Comments on: Is the Internet Destroying our Minds?

By: McGehee

McGehee — Tue, 29 Nov 2005 02:57:22 +0000

From the Kevin Drum excerpt:

After a few paragraphs, or maybe a page or two, I'll run into a sentence that suddenly reminds me of something â and then spend the next minute staring into space thinking of something entirely unrelated to the book at hand.

I have that happen too, but I learned 30 years ago not to pick up books by boring writers.

By: Just Me

Just Me — Tue, 29 Nov 2005 00:48:55 +0000

The majority of my news reading is done online. I only read my local paper for the local stuff, or things that look interesting.

I still read quite a bit offline, not as much before kids, but a love reading.

By: John Burgess

John Burgess — Mon, 28 Nov 2005 23:52:50 +0000

I read three to five books a week, in addition to a huge number of online writing. Often, I'll take up a recommendation of a book on a topic I'm interested in--pro or con, doesn't matter. While I'm probably not "representative," whatever that means, I also doubt that I'm unique.

By: Scott in CA

Scott in CA — Mon, 28 Nov 2005 23:41:38 +0000

I am guilty of reading a few lines and then drifting into thoughts about something different. I do this at bed, every night, while reading a real, paper book. The internet has nothing to do with it.

By: jane

jane — Mon, 28 Nov 2005 22:56:19 +0000

So the medium is the message? Wow!

Yes different mediums encourage different styles of expression and attention. But blogs encourage more activity than TV.

What I'm reading from these people you're quoting is the lack of responsibility that marks our culture. You need to manage your time and engage in a variety of activities. Instead we are driven to confuse urgency with importance and to think it's an accomplishment that we're always busy.

So our leaders have no time to think things through because that would show they're not important. And we celebrate this.

Addictions are something we should be able to confront, moderation is a virtue. In regards to processing information we've known this since the newspaper which focuses on the sensational and transient.

By: caltechgirl

caltechgirl — Mon, 28 Nov 2005 22:16:20 +0000

interestingly, I still prefer paper in many cases. Especially journal articles. I just CANNOT read those on the screen. I must have a highlighter in my hand and the article on paper.

By: Ed

Ed — Mon, 28 Nov 2005 21:24:51 +0000

I find myself reading more than ever since I began blogging, for the simple reason that the best bloggers seem so well-informed I figure THEY have to be reading a lot, too. I'm trying to keep up.

My attention span depends more on the book and the author than on bad habits picked up while reading blogs.