Nicholas Carr’s book The Shallows is the most important book I’ve read this century. That’s a recommendation. Though I disagree with his premise that Gutenberg-brain is the optimal human state (it’s remarkably deficient in wisdom and risibly confident in rationalist givens), his is the clearest voice of alarm about the changes occurring in our capacities for thinking and understanding consequent to our adoption of intellectual technologies.
The talk above was given, incredibly, at Google’s west coast campus, a site and company criticized in merciless fashion in The Shallows. Please listen for a challenge to your thoughts about technology and reading — and please reflect on your relationships with your Smart phone, PC, and GPS system. Hat tip to Stephen S!
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