The Control Revolution explains how the need for control in industrial societies led to the development of the information society. It discusses the progression from the early 19th century to the mid-20th century, focusing on how technological and economic changes influenced information processing and social control.
The Four-Dimensional Human delves into the impact of digital technologies on human consciousness, exploring themes such as time, space, isolation, and the blurring of public and private lives. Laurence Scott examines how these changes influence our thoughts, emotions, and social behaviors in a networked world. The book blends philosophical insights with cultural references to provide a nuanced view of life in the digital age.
In 'Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man', Marshall McLuhan explores how different media forms influence human society and perception. He introduces the concept that 'the medium is the message', suggesting that the characteristics of the medium, rather than its content, are what truly impact society. McLuhan categorizes media into 'hot' and 'cool' types, based on the degree of audience participation required. He also discusses how media extend human senses and alter human consciousness, leading to significant social and psychic consequences. The book is a comprehensive analysis of various media, including print, radio, television, and more, and their effects on human interaction and culture[1][3][4].
In this ground-breaking book, Katy Milkman reveals a proven path to help readers move from where they are to where they want to be. Drawing on her original research and the work of her world-renowned scientific collaborators, Milkman shares strategic methods for identifying and overcoming common barriers to change, such as impulsivity, procrastination, and forgetfulness. The book offers innovative approaches like 'temptation bundling,' using timely reminders, and creating 'set-it-and-forget-it systems' to make change more achievable. It emphasizes the importance of tailoring solutions to specific roadblocks and using science to stack the deck in favor of successful change.
In 1964, the Canadian philosopher Marshall McLuhan wrote his opus Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man. In it, he writes, “In the long run, a medium's content matters less than the medium itself in influencing how we think and act." Or, put more simply: "Media work their magic, or their mischief, on the nervous system itself."
This idea — that the media technologies we rely on reshape us on a fundamental, cognitive level — sits at the center of Nicholas Carr's 2010 book The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains. A world defined by oral traditions is more social, unstructured, and multi-sensory; a world defined by the written written word is more individualistic, disciplined, and hyper-visual. A world defined by texting, scrolling and social feedback is addicted to stimulus, constantly forming and affirming expressions of identity, accustomed to waves of information.
Back in 2010, Carr argued that the internet was changing how we thought, and not necessarily for the better. “"My brain, I realized, wasn't just drifting,” he wrote. “It was hungry. It was demanding to be fed the same way the net fed it — and the more it was fed, the hungrier it became.” His book was a finalist for the Pulitzer that year, but dismissed by many, including me. Ten years on, I regret that dismissal. Reading it now, it is outrageously prescient, offering a framework and language for ideas and experiences I’ve been struggling to define for a decade.
Carr saw where we were going, and now I wanted to ask him where we are. In this conversation, Carr and I discuss how speaking, reading, and now the Internet have each changed our brains in different ways, why "paying attention" doesn't come naturally to us, why we’re still reading Marshall McLuhan, how human memory actually works, why having your phone in sight makes you less creative, what separates "deep reading” from simply reading, why deep reading is getting harder, why building connections is more important than absorbing information, the benefits to collapsing the world into a connected digital community, and much more.
The point of this conversation is not that the internet is bad, nor that it is good. It’s that it is changing us, just as every medium before it has. We need to see those changes clearly in order to take control of them ourselves.
Book recommendations:
The Control Revolution by James R. Beniger
The Four-Dimensional Human by Laurence Scott
A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
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The Gray Area with Sean Illing 
