http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/print/200807/google

Does the way that the Internet delivers information to us destroy our attention spans?

This is typical of the "Myth of the Eternal Return" where the past is held up with Utopian hindsight, and contrasted against the present. As other respondents quipped, exactly when did we have expanded attention spans. I will say this, as noted in the article, with the ready accessibility of relevant information, I am less tolerant of frequency-to-noise ratios. The author whines about the decreased inclination to read books - whatever. But if I am searching for or interested in information - and a source is not presenting it - NEXT. There is much greater competition between sources of information - if the presentation is poor - if it is packaged in color commentary and fluff - then the searcher may be apt to move on. If I am searching for information on, for example, hip surgery, I will hone in on the source that provides me descriptive information, diagnosis, treatment, and recovery information. A long fluff blog about how some dog owner replaced Killers hips will get skipped for the piece the Vet Academy at the university. Discernment between poor authors and effective writers doesnt mean reading less. And as for reading books, could it be that most people read less as they grow old - and other things creep into their lives like kids, mortgages, and reading all day long behind the desk jockey? Could it be that the author looks for a scapegoat for midlife whining? Just a thought. As for me, I keep getting recommendations of books and reports to read from other people's blogs and websites, and cant seem to find enough time to read - always carrying one of those antique books around with me. Right now I am reading The Telephone: The First Hundred Years. Marvelous book. :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:- My email service is very unstable at the moment (I suspect someone may have spoofed my email address in spam). If I dont respond to you, please try again or call me. Thanks and sorry. =~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~= Cybertelecom :: Federal Internet Law & Policy www.cybertelecom.org =~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~= bobArlington :: blogging from Arlington barlington.blogspot.com =~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=