The opposing view is that of instrumentalists, who view technology. One view is that of technological determinism, in which technology is a force that shapes the course of history and is outside people’s control. Nicholas Carr is the author of the Pulitzer Prize finalist The Shallows, the best-selling The Big Switch, and Does IT Matter His acclaimed new book, The Glass Cage: Automation and Us, examines the personal and social consequences of our ever growing dependence on computers and software. Rather, he provides a balance between approval and critique. He does not write 200-plus pages of scathing retorts against the computer or the internet. What is refreshing about Carr’s book is that he remains fair throughout the book. He discusses the intellectual ethics of a technology, which is often a subconscious byproduct of the inventor’s intent that ends up impacting the user.Ĭarr reflects on the debate about technology’s role in shaping society. Nicholas Carr’s The Shallows is an exploration and examination of the internet’s damage to the human brain. Carr also found out about bloggers who had similar problems, but they all preferred absorbing information in a fast-paced way. His research led him to discover that he wasn’t alone and that many people were experiencing the same problem. He views new technology as tools that allow people to gain more power and control over the situations surrounding their lives. A gripping story of human transformation played out against a backdrop of technological upheaval, The Shallows will forever alter the way we think about media and our minds. Carr opens The Shallows by describing his realization that the Internet was hurting his ability to read.

He uses the history of cartography and then the development of clocks to show how these technologies changed the way people thought about space and time. Adapted from The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains, copyright2010 Nicholas Carr to be published by W.W. In Chapter 3, called “Tools of the Mind,” Carr reflects on how peoples’ intellectual maturation is demonstrated through the way they draw pictures and maps.

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