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The Shallows : what the Internet is doing to our brains
by Nicholas Carr
New Book Shelf QP360 .C3667 2010

Science and technology writer Nicholas Carr latest book explores how the tools of the Internet age are altering the way people find and use information. Carr spends much of the book exploring how technology has shaped human habits of information consumption. Written language, for instance, made the poet-historian's memory less crucial. With Gutenberg's printing press, reading became widespread and the human brain, ever plastic, adapted to new demands. Now, the shift to online information is causing further neural changes.

Carr maintains that the Internet encourages distraction and superficiality. The sheer volume of information overwhelms anyone's ability to absorb it. So instead of becoming absorbed, users browse from link to link to Twitter feed, gaining a broad but shallow appreciation of the available information. His take on the problems of the plugged-in brain is sure to spur debate, though -- both online and off.

Check out , The Shallows : what the Internet is doing to our brains available now in the library on the New Book Shelf New Book Shelf QP360 .C3667 2010