A Close Reading of Nicholas Carr Essays

A Close Reading of Nicholas Carr Essays A Close Reading of Nicholas Carr Paper A Close Reading of Nicholas Carr Paper The essay, although Informed Is an opinion piece. It has been written expressly for the reason to take the knowledge available and apply it to Cares ideas, to reinforce his points as he tries to persuade the reader to re-think their understanding of the internet and its uses. There are many sources available to use for this topic and Carr takes advantage of this, however there is not much in the way of hard evidence, most of the evidence he uses Is anecdotal that he can align with his own. Ear actually uses predominantly online resources; he often quotes online floggers and friends hat he describes as literary types. He uses this form of evidence to prove points on how the way peoples attitudes are changing, such as this quote by Scott Kara, a flogger, l was a lit major In college, and used to be a voracious book reader after Kara confessed to have stopped reading books, Carr has tactfully used this quote to justify the point and can follow it up and build on it. It Is remarkable that Cars key study he uses Is also an online source, continuing his reliance on the Internet even as he scrutinizes it. After conceding that anecdotes are to a sufficient form of evidence, in a seeming effort to legitimate his essay he refers to an online study conducted by the university College London. The conclusion of the study that had confirmed that research habits were changing fits well with Cars overall point. However you must make note of Cares choice to omit of any other form of study, he only references the one online, which leads to the conclusion that this exclusion is actually a comment on how everyone has become overly reliant on the Internet that It has even led to the desertion of printed studies, this subtle point actually ties in well with the previous quote of Scott Kara successfully tying together various parts of his text. The first reading of the piece gave a sense of ease as Cars style, flow and finesse gently prod the reader to at least consider the argument he Is making objectively. Carr wants to make the essay as palatable as possible, by publishing it on the Internet as an article in an online magazine he is actively obeying the ideas that peoples reading and thinking Is changing, so he writes for the audience, however this Is also providing his own evidence to his point. SE of Internet Jargon, the term flogger for example will make the reader feel relaxed as this type of language will be recognized by any internet user and they wont feel overwhelmed. By using familiar words Carr Is assuming Tanat people will De addle to comprehend Ana retain Nils message and that is one of his big concerns. Carr sites the study by the University college London that people have become power browsers who look for quick wins, so by using language and that amplifies retention he tries to discourage that style of reading, this is another subtle layer to his argument which he is repeatedly making while taking full advantage of multiple assets that this style of writing offers. Page 2 Understanding that critics of the reading would be quick to dismiss it as techno phobic, Carr identifies the possibility that he could in fact Just be over thinking the issue. He looks back in history and discusses historical figures that also had a disapproval of change. Socrates disapproved of writing development because it could cause people to become complacent with knowledge and Sacrificing worried about the easy availability of books, as he thought it would lead to laziness. Carr points out that often these fears came true however that the worried parties frequently did not foresee that the benefits would out way the issues. This is an unusual point for Carr to make, but very interesting because it invites us, as he puts it to be skeptical of his Skepticism. He is inviting the readers to look closer at what he is saying, he is trying to motivate them to take note of the writing and think about it, he is cleverly prompting independent thought as well as trying to dodge being called a Ululated as he predicts. The crux of Cars argument is not about how the Internet is changing Just the technological and practical side of reading, but how these fundament al changes have a radiating effect through the mind and emotions of people. This is brought out in essence with the shift in tone and content towards the last section of the essay, now his writing is directed with a more rhetorical intention as he discusses the mind, he draws a clear contrast between reading a book, as a collection of printed pages to inspire analysis, to that of an internet article, an abstract bundle of knowledge we arrives less response out of on a deep intellectual or emotional level. Nicholas Cars essay, touches on many points within a broad field, he takes his ideas and coordinates them, paying close attention to peers and the past. His writing style is effectively used to add additional layers of meaning to the skin-deep layer that anybody can read, and he is fully aware of his works context and predicts reactions to assert himself though his writing. If Google is making us dumber it will not be for writers like Nicholas Carr not trying to prevent it.