"Inherent in any media technology -- from the telephone to TV to Twitter -- is an emphasis of some ways of thinking and a de-emphasis on other ways of thinking. If you look at the Internet, what it emphasizes is the ability to supply lots of information, in many forms, very quickly. As a result, it encourages us to browse through information in a similar way -- by grabbing lots of bits of data simultaneously. What it doesn't encourage us to engage in is more attentive ways of thinking -- the mode of thinking that underpins deep reading, contemplation, reflection and introspection. All of these ways of using our minds -- which to me, are very important." In this interview, Pulitzer-Prize nominee Nicholas Carr discusses the inherent 'shallowness' of Web 2.0 technologies, and the troubling consequences for our brains.
