The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains
by Nicholas CarrReviewed by Eighth Day Books
Feast of the Holy Martyr Eupsychius of Caesarea; Holy Thursday in WestAnno Domini 2020, April 9
Feast of the Holy Martyr Eupsychius of Caesarea; Holy Thursday in West
Anno Domini 2020, April 9
The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains
by Nicholas Carr: Take seriously the subtitle of this book: Carr’s fascination with recent brain research threads continuously through all the excursions and speculations he offers. The key to many of Carr’s convictions is the increasingly important role of neuroplasticity in scientific descriptions of brain structure (go ahead and toss off the term at your next cocktail party, because its implications measure up to its fancy dress). It describes the way our brains shape themselves according to repeated incoming stimuli. Consequent experiments extend this phenomenon to more subtle habits of accessing knowledge of the world, like reading. Carr, whose livelihood involved Internet research and writing, noticed that the concentration needed for reading a physical book was becoming increasingly difficult, prompting his investigation of the neurological impact of the Internet. With riveting brilliance, Carr claims that electronic reading, with all its hyperlinks and brightly-colored distractions, lights up the frontal cortex of our brains where short-term memory processes immediate experience, while reading conventional books exercises a different, deeper part of the brain associated with long-term memory. Referencing sources ranging from Plato to St Isaac the Syrian to Marshall McLuhan and Walter Ong, and “digressing” on topics like Google and its (chilling) “moon shot” project of Google Book Search, Carr holds that our current transition from reading ink on paper to electronic print is as epochal as that from “orality to literacy” – but much more ominous for the future of human intelligence.
276 pp. paper $15.95
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The Sisters of Sophia will gather on the Commemoration of the Great Martyr Theodore, Anno Domini 2026, February 17. Rachel Garton will present The Battlefield of Compassion: Florence Nightingale, Clara Barton, and St Verena . Sisters of Sophia When Every third Tuesday Where The Ladder 2836 E Douglas, Wichita Parking available behind Eighth Day Books Schedule Food, drink, and fellowship at 6:30pm Eighth Day Convocation & Lecture at 7:20pm Membership Required? No, but do consider joining the community! Learn more and join here !
The Hall of Men will gather Thursday evening on the commemoration of St Meletius, Archbishop of Antioch, Anno Domini 2026, February 12. David Beutel will present on St. John Henry Newman. St. John Henry Newman (21 February 1801 – 11 August 1890) was an English Catholic theologian, academic, philosopher, historian, writer, and poet. He was previously an Anglican priest, and after his conversion to Catholicism, became a cardinal. Newman's beatification was proclaimed by Pope Benedict XVI on 19 September 2010 during his visit to the United Kingdom. His canonization was officially approved by Pope Francis on 12 February 2019, and took place on 13 October 2019. Come and jo in us for the first toast of 2026 at the Hall of Men! If you haven’t seen a Catholic listen to the life story of John Wesley; if you haven’t watched a Protestant learn about Evagrius of Pontus; and if you haven’t seen Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant men sit around a table together and talk theology until midnight . . . then you need to come to the Hall of Men. When The commemoration of St Meletius, Archbishop of Antioch, Anno Domini 2026, February 12. Where The Ladder at 2836 E. Douglas, Wichita, KS 67214 Schedule Doors Open at 7 pm Food is served at 7:30pm Eighth Day Convocation at 8:30pm Presentation and toast by Derek Hale immediately following Convocation. Membership Required? No, but do consider joining the community! Learn more and join today here .
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