Nicholas Carr has an  interesting article on The Atlantic.com site called “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” Carr laments that he is no longer able to read a lengthy book without getting a serious case of the fidgets.  Aside from other mediating factors, like age, how busy life is, and if the book is any good, a neglected question might address the quality of life (intellectual and otherwise) that comes of having a broader reach. Carr recalls the historical worriers and worries (writing, printing press, etc.) and notes McLuhan remarks on media shaping the process of thought. Nostalgia aside, however, we don’t exist independently of media; our interaction with all these information flows impacts the technology and the content as well.   Carr quotes Taylor’s 1911 treatise “The Principles of Scientific Management.”  Taylor’s quest was to create perfect efficiency and is quoted as declaring, “In the past the man has been first, in the future the system must be … [Read more...]