In Nicholas Carr’s ninth chapter, “Search, Memory” he discusses the ways our interaction with the Internet impacts the way we make memories, and by extension, our ability to learn. As in previous chapters, Carr presents a great deal of fascinating neurobiology research to back up his premise that the Internet is making us shallower thinkers. In particular, he contends that the barrage of information we encounter on the web overtaxes our working memory, and prevents knowledge from being transferred to long-term memory. He also rejects the comparison of human memory to computer memory, because human memory is ever-changing and has the potential to be limitless.

On page 174, Carr quotes Umberto Eco, in reference to Socrates opposition to written works:

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(Carr, 2010)

It is amusing to me that Carr does not think this idea of “misplaced fear” applies to his writing as well. I am willing to bet that if functional MRI scans had been available in the days of Socrates, he would have been able to point out changes in the brains of writers and non-writers, too. Would that be proof that books hindered intellectual life?I can relate to Carr’s feelings about his “old brain” (p 12), and he has made it clear that deep and focused thinking is something he considers, fruitful, precious, and valuable. However, maybe there is something beneficial to knowing a little about a lot of different things. It seems to me that gathering impressions from a wide variety of information would aid effective schema development at least as much as committing facts to memory.

The take-away message I will apply to my own studies and my classroom is that since interacting with information on the Web does not naturally leave much room for thoughtful reflection and long-term memory creation, maybe I need to develop and share strategies to help compensate for this deficiency. I have mentioned before that I find it helpful to take breaks more frequently when doing Internet research, and take the time to mentally summarize and digest the information I have gathered before continuing to a new page. Students may benefit from additional discussion of topics they have encountered electronically to help “unpack” new knowledge and incorporate it better into their existing understanding of an issue.

E-Reader Reflection

This week I did not use the PC Kindle version at all. I still find that the Kindle device is the easiest to read with, and the iPhone app is the better for taking and reviewing notes. After more than two months of doing four classes worth of reading electronically, I have found that I no longer miss flipping through pages like I did at the beginning of the quarter. Though I still do not plan on giving up printed books for good any time soon, I feel very comfortable with e-books, and will certainly be using them for future reading.

Source:

Carr, N. (2010). The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to our Brains. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.