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“The way we see the social and political environment, the way we create a picture of reality through the welter of messages furnished by our ever more encompassing media, is and always will be refracted by scanty attention, by the poverty of language, by distraction, by unconscious constellations of feeling, by wear and tear, violence, monotony. These limitations upon our access to that environment combine
with the obscurity and complexity of the facts themselves to thwart clearness and justice of perception, to substitute misleading fictions for workable ideas, and to deprive us of adequate checks upon those who consciously strive to mislead” (151).

“Social media is a neurosis machine” (163).

“We’re not just actors playing roles anymore. We’ve been required to take on the jobs of producer and impresario, hawker and emcee, for a show that never stops. Even when we’re not posting, we’re scouting locations and looking for material” (167).

“The material world, with its spatiotemporal boundaries and its many frictions, tames the seeking impulse. Once we grow accustomed to a particular place, to a set of physical surroundings and a group of people, the novelty wears off. Environmental stimulation subsides, the mind calms, and our thoughts come under our control. We gain focus. We begin to explore narrowly rather than widely, deeply rather than superficially. Our seeking instinct tells us that the familiar is without interest, but once the instinct is subdued, we begin to discover the rewards of looking long and hard at the world we know. The possibilities of art, science, and philosophy open up. The story of civilization is, among other stories, a story of the taming of the seeking instinct” (217).

Nicholas Carr, Superbloom (2025)