In The Shallows, Nicholas Carr calls the Internet “a technology of forgetfulness” and describes how, thanks to the plasticity of our neural pathways, our brains are literally being rewired by digital distraction:
Though we are reading a ton on our devices and screens—we actually read a novel’s worth of words every day—it is not the sort of continuous, sustained, concentrated reading conducive to reflective thinking. Maryanne Wolf argues: “There is neither the time nor the impetus for the nurturing of a quiet eye, much less the memory of its harvests.”
Google offers quick answers to any query we might have. But wisdom is not about getting to answers as fast as possible. It’s more often about the journey, the bigger picture, the questions and complications along the way.
The more we use the Web, the more we train our brain to be distracted—to process information very quickly and very efficiently but without sustained attention. That helps explain why many of us find it hard to concentrate even when we’re away from our computers. Our brains become adept at forgetting, inept at remembering.
Though we are reading a ton on our devices and screens—we actually read a novel’s worth of words every day—it is not the sort of continuous, sustained, concentrated reading conducive to reflective thinking. Maryanne Wolf argues: “There is neither the time nor the impetus for the nurturing of a quiet eye, much less the memory of its harvests.”
Google offers quick answers to any query we might have. But wisdom is not about getting to answers as fast as possible. It’s more often about the journey, the bigger picture, the questions and complications along the way.
- Brett McCracken, The Wisdom Pyramid:
Feeding Your Soul in a Post-Truth World, 2021
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