Digital and Disembodied

Provocative questions in articles such as “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” (Nicholas Carr in the July/August 2008 issue of The Atlantic) and “Is Facebook Making Us Lonely?” (Stephen Marche in the May 2012 issue of The Atlantic) ask us to consider the potential hazards of a wholesale adoption of such technologies without attempting to understand their impact on our thinking, creativity and behaviour. The digitization of our culture and lives has inspired a number of important books, blogs and articles in the last few years, examining the effects of this transition on the self and society. For some, like Clay Shirky, author of Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age, the digital revolution as it is evolving represents an opportunity to harness the collaborative spirit of humans and put it to positive, productive use. For others, such as Jaron Lanier, in You Are Not a Gadget: A Manifesto, it...