Tools of Our Everyday Lives

As I began reading “The Shallows”, chapter 3 was a chapter that made many points that really stuck out to me. Nicholas Carr details the technological innovations that have changed our society. Carr constantly stresses “time used, time spent, time wasted, time lost, it became both ‘prod and key to personal achievement and productivity” (43). He continues on to talk about the mechanical clock and how this small invention has changed the way we see ourselves and think. It had me thinking about how the clock has really changed our society and the way we run our lives. Without the concept of time, we would have no way of knowing when to attend events, when to go do daily errands (such as the doctors or dentist) and so much more. Literally everything in our life revolves around time. Every single day, you use the clock as a way to set a time for something you need to do, no matter what it is that needs to get done. There are obviously benefits to having clocks especially with standardization throughout the world but could you truly imagine a day, week, month, year without knowing what time it is? This chapter also goes on to discuss exactly why we seek advancements in technology. Obviously we seek advancements because we are constantly wanting to increase our abilities and capabilities in the world by creating faster, better, smarter, and stronger technology.

 Carr in this chapter brings up the point that these inventors and the people who use these inventions don’t usually see the “broader implications” as he puts it, of using these created objects. Instead, the users and inventors are far too busy being concerned with the benefits that they are receiving and gaining from using the tool handed to them. For example, if an inventor invented the computer and did not make any money off of it, then what good is it to them to invent the object? If the user using the computer cannot understand how to use it or does not enjoy it, then what is the purpose of the user using the computer? This chapter focused mainly on historical information and Carr presenting evidence to the reader in order to further his argument about the internet as this novel goes on.

Kaleigh Sullivan