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The fact that this book has been a NYT bestseller and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize is a reassuring ray of hope in what has for years seemed to be a unassailable tech-enthusiastic culture. Carr backed up his basic thesis – that we are abrogating our capacity for deep and meditative thought as a result of our regular internet use, with studies, stories, research and reason. It was a thesis that throughout resonated with my experiences and which seemed to accurately characterize the culture surrounding us. I also found his remedy to be both realistic and achievable: to whit, control internet use and spend some time immersed in reading the old-fashioned way – with a book.
It is that balance that I believe we can achieve, and which we could embrace as a society if we were to place the enthusiastic emphasis on the need for reading as wholeheartedly as we embrace the need to put a computer in every classroom. In our rush to computerize the education system we may well be handing our children the keys to their intellectual destruction – moderation in all things. If you have not read this book, and are computer-savvy enough to be reading this blog, I’d recommend you take the time to read through it. I think you’ll find it well worth your time.