"The Owl has Flown" summary.

In the essay, “The Owl has Flown”, Birkert explains how our society is loaded with vast amounts of information available to us and how it is causing people to no longer take the time to fully research and understand any single topic. Birkert refers to this phenomenon of only absorbing bits and pieces of information on multiple subjects as “horizontal thinking”. Due to the accessibility of information at our fingertips we no longer want to or need to take the time to memorize any one topic anymore causing this style of “vertical thinking” to slowly become only a part of history as we move forward into this ever growing electronic world. I have to say that I do see where Birkert is coming from. I too am guilty of skimming over information on a friend’s iPhone or using the internet to just get the abbreviated facts. Although, Birkert feels very strongly about the importance of allowing time for vertical thinking, I feel that there should be a balance between the two ways of thinking. Someone with all horizontal knowledge will only isolate themselves when others quickly realize the lack of depth in any area. A person with no substance appears to be fake or shallow in a conversation. On the other hand, only having vertical knowledge will segregate you also as your narrow focus greatly reduces the number of people you can converse with. This is why I believe finding a balance that works in your social network is important.