The Web and Deep Thinking

Is Google making us stupid? That's the question that Nicholas Carr introduced with his Atlantic Magazine cover story in 2008.

In search of the answer, Carr looked into the science of how our brain processes information. He also looked into the history of how media has changed language and learning.

The result of his research, THE SHALLOWS: WHAT THE INTERNET IS DOING TO OUR BRAINS, makes the case that deep thinking may be on the way out as new media usage is going up.

LISTEN: NICHOLAS CARR - THE SHALLOWS

Pencils to Pixels: Language and the Digital Age

It is obvious that a universe of digital technology is changing the world.

A nearly bottomless amount of information available on the internet. Social networking in cyberspace and the digital soapbox of websites and blogs have opened up new options for human communication.

But are these new tools changing the way we think, talk and write? Is the internet having a negative affect on our brains?

Dennis Baron says no. Baron suggests, the negative ramifications of computers are no more harmful than the invention of the written world.

University of Illinois professor of English and Linguistics examines the impact of the digital revolution on reading, writing and communication in his book A BETTER PENCIL.

LISTEN: DENNIS BARON - A BETTER PENCIL