The internet is a weird and wonderful tool. Between Wikipedia, YouTube, digital versions of newspapers and social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, it's becoming harder and harder to switch off or tune out the constant stream of traffic from the information superhighway. While immediate access to scores of up-to-date information is extremely valuable, we've all spent an hour, an evening, or a day on the internet and realized that we'd done nothing of use or note in that space of time. Indeed, browsing the web without any specific goal in mind can feel a lot like watching daytime TV or reruns of your favorite show: it's something to do but it's not exactly nutrition for the brain, is it?
Have you ever wondered about the long term affects of all this mental junk food? Epipheo, a project that aims to "extract life-changing epiphanies from some of the world's top thought-leaders" and make them accessible to everyone interviewed Nicholas Carr, the author of, "The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains," and created a video based on his thoughts. It's worth a watch if you spend any considerable amount of time gazing intently at your smartphone, tablet, or computer screen.
