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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Nicholas Carr, the author of the book “The Shallows,” does an excellent job of explaining why his points are relevant. The reason that this is important is because if you don’t answer the question “Who cares?” then your readers may lose interest. Carr does a good job of circulating this around his idea that ‘an uncritical use of our new technologies could produce dire consequences.’ For example, Carr states that “Once information is digitized, the boundaries between media dissolve” (89). With saying that, he implies that this is a potential reason as to why someone would care about the difference between the internet and other media types. Carr also says, “When the Net absorbs a medium, it re-creates that medium in its own image” (90). He is explaining how when you put a certain type of information into the internet, it can be ‘tampered’ in any direction the net may choose. It shows why someone might care.
ReplyDeleteJake: Your in-text citation is good, your examples are fine, but your introductory verbs are boring. Review pages 44-45 in Using Sources Effectively, revise the paragraph accordingly, and resubmit the paragraph here on the blog. Coach Kirk
DeleteNOTE: English 1003 scholars: Heed the advice I've given Jake (above). Go and do likewise. T. Kirk
DeleteNicholas Carr describes the consequences of getting attached to technology when he says, "The price we pay to assume technology's power is alienation" (211). We might think that technology is the greatest thing ever invented but Carr tries to open our eyes to the reality. It is human nature to be around people, not to be lonely and by ourselves. Carr also answers the "so what" question when he describes the change of human intelligence that is caused by technology by stating, "As we come to rely on computers to mediate our understanding of the world, it it our own intelligence that flattens into artificial intelligence" (224). Because of technology, we are no longer thinking for ourselves, we are relying on technology to produce a grasp of the world for us. In both of Carr's examples, he personalizes the consequences of technology which, according to They Say I Say, will "urge the audience to keep reading, pay attention, and care" (100).
ReplyDeleteNicolas Carr makes himself a successful writer by explaining why what he is saying is relevant to us. For example in his book “The Shallows” he explains, “as we “externalize” problem solving and other cognitive chores to our computers, we reduce our brains ability “to build stable knowledge structures”-schemas, in other words- that can later “be applied in new situations’” (216). He explains to us the consequences of relying on our computers and gives us reasoning why we should change. In chapter eight he focuses on how the internet effects our memory. Carr says, ”The Net quickly came to be seen as a replacement for, rather than just a supplement to, personal memory” (180). In both of these examples he backs up his statements letting the reader know why they should be interested in his research.
ReplyDeleteNicholas Carr, throughout his novel “The Shallows”, never lets his audience spot a disconnection between his views and the reality about technology. Carr does this by supporting his arguments with enough relevant evidences to eliminate any doubts about why the information is important. In chapter eight of “The Shallows”, he uses his “rhetorical strategy” by; first, explaining how the technology has made our lives so busy and hectic and then answers the “So what” question of why it is necessary for us to step away from the technological cesspool. He writes that with these distractions and pretended “multi-tasking” abilities “we’re in a perpetual locomotion” (168). Carr states his answer to the “So what” by expressing that there seemed to be a certain amount of time “required for a primary, or short-term, memory to be transformed into a secondary, or long-term, one” (183).
ReplyDeleteIn Nicholas Carr’s book, “The Shallows”, he is constantly answering the questions, “so what?” and “who cares?” throughout his essays. One way Carr does this is by quoting other scholars and authors who he has put in his essays. He also does this by stating something and showing us how it is relatable. He says, “Dozen of studies by psychologists, neurobiologists, educators, and Web designers point to the same conclusion: when we go online, we enter an environment that promotes cursory reading hurried and distracted thinking, and superficial learning.” (116). Carr is recognizing others who have an impact on our society to explain that others agree with what he is saying and that it is not just coming out of nowhere. Carr also says, “The Net engages all of our senses-except, so far, those of smell and taste- and it engages them simultaneously.” (117). Carr is describing here how the Internet is becoming so big that it uses all of our senses, except for smell and touch.
ReplyDeleteWithin the book "The Shallows" Nicholas Carr is able to move his audience so effectively because of his ability to implement the idea that Graff and Birkenstein called "Who Cares?" When answering the question "who cares?" you are giving motivation and meaning to your ideas. Carr is continuously implementing this idea throughout his book. Carrs idea to his book is that technology is affecting the way we learn, communicate, and grow; although this isn't for the better. "The shift from paper to screen doesn’t just change the way we navigate a piece of writing. It also influences the degree of attention we devote to it and the depth of our immersion in it." (90) With this statement, Carr clearly points out the reason we should be attentive to his argument. Throughout the book he continues to make bold statements proving the risk at stake, which should also alarm and awake us from this deep slumber within the distraction of technology.
ReplyDeleteNicholas Carr does a great job in his book "The Shallows" of proving to the reader's why his argument matters. Without grabbing the readers attention, you will lose interest in your writing. Nicholas Carr does a good job from his wording by trying to prove to us that the internet is deteriorating our brains and frying the ability to focus. He states that "When our brain is over taxed, we find “distractions more distracting...There are many possible sources of cognitive overload, but two of the most important…are “extraneous problem-solving” and “divided attention.” (125). His arguments are clear and provides an easy comprehension for the reader. Nicholas Carr's book excelled because of his tremendous writing skills as well as his great mindset and ideas.
