#2 “The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to our Brains” by Nicolas Carr
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Having anxiety about how the Internet is changing us? As we enjoy new ways of consuming information, are we sacrificing our ability to read and think deeply?
——- WHY THIS BOOK? ———
The book is incredibly interesting and explains a lot of behavioral changes I’ve noticed in myself in recent years. It discusses the science around how internet browsing affects the way we think and learn. We also get a fascinating history of how, throughout time, the introduction of new media have changed the human perspective. Well researched and eye-opening! “To be everywhere is to be nowhere”
-Seneca
————— IMPACT —————
Most of all it has helped me keep and expand good learning habits and to notice – and discard – bad ones. One notion I’ve had for a while is that the length time you are exposed to an idea matters. Learning about 30 different topics for 30 min each (by reading articles and blogs for instance) is less effective for accumulating knowledge, than learning about one topic for 15 hours by reading a book. Something that research seems to support.
We also have to make some room here to consider the confirmation bias; of course I will appreciate a book that says that reading books is a great for deep learning and retaining knowledge.
