Inspired by Nicholas Carr's book "The Shallows," and more especially by the varied reactions to Nicholas Carr's ideas, I previously posted 3 articles on the subject of how electronic media are affecting our thinking and reading. I'm no expert on this subject, except that I read a lot both online and offline. The posts were a review of Carr, some thoughts on our shifting perception of knowledge and expertise, and some reflection on the concept of deep reading.
Since those posts, a gentleman named Danny Bloom has been pestering me to blog about him. I have a readership of about a dozen very smart and curious friends on a very good day, but for some reason Danny has been very insistent that I mention him. So here it is. Danny says he is a journalist in Taiwan and he has been contacting all sorts of people and urging them to write about the issue of reading on paper vs. reading on electronic screens (he coins the term "screening"). He feels that doing brain scans of people while they are reading will turn up important differences.
Danny has been pushing hard for me to write about this and sending me a lot of the variations of the same thing over and over again urging that screens are different from paper. Ok, I think it's true, and I prefer paper for various reasons for serious reading, but I'm not sure that this is all discernable readily at the neural level. I think much is cognitive and psychological. And it is hard to tell how much is habit and preference and how much is intrinsic difference in how we are forced to process different kinds of stimuli and use our attention differently. I expect it's a little of each.
I hope this satisfies my obligation to Danny to write about his concern. I consider this an interesting question but I'm not nearly as excited about it as Danny is, and my concerns are more general than just the nature of screens vs. paper. Especially since the resolution and shading of of screens has drastically improved and will continue to do so.
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Todd, I guess I deserve the tongue-lashing above, but what some people call pestering others call enthousisma. Still, it's your blog and I accept the way you have characterized my pestering. Makes me look like a rather vile person who just wants to get his name in the papers, or in this case, the blogosphere, and I often get this from people who don't know me and find my pestering an unhappy experience. I can only take responsibility for it and say yes, I pestered you, but it was not to get my name in your blog, it was to get these ideas out there, for better or worse. And you did it now amd I just want to say thanks. Let's see if anyone else out there wants to comment or blog and take things from here. Thank you, sir.
ReplyDeleteIf I was to rewrite your blog post in a more kind way, I would do something like this:
Danny Bloom and the perils of "screening"
Inspired by Nicholas Carr's book "The Shallows," and more especially by the varied reactions to Nicholas Carr's ideas, I previously posted 3 articles on the subject of how electronic media are affecting our thinking and reading. I'm no expert on this subject, except that I read a lot both online and offline. The posts were a review of Carr, some thoughts on our shifting perception of knowledge and expertise, and some reflection on the concept of deep reading.
Since those posts, a blogger named Danny Bloom wrote to me and asked if I could blog about his ideas on reading on paper vs reading on screens. He seemed very eager and excited about his hunches. Now, I have a readership of about a dozen very smart and curious friends on a very good day, and I don't know Mr Bloom at all, never met him before or heard of him. Still, he was very insistent that I mention his "ideas". So here it is. Danny, who is 61 and from Boston and is now a reporter and English teacher in Taiwan, been in Asia since 1991, graduated from Tufts in 1971, never had a real career anywhere as far as I can tell, has been contacting all sorts of people and urging them to write about the issue of reading on paper vs. reading on electronic screens (he coined the term "screening" to mean reading on a screen). He feels that doing brain scans of people while they are reading will turn up important differences between paper reading and screening. Just a hunch, he admits. And he admits he might be wrong, too.
Danny has been lobbying me -- some might call it pestering me a bit too often! -- to one day blog about this and sending me a lot of the variations of the same thing over and over again by email and FB notges saying that screens are different from paper. Okay, here's my POV, Danny: I think it's true, and I prefer paper for various reasons for serious reading, but I'm not sure that this is all discernable readily at the neural level. I think much is cognitive and psychological. And it is hard to tell how much is habit and preference and how much is intrinsic difference in how we are forced to process different kinds of stimuli and use our attention differently. I expect it's a little of each.
I consider this an interesting question but I'm not nearly as excited about it as Danny is, and my concerns are more general than just the nature of screens vs. paper. Especially since the resolution and shading of of screens has drastically improved and will continue to do so.
Dan,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the re-write and the additional information.
You're right, your re-write would have been a better article more in line with the way I would want to have responded if I hadn't felt pressured at the time.
You are a pest, from my perspective, but a relatively nice one and there are much worse things a person could be than a nice pest.
I regret any hurt feelings I caused by my annoyed tone.
Todd
Hi Todd,
ReplyDeleteNo hurt feelings here. Water under the bridge. It was all my fault for not being more clear in how I phrased my emails. I am more than grateful you took the time to blog this and let's see what the future brings. in terms of news...
and nice pest....i rather like that ! better
I think he's onto something. I much prefer to read on the screen - my thinking is much less scattered (less ADD). However, I hate Kindles because they lack a back light and their screens are too small - I like the interface of a netbook more also.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Carol!
ReplyDelete