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Nicholas Carr on Wired Life and Your Brain

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Our wired lives, and whether they’re actually sapping our brains.

People use mobile devices while waiting in line to purchase the iPad outside the Apple store on Fifth Avenue in New York, April 3, 2010. (AP)
People use mobile devices while waiting in line to purchase the iPad outside the Apple store on Fifth Avenue in New York, April 3, 2010. (AP)

A big unveiling at Apple yesterday as Steve Jobs rolled out the latest version of the iPhone – iPhone 4. Lots of new features. Two cameras. Video chat capacity.

But don’t expect Nicholas Carr to get all excited.

Two years ago, Carr famously asked “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” Now he’s making the argument that the whole wired world – with its choppy, jumpy bits of information and distraction – is rewiring us, our brains, and not in a good way.

This Hour, On Point: Nicholas Carr on technology stranding us in "the shallows," and the pushback that says “no way.”Guests:

Nicholas Carr, author of "The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains." You can read an excerpt here.  He also wrote the widely read 2008 Atlantic article "Is Google Making Us Stupid?"

Nick Bilton, lead technology writer for the New York Times “Bits” blog and adjunct professor at New York University’s Interactive Telecommunications Program. His new book, "I Live in the Future: & Here’s How it Works" will be released this fall.

This program aired on June 8, 2010.

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