tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1391072111621034521.post4176053073311804205..comments2023-09-26T10:49:03.583+01:00Comments on looking deeper: what’s the Internet doing to your brain?Lucy Millshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17346977682747924108noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1391072111621034521.post-33145459295299195112011-08-06T12:24:46.447+01:002011-08-06T12:24:46.447+01:00Kathryn - interesting question and I'm not sur...Kathryn - interesting question and I'm not sure I know the answer to that one...thanks for providing food for thought!Lucy Millshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17346977682747924108noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1391072111621034521.post-79140074544080861572011-08-01T14:16:25.299+01:002011-08-01T14:16:25.299+01:00This is so true and yes I was guilty of scan readi...This is so true and yes I was guilty of scan reading your blog then I went back and read every word.Sue Horder-Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16975125478571362640noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1391072111621034521.post-23165332776540703342011-08-01T14:06:53.700+01:002011-08-01T14:06:53.700+01:00Thanks Lucy - fascinating stuff.Thanks Lucy - fascinating stuff.Alex Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14518863820397273098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1391072111621034521.post-37785660741704024302011-07-30T16:15:53.554+01:002011-07-30T16:15:53.554+01:00my 16 year old daughter recently listened to '...my 16 year old daughter recently listened to 'Pride and Prejudice' and 'Great Expectations' on audiodisc on a long journey. She commented that she couldn't possibly have read them (and I know she started P&P after she'd read 'Emma'). So what about listening to stories - is that affected by changes in reading habits?Kathrynnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1391072111621034521.post-37519602093939671852011-07-30T13:49:59.017+01:002011-07-30T13:49:59.017+01:00When it comes to writing, a lot of the impact is i...When it comes to writing, a lot of the impact is implicit in the overall subject matter, but Carr makes reference to both Nietzsche and TS Eliot who, when beginning to type instead of write, found that they wrote differently - sentences were shorter, tighter etc. The hypothesis Carr makes is that we are shaped as much by our tools as we shape them - and this includes writing tools. Hence, if we get used to short, snappy snippets on the web, we begin to write in the same way.<br /><br />He admits that it was a great struggle to write the book itself, and he had to remove himself from all the distracting elements he had come to crave - like Facebook, Twitter, RSS readers, emails and blogging. Sometimes he felt the need to have an all day 'Web binge' but eventually he began to be able to concentrate more deeply again - after removing these elements.<br /><br />He also references academic writing, where researchers become more reliant on web search tools - i.e. Google, etc. These tools are designed to find the most relevant/popular/recent information which means researchers do not necessarily read so much around a topic - partially related articles which may have been routinely scanned in a physical periodicals library will simply not be found. Thus, articles have fewer references / citations. It seems reasonable to suggest that this would be true of any writing - the more we grow dependent on search engines the less likely we will be to spend lots of time reading loosely related articles. Deep, reflective thinking around a topic may become sacrificed in the name of efficiency - finding what you want ASAP.<br /><br />The whole book centres around thinking and remembering - essential parts of writing, so I think even when it is not specifically applied to the art of writing it's all very relevant. We are getting out of the habit of 'deep' reading as our brains adapt (both chemically and anatomically) to new ways of processing information. What we might call 'contemplative' thinking is getting lost in the quest for immediacy and sheer quantity of information. Quantities that our working memories simply cannot hold, and therefore do not get committed to Long Term Memory.<br /><br />And the question immediately comes to mind - if reading habits are being changed, how does this affect a writer? How will writers have to adapt? And - here's the question - does the fact it is probably inevitable mean that it is <i>good</i>?<br /><br />Hmm... this comment could spur a few blog posts, come to think of itLucy Millshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17346977682747924108noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1391072111621034521.post-89306036747486488412011-07-30T13:25:08.273+01:002011-07-30T13:25:08.273+01:00Stuart - you're so right - I think half the ti...Stuart - you're so right - I think half the time we misunderstand blog posts because we don't actually read them properly.<br /><br />Alex - it does touch on it, will leave longer comment on this later as am going out shortly...<br /><br />Adulcia - go for it :)<br /><br />T.C. - I had to smile at your comment...<br /><br />30 July 2011 08:50Lucy Millshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17346977682747924108noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1391072111621034521.post-28354227649068781832011-07-30T08:26:26.643+01:002011-07-30T08:26:26.643+01:00Clearly I am affected. I read the first part of yo...Clearly I am affected. I read the first part of your post, scanned down to the comments, then went back to the rest of the post....where the comments then made sense.Naomihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04716340789752389623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1391072111621034521.post-6299083256977278182011-07-30T03:48:16.893+01:002011-07-30T03:48:16.893+01:00Ouch. About to log off to go and read a real book...Ouch. About to log off to go and read a real book now, while I can still remember how.Claudiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17197623078681301330noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1391072111621034521.post-43710706285559648192011-07-29T21:01:10.884+01:002011-07-29T21:01:10.884+01:00Hi Lucy. Just out of curiosity - does the book say...Hi Lucy. Just out of curiosity - does the book say anything about what the internet is doing to the way we write? <br /><br />AlexAlex Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14518863820397273098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1391072111621034521.post-75394260059088211422011-07-29T12:13:21.505+01:002011-07-29T12:13:21.505+01:00This is very pertinent to me personally. I watch o...This is very pertinent to me personally. I watch over 400 websites and blogs in my RSS news feeder – I’m an RRS hoarder – and estimate in the region of 1000 articles per day. As you can imagine, I have developed some serious scanning skills.<br /><br />The flip side of this is that I’m finding it increasingly difficult to read long articles. I find myself drawn to soundbites and lacking the concentration for verbose pieces, even if they are undoubtedly worthy of reading and I’d probably learn from them.<br /><br />I’m constantly hunting for the crux or punch line and I think this is one of the reasons why I’m so drawn to Twitter.<br /><br />The trouble is of course, if you’re prone to scan longer articles, it’s entirely possible to miss or misconstrue the premise.<br /><br />I will say though that my reading pattern does coincide with my mood state. As I’m more ‘up’ than ‘down’ right now, I want quick hits of information and don’t have much in the way of patience or concentration power.Stuart Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08198939874801282568noreply@blogger.com