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  • The Shallows

  • How the Internet Is Changing the Way We Think, Read and Remember
  • By: Nicholas Carr
  • Narrated by: Paul Michael Garcia
  • Length: 10 hrs and 6 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (89 ratings)
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The Shallows cover art

The Shallows

By: Nicholas Carr
Narrated by: Paul Michael Garcia
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Summary

The best-selling author of The Big Switch returns with an explosive look at technology’s effect on the mind.

“Is Google making us stupid?” When Nicholas Carr posed that question in an Atlantic Monthly cover story, he tapped into a well of anxiety about how the Internet is changing us. He also crystallized one of the most important debates of our time: as we enjoy the Internet’s bounties, are we sacrificing our ability to read and think deeply? Now, Carr expands his argument into the most compelling exploration yet published of the Internet’s intellectual and cultural consequences.

Weaving insights from philosophy, neuroscience, and history into a rich narrative, The Shallows explains how the Internet is rerouting our neural pathways, replacing the subtle mind of the book reader with the distracted mind of the screen watcher. 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.

©2010 Nicholas Carr (P)2011 Audible Ltd

What listeners say about The Shallows

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Shallow

A dreadful book, shallow and self opinionated to the point of being time wasting.
Carr starts with a weak premise and then trudges through any selective evidence he can find to support a feeble thesis.
You get the impression he simply wanted to write a book, any book regardless of the fact that it wasted his time and any one else that reads it.
He doesn't even consider the pros and cons of his own argument in a rigorous way. He simply pads out the pages. Give up trying to be a writer and get a job doing magazine articles.
It doesn't deserve 1/5

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A bit dated, but worth listening to

The book feels a bit dated now - I haven't heard anyone talk about Palm Pilots and MySpace for about 10 years! It also tends to go into too much detail about concepts that we now take for granted. However it does still contain some good information about the psychological effects of computers and the internet, and it's definitely still worth a listen.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Would recommend

The narration was quite slow. I had to increase the speed to keep interest.

Enjoyed the content, especially building up the history of language.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

90% of this book is not about the title

The crux of the book could have easily been a blog post. Most of the book is history. That can be interesting but that’s not what I’m here for. I kept hoping.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Still relevant!

Such a brilliant work with lots of interesting historical knowledge regarding og the changes in our world and minds... it is frighteningly strong confirmation why we are in this madness 9 years later after the book was written. Still very VERY relevant! Would love to listen more, especially after the revelation of the dark works of companies like Cambridge Analytica.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Outdated and not relevant. Go elsewhere.

This was a tough listen. Published in 2010, it's now outdated with respect to the internet we know it today.

Not really about what the internet is doing to our brains. It's quite rambly and at times boring to read/ listen. More about technology and AI, which at times was eye opening and some interesting parts about brain physiology but doesn't really refer to the internet until chapter 15.

There's better books elsewhere that go into more detail and more up to date. Leave this on the shelf and go look those up instead.

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