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Smarter Than You Think
Smarter Than You Think: How Technology Is Changing Our Minds for the Better | Clive Thompson
19 posts | 15 read | 18 to read
It's undeniabletechnology is changing the way we think. But is it for the better? Amid a chorus of doomsayers, Clive Thompson delivers a resounding "yes." The Internet age has produced a radical new style of human intelligence, worthy of both celebration and analysis. We learn more and retain it longer, write and think with global audiences, and even gain an ESP-like awareness of the world around us. Modern technology is making us smarter, better connected, and often deeperboth as individuals and as a society. In Smarter Than You Think Thompson shows that every technological innovationfrom the written word to the printing press to the telegraphhas provoked the very same anxieties that plague us today. We panic that life will never be the same, that our attentions are eroding, that culture is being trivialized. But as in the past, we adaptlearning to use the new and retaining whats good of the old. Thompson introduces us to a cast of extraordinary characters who augment their minds in inventive ways. There's the seventy-six-year old millionaire who digitally records his every waking momentgiving him instant recall of the events and ideas of his life, even going back decades. There's a group of courageous Chinese students who mounted an online movement that shut down a $1.6 billion toxic copper plant. There are experts and there are amateurs, including a global set of gamers who took a puzzle that had baffled HIV scientists for a decadeand solved it collaboratively in only one month. Smarter Than You Think isn't just about pioneers. It's about everyday users of technology and how our digital toolsfrom Google to Twitter to Facebook and smartphonesare giving us new ways to learn, talk, and share our ideas. Thompson harnesses the latest discoveries in social science to explore how digital technology taps into our long-standing habits of mindpushing them in powerful new directions. Our thinking will continue to evolve as newer tools enter our lives. Smarter Than You Think embraces and extols this transformation, presenting an exciting vision of the present and the future.
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CuriousG
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I'm posting one book per day from the ever growing unread stacks in my personal library. No description or explanation, just books I own and plan to read. #tbr

Day 81 - missed a few days so posting multiples today

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks I keep forgetting and having to start over!! 🤪 3y
20 likes2 comments
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janeycanuck
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Pickpick

I should have picked this up when I bought it several years ago. Completely riveting!

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janeycanuck
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After several long, hot days of cleaning up the several long, hot days of the installation of our hardwood floors, which required several long hot days of prepping, it feels so good to sit out on the balcony with a book!

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CuriousG
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Yet another round of books going to school for my students...3 more bags of them! My husband says I may have a problem. I say my only problem is who is going to help me carry my books? 😂 Although I do find it interesting how many of the books I bought totally for personal interest apply to the course I'm teaching. Although my schedule this semester is hectic, I am enjoying this total crossover of interests #socialsciencejunkie #bookcarrierwanted

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arlenefinnigan
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Mdargusch Great book choice! 👏🏼 7y
emilyhaldi The rapid advancement of technology has me scared sometimes I have to admit 😬 perhaps I need to read this! 7y
Reviewsbylola This sounds fascinating! 7y
Cinfhen Yes, technology is great until it messes with your Litsy account 😩😩😅😂 7y
34 likes4 comments
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youngreadrshelf
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Pickpick

Even with so many people forecasting doom thanks to technology, Thompson is telling us all how it is really going to enhance our lives. While he is more of a cheerleader for all the new technology, it's good to see some of the naysayers balanced out.

50 likes1 stack add
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youngreadrshelf
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Another airport, another book. #travelreading

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heikemarie
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Is technology changing our minds #rightnow? I haven't read the book yet so I can't tell you 😂 but this is on my list for the Read Harder challenge this year! #Riotgrrrl Day 2 @Cinfhen (Google told me this is a HAIM song??? I swear I know almost all the songs on this challenge just not the first two - I am growing!)

Cinfhen Ha! I was thinking of Rihanna and you aren't the only one who thought/ goggled Haim! Here's the playlist- you don't need Spotify to listen
http://spoti.fi/2tWNd5e
7y
heikemarie @Cinfhen life changing!! Thank you! 7y
Cinfhen Thank @Robothugs she was gracious to put it on Spotify 💚 7y
Robothugs Only because Spotify discriminates against those who don't have certain social media accounts! 😜 @Cinfhen 7y
26 likes4 comments
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AKinderman
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Pickpick

I was looking for something challenging that would make me think and this was certainly it. What a smart and thought-provoking book!

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arlenefinnigan
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#ArtificialIntelligence ...... is making us all cleverer so stop bitching about the Internet. #AprilBookShowers @RealLifeReading

31 likes3 stack adds
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arlenefinnigan
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Mtroiano Interesting! I see so many books about how the internet is making us less intelligent, it's nice to see the other side! 8y
23 likes1 stack add1 comment
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arlenefinnigan
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Pickpick

Really interesting (and refreshingly optimistic) read. Points out that the changes in how we communicate and process information in the digital age are nothing new and people fretted over how the printed word might ruin our ability to learn by memory. Narration was a bit off putting though (oh,the accents). #ReadHarder @bookriot

23 likes1 stack add
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arlenefinnigan
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Really enjoying the book so far but OH MY GOD DON'T 'DO THE ACCENT' WHEN READING DIALOGUE FOR AN AUDIOBOOK, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU ARE QUOTING A KENYAN WOMAN AND YOU ARE A WHITE AMERICAN MAN.

rockpools Gaaaah! No. 8y
17 likes1 comment
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arlenefinnigan
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#ReadHarder challenge 4 : a nonfiction book about technology

26 likes5 stack adds
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WhatDeeReads
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Doing my best to tackle the least interesting #ReadHarder categories first. This one is #nonfictionabouttechnology. Y'all know how non-fiction wears on me and I've tried to read this one before. Gonna give it the good old college try.

8little_paws Oohh this has been on my radar for a while. 8y
WhatDeeReads @8little_paws You can have it when I'm done reading it. I doubt I'll be attached. 8y
21 likes2 comments
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LauraJ
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The furry bastards finally let me take a pic. (Treat bribes were involved.)

Look at this loot from @LectricSheep ! She managed to pick a combo of books I want to read + books that I didn't know existed and am now dying to read! She is an intuitively gifted book selector. Thank you!

And @BookishMarginalia , you're amazing! For those of us who spend the holidays alone, the #wintersolsticebookexchange brings more joy than you can imagine.

LectricSheep Hooray! I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoyed picking them out. 😀You're fun to shop for! 8y
BookishMarginalia My pleasure! And enjoy your bookish loot -- @LectricSheep has good taste! 8y
Cinfhen Nice loot💝awesome selections 🙌🏻🎁📚 8y
MaleficentBookDragon I bought the 52 Lists for my secret 🎅🏻 at work, thought it was cool, and night one for myself. 8y
66 likes4 comments
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HTA
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Pickpick

Rich of examples to explain how technology is changing the way we think for the better.

2 likes2 stack adds
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CaroPi
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Pickpick

I really enjoy this book it has a very interesting view in how technology help us to interact and allow us to do new things that in the past where unthinkable. The author also makes some critics but shows us that all depends in the use we do of these technologies. Is a nice reading to learn more about the advantage of technology in our lives.

4 likes1 stack add
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Brenley
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*HIGHLIGHTING* Can't stop. Won't stop.

MrBook You're like me 😂👍🏻. I highlight *every*thing! 8y
7 likes2 stack adds1 comment