An argumentative response to chapter 3 of The Shallows by Nicholas Carr

Carr

"Every technology is an expression of human will," claims Carr (2011). "Through our tools, we seek to expand our power and control over our circumstances -- over nature, over time and distance, over one another," (Carr, 2011, p. 44). In Chapter Three of The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains, Nicholas Carr (2011) presents the Internet in light of other major breakthroughs in human technology. The Internet is, like maps and clocks, an "intellectual technology." Intellectual technologies fundamentally alter the ways people think. They do not simply extend human control or dominion over nature, as does a bridge or a dam; intellectual technologies do not merely enhance the five senses, as does a microscope. Intellectual technologies leave longer-lasting impacts on individual human consciousness and also the collective consciousness than other types of technological breakthroughs.

Carr's ideas, which were outlined in his article, "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" are substantiated by scientific research, especially in the area of neuroscience. Neuroplasticity refers to the inherently elastic, malleable nature of the brain-mind. The Internet ranks with clocks and maps, as an intellectual technology that changes the human brain in ways that alter evolution. Writing for the BBC, Stafford (2012) notes that taxi drivers do indeed have larger hippocampi than the average person because of their regular use of navigation. Musicians, athletes, and anyone who focuses and specializes in any activity will develop a brain structure that reflects the different cognitions required to perform the specialized task.

Whereas Carr takes a decidedly pessimistic point-of-view with regards to the way the Internet is changing human neurophysiology, some researchers are focusing on the positive impacts of Internet use. Just as Plato championed the tool of writing, even as his esteemed teacher Socrates denounced it, some scientists are showing that heavy Internet use might result in "significant increases in signal intensity in additional regions controlling decision making, complex reasoning, and vision," (Small, Moody, Siddarth & Bookheimer, 2009). Through his analogy with Plato and Socrates, Carr admits that the Internet is not necessarily a destructive force, any more than writing was. Socrates had a point when he suggested writing was "substituting outer symbols for inner memories, writing makes us shallower thinkers," (Carr, 2011). Likewise, it is important to consider the possible adverse effects of relying on the Internet as a source of information. As Stafford (2012) puts it, "The truth is that everything you do changes your brain. Everything."

Neuroplasticity is what makes the human being uniquely able to adapt to an increasingly complex world. Carr (2011) notes that however slow evolution might be, inventions like the Internet can actually change neurophysiology in one generation. The ability to think in creative ways gets people into trouble, but out of it too, which is why the Internet has both a positive and a negative impact on the brain. Carr (2011) emphasizes the way information is organized and presented on the Internet, but especially the ways users interact with the Internet. Users no longer read a text in its entirety and save questions or tangential issues for later. Now, an Internet user follows hyperlinks to answer questions immediately. In the process of answering a question in one text, the reader is likely to leave that text in favor of a new one in a process similar to that depicted on The Simpsons, when in the middle of doing something Homer cries out, "Oh look! A squirrel!"

As an intellectual technology, the Internet continues to alter human consciousness and cognition. Carr (2011) points out how the Internet is causing individuals to rely less on depth and more on breadth when ingesting information. The Internet is designed to foster rapid intake of information, and rapid shifting of gears. Social media works on the principle of rapidly changing images and ideas. Facebook and particularly Twitter emphasize quick, pithy text. Both the sender and the receiver of the message move onto something else quickly.