Nicholas Carr The Shallows Summary

The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains The Shallows by Nicholas Carr demonstrates how the internet has been combined to our everyday lives, as well as altering our brain and the way we think. Carr’s goal is to assist his readers understanding of the significance that the internet has on people’s individuality. Carr emphasizes the fear that the internet is doing harm to the brain. He uses historical and scientific studies to prove that the internet is transforming our brain. He claims that people should remain vigilant when openly accepting any computer network or technology. Carr’s viewpoint from start to finish is that the Internet is shifting the way that the present age group thinks, by changing the way we develop information.

Carr noticed that theories have stated that human’s brains stop adapting at a certain point (31). The brain is not trapped; it never stops adapting to new experiences. This scientific notion is important to Carr’s philosophy because our brains are constantly changing. Using neuroplasticity as an example gives him the opportunity to show that life is about having a deep effect, not on our brains, but the way we think. Carr adds, “neuroplasticity provides an escape from genetic determinism, a loophole for free thought and free will, it also imposes its own form of determinism on our behavior. As particular circuits in our brain strengthen through the repetition of a physical or mental activity, they begin to transform that activity into a habit” (34). Carr establishes his idea of neuroplasticity by providing a test performed by neuroscientist, Michael Merzenich. He observed monkeys with damage to the nerves in their fingers. When a portion of the hurt monkeys’ hands were affected, the indication became disordered because of the way their brains and their fingers were being stimulated. Amazingly, the monkeys adjusted the psychological misperception by their selves. His study proved that the monkey’s brain restructured itself. This test of the brain’s capability to change is what’s known as

Whether it be reading, becoming involved in a hobby, taking a road trip or even riding a bike, he believes that our lives will become more interesting and distinctive. It doesn’t only affect us as individuals, but as a culture. For instance, “The old technologies lose their economic and cultural force. They become progress’s dead ends. It’s the new technologies that govern production and consumption, that guide people’s behavior and shape their perceptions. That’s why the future of knowledge and culture no longer lies in books or newspapers or TV shows or radio programs or records or CDs. It lies in digital files shot through our universal medium at the speed of light” (89). By looking at great monuments of culture over time, all of those people were not connected to the internet, which made their mind much more attentive because they were able to engage in deep concentration. To be able to preserve this, we have to be determined to practice that “old” way of