The latest attack on the Internet and on computers in general is Nicholas Carrˈs writing,“The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains.”
Carr and other digital alarmists make a case that seems reasonable, at least on the surface. They argue that Internet communication tools trap us in a shallow culture of constant interruption as we crazily tweet, text and email. This in turn leaves us little time for deep reading, reflection and serious conversation—activities traditionally thought to build knowledge and wisdom.
The alarmists use the concept of“neural plasticity(神经可塑性)”and talk of technology “reshaping” the brain to convince us that the new distractions make us not just less willing but less able, on a physiological level, to focus.
Whenever you hear that something is changing your brain, you ought to be worried—or at least the person telling you wants you to be worried. But does a cultural change like this necessarily lead to a fundamental change to the brain?
The appeals to neural plasticity, backed by studies showing that new changes can reorganize the brain, are largely irrelevant. The basic plan of the brainˈs “shaping” is genetically determined long before a child discovers Facebook and Twitter. There is simply no experimental evidence to show that living with digital culture fundamentally changes brain organization in a way that affects oneˈs ability to focus. Of course, the brain changes any time we form a memory or learn a new skill, but new skills build on our existing capacities without fundamentally changing them. We will no more lose our ability to pay attention than we will lose our ability to listen, see or speak.
The idea that the Internet might make us shallower has some instant appeal, because it is easy to see how the cognitive performance of people around us drops when they are distracted. But the notion that prolonged focus and deep reading mark the best path to wisdom and insight is just an assumption, one that may be an accidental consequence of the printing press existing before the computer. To book authors like us it seems a weird notion, but it is possible that spending 10 or more hours engaged in a single text might not be the most favorable way for building brainpower.
So donˈt be afraid of the digital era. Google is not making us stupid, PowerPoint is not destroying literature, and the Internet is not really changing our brains.
Title: Donˈt__ (1) __ the digital era！ |
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Digital alarmistsˈ __ (2) __ against the digital culture. |
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Viewpoints |
Proofs |
●Because of technology, we are__ (3) __ in a shallow culture with a lack of knowledge and wisdom. |
●We are constantly __ (4) __ by Internet communication tools, which results in less deep reading, reflection and serious conversation. |
●Our brain is reshaped into __ (5) __ and inability to focus by technology. |
●The concept of “neural plasticity” shows that brain can be reorganized by new __ (6) __. |
Authorˈs point of view |
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●Digital culture does not __ (7) __ a fundamental change to the brain. |
●The brainˈs “shaping”is determined by __ (8) __ long before a child discovers the internet. |
●__ (9) __ the influence of new technology on the brain, no experimental evidence shows they will affect oneˈs ability to focus. |
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●The Internet does not make us shallower. |
●It is just an assumption that wisdom and insight best arise from deep reading and focus. |
●The assumption is just a result of the fact that books __ (10) __ existed earlier than computers. |
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