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A Battle of Wits On the Net's Effect On the Mind

Posted by Soulskill on from the post-traumatic-second-post-syndrome dept.

An anonymous reader writes "There's a fascinating duel going on between two Harvard-associated authors, Steven Pinker and Nicholas Carr, on the topic of the Net's influence on the mind. In a New York Times op-ed, Pinker criticizes Carr's argument, as laid out in his new book The Shallows, that our use of the Net is encouraging us to become distracted, superficial thinkers. The Net and other digital technologies 'are the only things that will keep us smart,' writes Pinker. In a response on his blog, Carr tears apart Pinker's argument, claiming that Pinker's examples should actually make us even more worried about the possible 'ill effects' the Net is having on our minds. Carr concludes, 'We're training ourselves, through repetition, to be facile skimmers, scanners, and message-processors — important skills, to be sure — but, perpetually distracted and interrupted, we're not training ourselves in the quieter, more attentive modes of thought: contemplation, reflection, introspection, deep reading, and so forth.' Behind the debate is the deeper controversy over whether the human brain is fundamentally adaptable ('neuroplasticity') or genetically locked into patterns of behavior ('evolutionary psychology')."

10 of 218 comments (clear)

  1. tl;dr by Etrias · · Score: 4, Funny

    Next topic, please.

    1. Re:tl;dr by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      this is very interrestingSQUIRREL!!!

  2. I stopped reading by Beelzebud · · Score: 4, Funny

    I stopped reading after this guy droned on too long about whatever it was he's complaining about. A quick trip to wikipedia proves him utterly wrong.

    1. Re:I stopped reading by Bigjeff5 · · Score: 1, Funny

      You actually just sorta proved his point there.

      Shoulda just kept your mouth shut.

      --
      Security is mostly a superstition... Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. - Helen Keller
    2. Re:I stopped reading by ColdWetDog · · Score: 3, Funny

      Humor Process Failure in post #32557956

      Abort(A), Retry(R) or Epic Fail(F)?

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
  3. Re:I believe this by Jaysyn · · Score: 4, Funny

    Let's see, your user name is Smoke2Joints & you're getting older. Do you really have no idea why your memory & attention span is shortening? It's all downhill after 25 & gets worse after 32.

    --
    There is a war going on for your mind.
  4. Children by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Who can do any 'deep thinking' while raising children? Unless you find a way to ignore them...

  5. Re:Close by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 2, Funny

    I feel very strongly about my opinions!

    For anybody who isn't a liberal, pointy-headed elitist who hates America and freedom of speech, that should be more than enough!

    (The above represents sarcasm. If you find yourself experiencing even a twinge of agreement, please report for euthanasia at your earliest convenience.)

  6. Re:Can we stop these stupid debates by hey! · · Score: 3, Funny

    Hypothetically, would it make any difference to how you felt about that post if I told you it was a mash-up of stuff I found on Google?

    --
    Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
  7. Re:we were scooped on this one by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    His living room.