The Shallows
Introduction + Context
Plot Summary
Detailed Summary & Analysis
Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10
Themes
All Themes The History of Technology Distraction and Focus Efficiency, Speed, and Relevance Value, Depth, and Intelligence Scientific Context
Quotes
Characters
All Characters Marshall McLuhan Eric Kandel Plato Alan Turing Fredrick Winslow Taylor Larry Page Joseph Weizenbaum
Terms
All Terms Neuroplasticity The Enlightenment Intellectual Technology Working Memory Transcendentalism
Symbols
All Symbols The Story of Thoth
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The Shallows

by

Nicholas Carr

The Shallows Symbols

The Story of Thoth

The Egyptian god Thoth is credited in the ancient pantheon with inventing the intellectual technology of writing. In the story told by Socrates in Plato’s dialogue The Phaedrus, Thoth brought the invention of writing…

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