The History

Ted Striphas notes how throughout history, individuals are constantly doubting change. Beginning with the introduction of writing, people feared books would take away from the personalization of speaking. Recently, the increasing influence of the Internet on daily life has caused many critics to feel that technology is taking away from the strong features of books. Striphas notes, “The intellectual history of reading and writing technologies consists, as it were, of a recursive series of laments about the apparent incapacity of these technologies to represent or manifest fully- the word, presence, personality, meaning, intention and beyond,” (Striphas, 2009, pg. 26). As popularity of the Internet increases it is becoming impossible to ignore the influences to our leisurely activities, education and jobs.

Carr supports Striphas’s argument by noting how new technologies have consistently changed societies lifestyles and social standards. Beginning with cavemen, distractions were embraced as a way to keep oneself safe. Concentrating on one activity for too long could cause an individual to be unaware of dangers around them and hurt survival rates. As society evolved there were many changes to everyday life. Early inventions such as the map and the clock helped organize daily life. The map developed a more abstract way of thinking. Rather than thinking in a very linear fashion, people were encouraged to think in a more connected network, similar to hypertext online. The clock broke up time into measurable units that encouraged people to think more scientifically.

Lately, two major changes to the mind were caused by the development of the book and the Internet. The book changed our mind by helping individuals concentrate on a specific idea and promoted deep thinking, analysis and critic. On the other hand, the Internet allows us to gather a large amount of information very quickly, but leaving us retaining a smaller fraction of long-term knowledge.