Going to the Googles

Nice job. I am encouraged to see you and these ideas invited to appear on mainstream TV. I am curious about how it came about. Was it the Atlantic piece, The Big Switch, both or something else that prompted the producers to make this happen? In any case, glad to see it.

Holy crap that was funny. You took his 'abuse' well.

Nick - I know any publicity is good publicity but why would one put themselves through that. He managed to take an insightful, articulate and reasoned thesis and turn it into...... a bite sized laugh fest.

As you say - a perfect example of what we're turning into.

Bring back high-brow I say!

Nice Job! Stephen is hard to take the spotlight away from, and hard to compete with when it comes to wit and quickness. I had a good laugh, he had a good laugh too! I'm pretty sure everyone was laughing with you that was in the IT industry.

Haven't picked up your book, but based on the interview I'd add it to my list of future books to read.

You have to reckon he is amazing at illustrating his speaker's point: “I'm colour-blind” with Cornell, trusthiness with any scientist, and him texting with you. . .

He's not as deep as your essays? Good thing, because he actually encourages people to buy your book, instead of make them believe they got your point.

At home with a superficial relationship with information !

SCORE ONE !

Benkepes: Nah. Mr. Carr scarcely needs others to defend him about that but... no, he didn't get skewered and his thesis didn't get trashed.

You should hear Mr. Colbert talk (out of character) about the character he plays on that show. A constant refrain is "My character is an idiot." He also advises guests that not only is his character an idiot but, when that character says something stoopid -- that's a prompt to just disabuse the idiot of his misunderstandings.

It's a beautiful character in this way:

For an audience only casually watching and hoping largely for laughs (but maybe a little learning) the "idiot adversary" comes out one of two ways.

For some, it's an "easy, pleasurable interview" -- a shared joke and a chance to explain oneself to a self-styled exaggeration of the least common denominator in a friendly, light-hearted way. I sense that's where Mr. Carr came out.

For others, it's a difficult interview because even an idiot can poke non-trivial holes in your theory.

-t

I also struggle with that desire to open a new tab, search, end up out on the end of a branch, feel the right click - define while reading a book.

But then, while doing the morning rounds (econ bailout + world effects, new research on methane release in the artic, attorney firing investigation, somalian pirates dying, etc,etc,etc) I was struck by this - it's an extraordinary time and we now have the means to learn about it. How much more extraordinary is it because of this new technology and our behavior, and in what way can we even know? Is it?

Right now, it's refreshing not to be bombarded with celebrity scandals for sure. We've got problems and I sense that a lot of us are tense and ready and the various apocalyptic crowds are willing too.

Not long ago we were called apathetic. Now we're engaged, but superficially and with short attention spans. Is this just a frenzied beginning? Look back on us from the future (pick a #/year) - what do you see and feel and think?

I get your point - before you said it, I watched it in myself, tried to make rules, then broke them over and over.
Who am I trying to govern here? Why and what's being governed? Cause the flip side was trudging home from the library with a load of books in my backpack. I prefer and seek out the the same kind of stuff to read online (writers, content and length). Yeah, most are shorter than books. Just wish my damn printer worked or that I had a laptop or one of those readers because I feel trapped here at this desk and don't like it.

I haven't read your book, so maybe or probably this isn't fair to say, but, I just think and feel that it's more complicated Mr. Carr.

?

I want to read your book after this interview, because I think you are wrong. This intrigues me.

For those struggling with the desire to "open a new tab, search, end up out on the end of a branch, feel the right click" etc whilst reading a book - I could resist but to put up this video to show you how that's possible.

The future of books is ....er ... books ... just probably more interactive than they are today.

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