Google books let me download Carlyle.
I don't think anyone's brain remains the same after Carlyle. Talk about getting your brain in a twist...
But I do see what Mr. Carr is talking about in the article. I don't think it's so much that the info on Google (or your search engine of choice) is suspect (which, of course, it is) as it is that it's presented in small, easily digested chunks, which trains our brains to expect future info-chunks to be as equally small and easily digested. Long passages in research books require a longer focus than many of us have brought to bear in quite a while.
And now this post is too long and no one will read it. Alas...