain to practice the more I strengthen it. The expansion of my memory directly affects my intellectual capacity in a positive way. I agree with Carr when he says, “ when we start using the web as a substitute for personal memory, bypassing inner processes of consolidation, we risk emptying our minds of their riches” (Carr 192).
Initially, I had the mentality that Carr had, which was that, the brain stops to develop after one is no longer a teenager. However, Carrs’ research was detailed and convincing mainly because he used common simple things I could relate to. What I learned in that chapter is to indulge my mind frequently in activities that worked or exercised it, develops my brain even further. For example, by playing a crossword puzzle I involuntarily enhance the ability of my mind to process things faster. The constant exercising of activities and introduction of new challenges, the brain becomes sharper and intellectually stronger. This knowledge can be employed in all careers that require an increase in work rate or productivity of their employees.
In his book, Carr strictly advises the importance of concentration of the mind to doing something. He assures individuals that consistent practice of ‘deep attentive reading’ to the mind is healthy and beneficiary to the human brain. With that, he explains that we are underutilizing our human minds, which has a very big capacity to handle large volumes of information. Carr opens up the minds of readers with his insights to the point that it becomes practically applicable to an individual’s mind. At times, when an individual decides to search for information on a particular subject on the Internet, people often find themselves clicking and following the links on the web page. Eventually, the focus of the research shifts because the mind was distracted with other things. With the power to concentrate on something, an individual can search for something and after getting the answer one can go off-line and continue with what they were doing.
Carr gave an example of individuals in a theater watching a play and instead of watching it; the audience is on the phone tweeting about what is happening. The idea taught me that at times instead of us experiencing an event we only show up to talk about it rather than live it at that particular time. Whenever employees restrict themselves from their distractors (Facebook, Twitter, Tumbler, WhatsApp) there would be an increase in production mainly because concentration is given to production. Technological intervention has also changed our reading habits to a different, unexpected level. With the advantage of zooming in and out of images on the web, an individual with a sight problem can view any page on the net or screen. Therefore, the words become readable to them. Despite the closing down of publishing companies, the technology has increased the number of book readers. The use of bookmarks and highlighting of important texts on a page in the e-books have helped individuals to neaten their work. I have come to learn indulgence of the brain that provides exercise to the brain lowers the aging rate.
The book encourages me to develop ideas and act on them. Carr handles this by showing me the aspect that instead of becoming a hunter and gatherer on the Internet I also can produce the much-needed information. Carr’s research in the book leads to the conclusion that, the Internet search champions distracted analysis of issues and situation as well as hurried reading. Mostly, with the skimming nature of humans in the net, a lot of information ends up being distorted while interpreting. Carr talks of digitalization of print books, he states that, however much easier it is to get a book on the Internet, an individual gets the search term. Therefore, most researchers end up taking the content of the book without referencing the full text or the individual who wrote it. Carr’s argument taught me the importance of referencing, which is a way to acknowledge people’s efforts and work.
Carr brings the two aspects of engaging the mind, which are creativity and proper judgment. With that, he encourages me to indulge more on issues pertaining to the development of the mind, rather than skimming all over the information that requires deep concentration to grasp and analyze. The book emphasizes that the human brain has more than one type of memory, which is meant for thinking, processing and retaining information in different ways. Therefore, the Internet restricts our ability to memorize and process issues mainly because our minds tend to know that the information is stored in the net. Finally, Carr accepts the introduction of the Internet but he notes that the introduction of something should never deter the progress of what existed. Meaning, regular exercise of an individuals’ mind makes the individuals better than they were.
Work Cited
Carr, Nelson. The Shallows: What the Internet is doing to our Brains. New York: W.W Norton & CO, 2010. Print.
