In The Shallows, Carr consistently explains why it matters. That is one of the many reasons why he’s a good writer. Find two or three examples where Carr answers the question: “So what?” In a topic-driven paragraph, explain how Carr uses this rhetorical strategy to make his case that an uncritical use of our new technologies will produce dire consequences.
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Peter Cote
ReplyDeleteProfessor Kirk
English 1003
29 Oct. 2015
Why It Matters: Nicholas Carr
In Nicholas Carr’s “The Shallows,” Carr uses rhetorical strategies to prove his case about technology producing consequences by admitting that he is giving into technology and it’s consequences as long with everyone else while also backing it up with other experts research. Carr proclaims that all people are losing their ability to focus because of technologies enticing ability to distract. Carr provides proof by saying that “Other intellectual technologies change language more directly, and more deeply, by actually altering the way we speak and listen or read and write” (50). He explains that not only do other people feel the effects of technology, but he does as well. He claims that technology is altering the way people’s brains are developing. Carr also states the opinions of other authors who are “experts” on the subject of neuroplasticity bringing validity to his opinions. The rhetorical approaches that Nicholas Carr makes in his book that the use of new technologies produce terrible consequences are shown by his association with other authors and by accepting that he is also a technology user too.
Anna Newton
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English 1003
29 October 2015
Why It Matters?: The Shallows
In Nicholas Carr’s “The Shallows,” he answers the question, “So what?” about his claims of technology overpowering us, and consequently changing the way our lives work. Carr argues that the internet is weakening our ability to focus. He states, “Google is, quite literally, in the business of distraction.” (157). Using social media as an example as well, our society is struggling with the need to be connected. Also Carr proclaims that technology today is making us think less, therefore causing us to be lazy. Having search engines, and the internet at our fingertips, any question can be answered with in seconds without even thinking. Another point Carr crosses is that, “Every tool imposes limitations even as it opens possibilities. The more we use it, the more we mold ourselves to its form and function.” (209). In our increasingly technological advancing world, there are many consequences that are being faced by todays’ society, and Carr explains why this matters.
Devante Wrenn
ReplyDeleteProfessor Kirk
English 1003
28 October 2015
In the shallows Carr says how he gives into technology and the consequences that come with it. He says “the trend since then has been to make pages ever more dynamic, updating them regularly and often automatically with new content (157)”. I believe that Carr is trying to say that we as the trend build up on technology in some places as a good thing. We at a type used technology to help with our needs. It was more information than it is today. The content was new and updated. Carr also says that the Google CEO said “the company gives the world information and it is very accessible and useful (152)”. This shows how Google itself backs up what they are used for and Carr goes on to agree with this because some people do this. He says “the new utopia of cognitive efficiency it aims to construct on the internet”. This is a way of saying that the internet is more than a playing thing it is a well constructed source.
Gabrielle Tallman
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ENG 1003
28 October 2015
Carr- Why it matters
The popular author, Nicholas Carr, may be so famous because of his rhetorical statements that answer the question of, "So what?" to his readers. Throughout the book, he emphasizes that the use of our new technologies may have more consequences than we can read off the screen. To back this statement up, he says that, "It's [technology] becoming our typewriter and our printing press, our map and our clock, our calculator and our telephone, our post office and our library, our radio and our TV." (83) Our little devices surround us and we can carry every piece of information that we need on our phones. Instead of taking time to read printed works, people are now reading on computers, disrupting our concentration. Carr is convinced that it is much more convenient to read books and magazines that you can flip the pages of rather than off your phone's screen. He says, "And you can write notes in a book's margins or highlight passages that move or inspire you." (100) He believes that ink is easier to read than pixels and doesn't cause fatigue. These are just a few of the many examples in his book, "The Shallows" of why technology may be a little too powerful and in harmful ways.
Carter Groomes
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English 1003
29 October 2015
Why It Matters?
In the book, The Shallows, Nicolas Carr presents a writing strategy to show to the readers the importance of lessening the use of technology. This allows him to relate two examples to us, when in the end he brings the reader back to the point that “an uncritical use of our new technologies will produce dire consequences”. Carr proclaims in chapter three “Every technology an expression of human will. Through our tools, we seek to expand our power and control over our circumstances” (44). Everyday humans interact with devices technological and not, but one common theme is they let those devices control their life. Carr provides a different side of the story: “There’s nothing wrong with browsing and scanning, even power browsing and power scanning” (138). Carr uses this “So What?” technique to show the reader the good within the bad, and how technology can be good up to a certain point.
Hunter Hebert
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English 1003
29 October 2015
Why it Matters?
Throughout Nicholas Carr’s The Shallows, he makes many arguments and answers to the question “So what?” when it comes to the rapid increase in technology and the usage of the Net and ultimately how it is affecting not only our minds, but our entire existence. Carr first argues how the extreme use of technology has completely stunted our mind’s ability to deeply process information, referring to Google as “…quite literally, in the business of distraction.” (157). It has created an abundance of distractions that prohibit our brain from focusing on one thing at a time. He also discusses how our brains have become so adapt to the fast-paced life style of today’s society that we have lost our ability to form memories. We have become so used to quickly obtaining information and storing it for temporary use that “Our brains turn into simple signal-processing units, quickly shepherding information into consciousness and then back out again.” (119). Carr provides many examples of expert opinions that report not only statistical and experimental evidence to these claims, but personal accounts of experts and even Carr himself on how technology has not only affected the lives of those using the Net, but the brain itself.
