Their insights are extraordinary, their behaviors unusual. Their brains--shaped by the era of microprocessors, access to limitless information, ... read full description
reviews
Oct 08, 2011
Christine
rated it: 
Don't bother with this book unless:
1. you are a Baby Boomer who is feeling overwhelmed with the web, and would like to commiserate with one of your own.
2. If you are internet addicted and in turn socially inept (there are a few pages of self-help advice).
Interspersed in all of this split personality pages are a few references to fMRI studies of which areas of the brain light up when we are completing internet tasks. You won't be able to pinpoint the studies, though, bec More...
1. you are a Baby Boomer who is feeling overwhelmed with the web, and would like to commiserate with one of your own.
2. If you are internet addicted and in turn socially inept (there are a few pages of self-help advice).
Interspersed in all of this split personality pages are a few references to fMRI studies of which areas of the brain light up when we are completing internet tasks. You won't be able to pinpoint the studies, though, bec More...
Dec 19, 2008
Weavre
rated it:
It does have some interesting insights in the first few chapters. The author, Gary Small, was clearly introduced to computers as an adult, and speaks about their usage with the accent of an immigrant to the digital world (to borrow one of his own descriptions). Often, his description of some aspect of online culture seems just a bit "off"--he's writing about something he's observed and studied, not something in which he's a full and comfortable participant. That occasional bit of jarr
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Sep 04, 2011
Celeste
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I thought this was a unique look at how the human brain processes things differently - even using different areas of the brain - as a result of technology in our lives. Most of it is really interesting in a discovery-channel kind of way, but the last two chapters are so elementary that they come across as a bit condescending. (Then again the last two chapters are designed to help digital addicts and digital retards, so if you are neither of those things you can skip them.) And unfortunately the
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Sep 15, 2009
Marissa
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This would be a useful book for seniors who are just learning how to use the internet--people the author refers to as "digital immigrants." This book contains lots of basic practical info about how to format email, use search engines effectively, etc.
The author seems to approach his topic from an "us versus them" standpoint, contrasting digital immigrants like himself with the younger crowd ("digital natives"). He suggests that people who make use of th More...
The author seems to approach his topic from an "us versus them" standpoint, contrasting digital immigrants like himself with the younger crowd ("digital natives"). He suggests that people who make use of th More...
Sep 23, 2009
Trish
rated it: 
Gary Small writes for the Wall Street Journal and Scientific American...among others...powerful teaching illustration for us all on pg. 94
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Jan 31, 2009
Eric
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The concept of this book is good, I was looking forward to reading a book discussing the development of the human brain when exposed to modern devices and stimuli. It started strong, but soon became repetitive and toward the end became pretty much a manual for the "digital immigrants" to gain a general understanding of what the "digital natives" do daily. Beyond the early parts of the book, the brain development aspects were all but thrown aside. I would recommend the firs
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Oct 08, 2011
Biogeek
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Another recent Kinokuniya find! Should be great to stimulate debate. The book has has two extremes ...the extremely interesting parts like the introduction of the newly-coined phrase continuous partial attention and how the middle-aged brain approaches problem solving compared to the teenager. Some good fMRI studies cited as well. But then there are the extremely bad parts ...long passages of generalizations about digital natives (does anyone else hate that term as much as I do?) and digital imm
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Jun 26, 2009
Elaine
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The first part of this one, which described the neurological ramifications of early and prolonged exposure to technology and the lifestyle it encourages, was interesting and excellent. I was disappointed, then, to feel the book fragmenting as it moved forward until, by the end, it was slapdash and unpolished. Chapters on handling your email and coding your text messages seemed to me grossly out of place in a book that started out with serious scientific and cultural pretentions.
Mar 08, 2010
Carlos
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A readable book on how technology being so entrenched in our current way of life is actively affecting our brains and therefore our generations in terms of social skills and human interaction. At first, I thought this book's prose was cheesy and not well written but I later realized this made it much more accessible to people. The bibliography is filled with great studies that support the seemingly general statements made in the book.
Jan 21, 2009
Stefanie
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This book just didn't know what it wanted to be. It couldn't make up its mind whether it was a review of literature and case studies about how technology affects our brains or a self-help book for tech challenged Baby Boomers. In the end it got rather repetitive and then just plain boring.
Dec 28, 2008
Joe
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This was an okay book. I was hoping for a bit more about techniques to use to help my brain deal with the huge level of static generate by today's electronic devices. What I found instead was quite a bit of material covering the symptoms of brain overload and little practical material.
Aug 11, 2010
Rae
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Similar to The Shallows, this book discusses the potential problems that arise because of our fast-paced, information-filled, and technological environment. Unlike The Shallows, however, this author actually proposes some solutions and helpful practices.
Apr 03, 2009
Dolly
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This is an interesting book that discusses technology's impact on our brain. I liked the discussions of the pros and cons of technology's impact on our brain and behavior, and I really liked the areas where he discusses the rapid evolutionary changes that are taking place because of the exponentially faster and better technological improvements.
I didn't like the psychobabble that seemed to dominate the second half of the book. I understand that part of the book's purpose was to p More...
I didn't like the psychobabble that seemed to dominate the second half of the book. I understand that part of the book's purpose was to p More...
May 14, 2009
Preston
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Takes a look at the impact of technology on our neural pathways and what this means in terms of interpersonal relations. Thought-provoking, at a minimum. Also very scary!
Mar 14, 2011
Klaas
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OK for all the information that the author managed to get into the book, however bad job on the referencing to academic articles, and too much brain surgery terminology in the book.
Jan 11, 2010
A
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Insight on effects of technology on modern brain and social living...final section more appropriate for those new to modern technology.
Jan 20, 2010
2mpgal
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I read portions of this book when writing my Master's thesis.
Thought provoking and controversial at the same time!
Thought provoking and controversial at the same time!
Jun 02, 2011
Courtney
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If this book were a brief article, with proper citations, I could have found it more useful. It was not at all what I was expecting, which was less whining about how "digital natives" (I am really coming to hate that term) think differently than older generations, and more on the science.
I only read to the end of the fourth chapter. After so many references to the quiz to see if you are, in fact, addicted to the internet, and seeing a plethora of non-captioned drawings that More...
I only read to the end of the fourth chapter. After so many references to the quiz to see if you are, in fact, addicted to the internet, and seeing a plethora of non-captioned drawings that More...
May 08, 2010
Elroy
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Good overview book on cognition and brain structure. But a rather thin superficial discussion overall.
Feb 15, 2011
Kirstie
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I wasn't very impressed, and I fully disagree with many of the author's claims. One of the main points that the author makes over and over again is that technology is hampering people's social skills, especially those of younger generations. I think this is a bias of perception. Younger people may have different social conventions or skills that older people don't recognize or prefer, but that doesn't mean they are less socially mature.
Mar 15, 2011
Josh
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Although it has bright moments (e.g., the study the author facilitated where they used FMRI's to test whether or not people's brains are affected by 5 hours on Google), I certainly would not recommend this book to anyone who already knows a thing or two about technology.
Oct 08, 2011
Michael
rated it:
very interesting book
it describes 2 generations, one as being "Digital Natives" and the other being "Digitial Immigrants".
I'm sure you can guess which is which ;)
it describes 2 generations, one as being "Digital Natives" and the other being "Digitial Immigrants".
I'm sure you can guess which is which ;)
Nov 11, 2008
Kind of repetitive and shallow, but there are a few insights in here about how an over-teched brain like my own behaves.
Feb 03, 2012