ReplyDeleteIn “The Shallows”, by Nicholas Carr, Carr implements strategies that highlight why things are important and why they matter to us as humans. He answers the question: “So what?” and it allows us to see a new side of an otherwise meaningless counterview. Carr quotes,” “The Net’s interactivity gives us powerful new tools for finding information, expressing ourselves, and conversing with others. It also turns us into lab rats constantly pressing levers to get tiny pellets of social or intellectual nourishment.” Carr not only presents the positive side of the internet but he also reveals the negative side, and in doing that is showing us why it even matters. “The internet, as its proponents rightly remind us, makes for variety and convenience; it does not force anything upon you. Only it turns out it doesn’t feel like that at all. We don’t feel as if we had freely chosen our online practices. We feel instead that they are habits we have helplessly picked up or that history has enforced, that we are not distributing our attention as we intend or even like to”, quotes Carr. He continues to give us new perspective on topics that used to be one sided or topics that we never really thought much about. He shows his reader why it matters to them specifically.
ReplyDeleteThroughout “The Shallows”, Carr makes his case of why the Internet is bad for us. Carr continuously pointed out different things that related to what he was trying to get across. He states, “When the Net absorbs a medium, it re-creates that medium in its own image” (90). When Carr said this statement he was talking about the fact that we get so absorbed in the internet that we don’t see our own image. Another point he makes is, “The price we pay to assume technology’s power is alienation” (211). This is probably one of the most important quotes because to Carr this is one of the biggest reasons the internet is bad. We take to the internet over people and that is causing us to have major consequences in our lives. As you can see both of these examples show Carr’s point of why the internet is bad and has major consequences.
ReplyDeleteThe writer Nicholas Carr constantly answers “So what?” to the dire consequences that technologies produce in The Shallows. Uncritical use of technology, as Carr puts it, means “the Net has cut into the profitability of many news, information, and entertainment businesses, particularly those that have traditionally sold physical products” (92). Companies across the world have been forced to close their doors to the growing power that is “the Net” because they can no longer use physical copies to keep up profits against a medium that consumes everything. This is apparent when Carr adds, “Today’s library is very different. Internet access is rapidly becoming its most popular service” (97). A place of “bookish tranquility,” an “oasis” for reading, is being taken by technology, and as Carr fears the “printed word has been pushed to the margins” so have businesses that sell these “printed word[s]”.
ReplyDeleteIn the in depth research paper of Nicholas Carr's "The Shallows" Carr states and makes multiple claims that the internet and the development of technology has effected human thought process and how the brain operates in a society fueled with technology. In "The Shallows" Carr also points out the positive side to the use of technology and how its development and progression has formed the basis of modern society. Making these various points Carr draws the reader to the importance behind the negative effects of technology and how the brain needs time to actually process what it has taken in. The time for the brain to disconnect is crucial to its development and could possibly be stunted if not handled properly. Carr gives us various positions on how technology effects human activity from different scholars giving their perspectives in relation to his. This helps us as people better understand the seriousness because other people have done the research and it shows in the data so the negative effects are there weather we see them or not. The importance of this is shown and directed to all of society but the underlying importance is intended to be noticed by the reader as an individual.
ReplyDeleteThroughout "The Shallows" , Nicholas Carr never leaves the audience say "who cares?". He describes how technology maybe great and all but he never lets us lose sight of the bad things we receive from technology. Carr grabs the readers attention by using other people's views to back up his own, he quotes "Dozen of studies by psychologists, neurobiologists, educators, and Web designers point to the same conclusion: when we go online, we enter an environment that promotes cursory reading hurried and distracted thinking, and superficial learning.” (116). By doing so he proves that other people agree with his views, and that what he is saying is not irrelevant. He says something he believes is right backs it up with a quote and then continues, he has clear arguments and statements. Carr states, "Because our ability to maintain our attention also depends on our working memory - "we have to remember what it is we are to concentrate on," as Torkel Klingberg says- a high cognitive load amplifies the distractedness we experience. All around Carr is a great writer , never leaving the reader saying "so what?" Or "who cares?" .
ReplyDeleteIn the novel "The Shallows", Nicholas Carr makes sure to prove to the reader that what he's arguing is relevant in his value. He never fails to back up his argument with professional evidence, and then takes it further by showing why it matters to the reader. For example, in chapter 7 he discusses how we are steadily using technology more and more often, and how distracting the Internet can be. However, he then takes one more step by warning the reader of the potential consequences. "Our use of the Internet involves many paradoxes, but the one that promises to have the greatest long-term influence over how we think is this one: the net seizes our attention only to scatter it" (118). Carr shows that there are dangers to our use of the Internet, such as losing our ability to focus. Another example of Carr answering the question "so what?" is found in chapter ten. Carr talks about how when you do something over and over, it eventually becomes muscle memory to you. However, it can also dull your other abilities. This may seem obvious, but Carr gives examples and shows how it actually affects people, examples that the reader may not have thought of on their own. Carr explains that "Today, with kids using keyboards and keypads from a very young age and schools discontinuing penmanship lessons, there is mounting evidence that the ability to write in cursive script is disappearing all together from our culture. It's becoming a lost art." (209-210). He actually answer both "who cares?" and "so what?" in this passage. This matters to everyone who took penmanship in school and knows the benefits of the skill. This really opens those people's eyes to the fact that technology is changing everything, and not necessarily for the better.
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