[Web4lib] Re: "Is Google Making Us Stupid? What the Internet is doing to our brains"

[Kathryn Silberger]

      As I began reading this article, my initial reponse was that the
author needed to take up Yoga.

      It is an interesting question he asks, but he has some assumptions
about pre-Internet behavior that could use further reflection.  When
discussing  a study of "online research habits" by University College of
London, he mentions they found people were skimming as they researched.  It
seems to make the assumption that prior to the Internet, people read
articles and books from start to finish, slowing and carefully, taking in
every word.  I don't believe that.  Publishers wouldn't have been going to
the expense of creating detailed indexes if researchers were reading in
that manner.  Ever since long documents have been in existence, people have
been reading relevant portions.

      When I was in Junior High School  there was a special speed reading
class.  We attended before the beginning of the regular school day.  We
read books on weird machines that lowered a metal sheet over the page at a
given rate which we controlled.  We took comprehension tests on all we read
and then were assigned a score based on speed and comprehension.
Comprehension was key.  It was, in a sense, training in mental focus.  But
we were also taught skimming techniques, and when and how to use them.  The
course was viewed as scholarly preparation.  The message was that we would
do different types of reading.  Some reading would be the more
contemplative careful reading one does with fiction and philosophy.  But
other reading would involve picking out needed information from larger
documents.  While the NYT may have recently started publishing more
abstracts of articles, as long as I've been reading the WSJ there have been
two columns of just such abstracts on the front page.

      What percentage of the population read books in 1820, in 1860, in
1900, in 1920, or in 1950?  What percentage of the population is on the
Internet right now?  I doubt that the core reading population has changed
its mental habits as much as the author assumes.

      I also question some of the assumptions about what log analysis can
reveal about human behavior.  I do a fair amount of log analysis because it
does provide some interesting insights. But we need to be aware of its
limitations as well.   My personal observation is that most people will
print an article they choose to read closely.  Few people read extensive
text online.  I must confess that to read this article I printed it out.
Personally I doubt that log analysis can give us a very good idea of how
people ultimately interact with the written word.  Traditional book
publishing may be under seige but HP is doing just fine!

            Certainly the Internet will bring about massive social changes.
The author has asked a potentially interesting question, but I think he
needs explore the issue more carefully after a few years of Yoga.

Katy

Kathryn K. Silberger
Automation Resources Librarian
James A. Cannavino Library
Marist College
3399 North Road
Poughkeepsie, NY  12601
Kathryn.Silberger at marist.edu
(845) 575-3000 x.2419