Billy Ram’s Reviews > The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains > Status Update

When it comes to supplying the mind with the stuff of thought, more can be less. P130

The "ecology of interruption technologies." -page 108

Nicohas rightly points to the shift from deep work to multitasking the internet has brought upon us. His conclusion is very apt.

"In the choices we have made.... about how we use our computers, we have rejected the intellectual traditions of solitary, single-minded concentration, the ethic that the book bestowed on us. We have cast our lot with the juggler"

"Reading a book was a meditative act, but it didn't involve a clearing of the mind. It involved a filling, or replenishing, of the mind. Readers disengaged their attention from the outward flow of passing stimuli in order to engage it more deeply with an inward flow of words, ideas, and emotions. That was - and is - the essence of the unique mental process of deep reading" - The Shallows

Man, this is a good book.

This book keeps getting interesting. I was wrong in my prior assumptions about this book. Nicholas has a very interesting way of navigating through the chapters. In chapter 3, Nicholas cleverly starts with examples of cartography and timekeeping and how these intellectual technologies, as he calls them, have shaped our thinking and our world at large.

"We become, neurologically, what we think." - Chapter 2

I have to say I was skeptical about this book as the books that talk about the brain and neuroscience are often filled with difficult words and even harder concepts. But, Nicholas Carr's way of writing the second chapter has been very understandable and interesting.

Finished chapter one and I am feeling nostalgic. The author recollects his personal experience with his first Apple Mac and the world wide web. There is a mention of a modem and the pings it made while connecting to the dial-up connection. Ahh! brings back good memories. (I once downloaded a song at 22 kbps. Can you imagine?! ).

I think I am completing this book.

My ex-roommate left this book while vacating the apartment & didn't pick it up after I asked him. So this book is either very bad or that guy doesn't care anymore. Anyways, picking it up to read after thinking about the average online reviews. I want it to be an insightful book. I don't want to learn theories on how to stay away from the internet & I don't want another self-help book. Will keep updating as I go.