Wednesday, September 28, 2011

The Shallows


In response to Jason's insightful post, you may want to check out this book by Nicholas Carr: The Shallows - What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains.

Blurb:
Is Google making us stupid? When Nicholas Carr posed that question in a celebrated Atlantic essay, he tapped into a well of anxiety about how the Internet is changing us. He also crystallized one of the most important debates of our time: As we enjoy the Net’s bounties, are we sacrificing our ability to read and think deeply?

Now 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.

Building 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 the ethic 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.

Part intellectual history, part popular science, and part cultural criticism, The Shallows 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.

Monday, September 26, 2011

"No Blades, No Bows, Leave Your Weapons Here!"

At the end of last week I was rooting around some old folders in the file cabinet, looking for media scraps to add to my newly realized bulletin board situation.



I found some fun stuff from the back log. The only newspaper clipping I guess I've saved is "The Outsourced Brain," by David Brooks, which is from about four years ago. I used to read the printed newspaper frequently in Richmond. Pick up a copy, perhaps some Camel Lights, and then head over to that diner on Broad St. for my lunch break. Clipping articles from newspapers wasn't something I made a habit of, but I recall taking in Brooks' perspective about how technology is facilitating man's quest towards "know nothing," like phone numbers or driving routes. I didn't (don't) really participate in the full bells and whistles.

In the four years since it's publication, social media technology has evolved considerably and saturated the lives of an astounding percentage of humans. My question in this realm has always been, this supposed brain space that is "freed" by these technologies, are we using it to know other stuff that makes it all worth it?

Just the other day, I read an article (digitally) about Facebook's plans for the future. Sounds like the evolution is just beginning.

Friday, September 23, 2011

Classic Bullshit




This is where culture equips its celebrity with the right of guidance — where culture utterly fails.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Play Just Like Cobain!


For a little less than $2,000 you too can sounds exactly like the 12th greatest guitarist of all time! Fender is now offering the Fender Kurt Cobain Jaguar, complete with authentic grunge paint scratches! I'm only surprised they're offer a "Kurt Cobain" guitar in one piece.

While playing your new Jagbain, don't forget to pick up EverTune! A new device that guarantees your guitar will NEVER go out of tune again!

Friday, September 2, 2011

Newell Getting Gutted

My sister picked me up in Baltimore yesterday, and we decided to stop by TU. Besides all the new buildings on campus, I also noticed the completely renovation of our sacred Newell Hall. The look and feel of our (circa 2002) Newell shenanigans now only exist in memories and photos.