Logan Radwanski
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English 1003
29 October 2015
-Why It Matters-
Nicholas Carr goes in depth in his book “The Shallows” how the Internet and technology has/is affecting our brains and the way we think today. He uses the rhetorical strategy of the question “So what?” to help get his point across on how our usage of technology has caused changes to our minds and brains function which aren’t good ones. For then he explores & questions how does the Internet and new technologies affect us bringing up many questions about it and how this came to be. Also getting in depth with what happens inside our brains. This short statement “it allows us to know less” is talking about how the influence of technology and our usage of it has caused us to be able to obtain more information at once but we truly don’t retain that information for long. Due to how our long and short-term memories have been “rewired” because technology usage & influence. Then expanding upon the matters more with “to call things to mind not ‘from within themselves, but by the means of external marks.’” Expressing the concern the dependence we have on technology today to remember things for us or doing things for us once you use to be able to recall so easily but now it’s a struggle or takes longer to recall how to do it. He uses examples from his own life like how he used one computer when they first came out but then bought more and better ones as time went on and technology evolved. His dependence grew on them for holding and obtaining information & communication with other people. Because Carr provides examples from his own experiences with technology to how it’s affecting him and scientific explanations of how our circuits and wiring of our brains are changing. He explains well enough to the reader to get his point across and really inform the reader upon is concern. Which is a true concern has technology does help us it is also causing some changes within us that we haven’t noticed before.
Breanna Roper
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English 1003
29 October 2015
Why it Matters
In Nicholas Carr's "The Shallows" Carr consistently describes to his audience throughout the book why "it" matters. "It", to Carr, in my perception would be described as the decline of intelligence, concentration, and connection abilities due to abuse of technology. Carr describes, "The development of knowledge became an increasingly private act, with each reader creating, in his own mind, a personal synthesis of the ideas and information passed down through the writings of other thinkers" (67). This supports his claim that reading not only encourages creativity, but also motivates thinking and comprehension. As we use increasing amounts of technology, we become accustomed to not thinking, just living vicariously through a cellphone, for most. "If you don't use it, you lose it" is one of the sayings that you know but never seem to apply it, but in this situation, it applies greatly. We, as humans, are natural born thinkers, but if we cease to think deeply on new ideas, closely read, or explore new concepts, we lose our ability to do so. "Socrates was right. As people grew accustomed to writing down their thoughts and reading the thoughts others had written down, they became less dependent on the contents of their own memory",(177) Carr describes. In an earlier time, Socrates had predicted that people will no longer use their own mind to elaborate with. In that time, the worrying was over writing, and now, it has become over technology.Only now, there is a difference. No creativity or originality is involved with using a device, unlike writing, which Socrates did not seem to feel. Our society has evolved into a mindless-seeming group of people who are sacrificing their lives so that they may have social media, the internet, and their devices, but they fail to realize just what they are giving up.
Kaylee Young
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English 1003
29 October 2015
Why it Matters?
In the shallows, Carr uses numerous rhetorical strategies to support his argument that uncritical uses of new technology will produce dire consequences. Carr begins his argument by explaining his own personal attachment to technology. He says, “The Net has become my all-purpose medium (6).” The internet has consumed his life, just like his argument claims, its consumed society’s lives. Technological advances have not only consumed us but have taken away our valuable ability to read—deep read. Carr says, “The deep reading that used to come naturally has become a struggle (6).” We used to could read books and really focus on the information that was given. Due to technology, however, now our minds drift, our minds have conformed to the internet—to advances. Carr agrees that new advances have major benefits but he sees the consequences that it initially produces. He says, “The boons are real. But they come at a price (6).” Technology is a boon, a benefit, a successful appliance to everyday life. However, people have given up old habits, such as reading and socializing, just to obtain the newest inventions out. Though there are so many great benefits, does that outweigh what we have lost? Carr argues throughout his entire book by using his own personal experience while incorporating professionals and outsiders points of view.
Aidan Bish
ReplyDeleteProfessor Kirk
SWU English 1003
29 October 2015
So What, Carr?
Carr cites many studies and researchers throughout his text, but it is his explanation of the facts as a part of a bigger picture that makes his text so powerful. The facts alone are only a mass of numbers, but when strung together they paint a vivid picture of the past, present, and possible future. Carr’s chapters each detail a certain element of his argument, and in each he provides evidence and a conclusion in which he summarizes the evidence as a part of the bigger picture: he tells us “so what”. For example, Chapter Four discusses the way that neural pathways change in the brain as a result of our thought patterns. Carr explains that books changed the way that the world thought, and created deeper intellectual minds capable of long, slow thought. His conclusion details how different the internet’s thought patterns are, and finishes the chapter by saying “the pathways in our brains are once again being rerouted”. The numbers alone do not matter, and the statements about the internet are not persuasive by themselves. However, through the skillful connection of the two, Carr provides stunning, persuasive evidence.
Austin Bennett
ReplyDeleteProfessor Kirk
English 1003
29 October 2015
Why Does it Matter?
In Nicholas Carr's The Shallows, Carr constantly talks about why his points matter. He uses multiple rhetorical strategies to help his case that not being careful about how we use modern technology can lead to bad things for society as a whole. Carr states, "When a ditch-digger trades his shovel for a backhoe, his arm muscles weaken even as his efficiency increases."(213). Regardless of the newly found efficiency of search engines and the internet, our ability to research thoroughly is weakening. Yes, literacy has not been affected greatly, but are we truly understanding what we are reading? Finding individual quotes and snippets in a fraction of a book is definitely easier, but the meaning can sometimes be lost.