Browsing and the brain

摘要

Whenever a new technology reaches a tipping point of popularity, ques-tions soon follow about its effects on society. The rise of the Internet has pro-voked two books probing its impact on the human brain. The fact that the authors reach opposite conclusions, despite relying on the same scientific evidence, underscores how lit-tle research has been done on this topic. Nicholas Carr s The Shallows laments the possibility that long-term Internet exposure will sap us of our capacity for contemplation. At the base of his argument is the fact that the human brain is remarkably plastic. Carr makes this point compellingly using a mix-ture of historical anecdotes and interviews with experts in the neuroplasticity field, such as Michael Merzenich and Eric Kandel.