Cindy, "I do believe that our general ability to sit for long periods, focused on a single subject is being diminished somehow."
I wouldn't find that to be true. I think if there's a person willing to sit for long periods of time on a subject, it's usually because they obsess about something or they're doing research for a project. The smart ones will not only go to the Internet for the information but also to the school library. To blame a human's inadequacies on a certain technology I think is more short-sighted than anything else. We are the ones who can best adapt - let's do so. "Also, to say that an essay that requires access to a thesaurus or dictionary is a less effective way to communicate truly scares me. In fact, one could say that your opinion reflects the kind of thing these authors are talking about." Just because writing is placed in a lower grade level of writing, doesn't mean there is less deep thinking. I can recall many times especially reading Bucky Fuller's Critical Path book that my brain has "checked out" because of a long-winded, exponentially-compounded idea. And it's not to say I'd be labeled dumb either. It's to say that there are different ways of communicating and certain methods come across quicker than others and this is all dependent on the person. The Internet is designed that way to make it more relatable and effectively repurposing content. Taking a look at the title: "Surviving the Technological Alteration of the Modern Mind" sounds really interesting - does it come in online format? =] BTW, there has already been a discussion about the Atlantic article and I've checked on it - thanks. Ben . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=36180 ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
