The Shallows Essay

He notices himself jump around a lot more than before and feels that it is becoming more and more apparent to the people he discusses his issues with. The main thing noticed that the author speaks of is although that we become more distracted and lose more of our deep thoughts as technologies change, but overall we are gaining more information since the internet is changing the way we think. It used to be before that there were libraries where you went to go study and read, but now the books online and Google have transcended to be able to find information faster, therefore seeing and learning more.Carr provides much info on different studies and experiments on how the human brain works regarding plasticity and how the human brain winks. The author points out that before the world wide web that the art of book writing was mulch more powerful, and it seems from his point five;u that he enjoyed the books more when people were actually writing by hand as opposed to typing books on compu ters now. From my perception he points out that older generations before new technological advances were prone to know more about one specific issue/item and were able to use deep reading to be empowered.Nowadays, the technology has kept our minds â€Å"distracted† and moving faster to see information more quickly as opposed to re-internet days since the information is readily available. He does a good providing the IQ test example where he states that we aren't smarter than our parents, but we're smart in different ways due to these technological advances, and the resources available compared to earlier generations. Analysis of The Shallows This book opened up my mind quite a bit and made me sit back and realize how Carts points are actually what I feel the majority of the time.I see every day how technology has changed the world and also how the way we think. It is obvious to see in the workplace and just in life that the newer generations finitely have more technological k nowledge than earlier generations. For example, a couple months ago my mother bought her first phone and she wanted me to show her how to operate and use the phone. I was far ahead Of her in the technology sense Of things, and it seems apparent that earlier generations try to avoid dealing with the new technological advances.It surprises me how many earlier generations stick with their â€Å"old school† phones just because they don't want to bother having to learn all that the phone does, and mostly because they despise of it as well. What was once a Barry full of books in primary/secondary schools has now transcended to everything being electronic due to the ever-changing technology and cost savings of not having to buy the books and storing them in the library, as well as hiring librarians to operate the facility.Also, the way we use to study and write papers has completely transcended to online capabilities in order to get whatever we need accomplished. I can't remember th e last time I have been to a library to gather information from credible sources such as encyclopedias, newspapers, articles, etc. It is essentially non-existent now u to the power of the internet. Personally, I agree with Carr and how the internet/technology has created basically a â€Å"scattered† brain and has completely changed the way we think. Member when was elementary/ middle school/high school and we did everything on the chalk board, wrote everything on notebook paper, and read hardback books. I felt like everything was a little bit easier to absorb and I think it was due to there being no distractions of technology. Not only was more focused in the material that I was learning but I felt the â€Å"deep thought† senses that Carr describes in the book. Even now in grad school, we are leaning away from the classic hardback books, and moving towards e-books on the Kindle that Carr talks about as well in the book.We have received one hardback book so far out of t he many classes we've taken thus far, and that could be due to the fact that it was accounting, but the rest have been via kindle. Of course see this transition more of a cost savings more than anything, but the ability to do this is due technological advances. I feel like it is easier and I feel more focused learning on a hardback book as opposed to looking at a screen. Even maneuvering around on kindle makes it a hassle and not as easy to find the info you are looking for is a huge reason why prefer the hardback book.It is much easier to physically flip through pages to get to the page you want. Also, highlighting, taking notes, putting sticky notes in the hardback book makes it much easier to study and remember where all your important info is for that specific book/class. What is funny is even as type this paper I feel the need to take more breaks, and the comical part is I picked up my phone to check my email as soon as I took a break. Personally, I think a huge part of castrat ions has to do with just people being so busy because of technology and the ability to check your phones, computers, etc. ND know you have a schedule filled. In earlier generations before technology' it took quite a while to relay information so the day to day life was much simpler per say. One chapter that stuck out to me was the Google chapter. Carr argues that Google is a huge distraction and basically in the business of distraction, and agree 100% with him. Even though the first thing people say when they are looking for something is â€Å"Google it†, Google definitely uses many distractions such as pop ups and advertisements to sway people to become distracted from their original destination.Major game changers regarding the internet are Twitter and Backbone. These social media platforms have completely changed the way people think, more so Twitter in my opinion. Find myself throughout the day checking Twitter every hour or so just to keep in the loop with all the news g oing on in the World, financial advice, sports, etc. I use this platform as opposed to sitting down and reading through a newspaper. Not only does it take more time to sit down and read a newspaper, it doesn't roved as much information that Twitter can.I have absolutely everything I need on my Twitter as far as the people/businesses that I follow and always seem to have the information faster than most people. Twitter has changed the world in how fast information is revealed, but again is a distraction as well. The ease of bringing up Twitter on any electronic device distracts you from your main goal at any given time. Backbone is a different type of social media that provides more of a social platform as far as knowing what other friends are doing at any given time. Ink this is more of a distraction than anything, but they are starting to move towards providing news updates as well. The way portray Backbone is if I see someone online at work then it is more of a playing around on t he internet talking/seeing what friends are up to. When I see Twitter, me personally, I feel it is more news based to gather info that you are interested in. Realizing the way we think currently and how we have changed due to technological advances will make me more aware Of situations in the workplace. Notice this daily just because of the fact that we conduct equines strictly via computer and internet now.It used to be that a trade floor would deal with trades manually and over the phone as well. Now traders use instant messaging and online trading platforms to conduct business, which makes it more efficient but at the same time is completely different than earlier business. Instant messaging allows me to be more productive when dealing with counterparts because you can be dealing with multiple customers at one time, rather than picking up the phone and talking to each one. At the same time instant messaging is a distraction in the sense f customers knowing that you are online and are able to IM you at any time.Many times I get Aim's when I am in the middle of completing daily work that needs to be done so have to stop what I'm doing to answer customer's questions since customer service is our top priority. Another place you see distraction a lot is in meetings and people with their cell phones. Probably the worst thing you can see in a meeting is people just scrolling on their phone while an important meeting is taking place. This is an area where technological advances hurt employees thinking and focus while in a meeting Hereford it has led me to keep my cell phone on silent and in my pocket during any meeting.