How Reading Rewires Your Brain for More Intelligence and Empathy.

[elleng]

'Fitness headlines promise staggering physical results: a firmer butt, ripped abs, bulging biceps. Nutritional breakthroughs are similar clickbait, with attention-grabbing, if often inauthentic—what, really, is a “superfood?”—means of achieving better health. Strangely, one topic usually escaping discussion has been shown, time and again, to make us healthier, smarter, and more empathic animals: reading.

Reading, of course, requires patience, diligence, and determination. Scanning headlines and retweeting quips is not going to make much cognitive difference. If anything, such sweet nothings are dangerous, the literary equivalent of sugar addiction. Information gathering in under 140 characters is lazy. The benefits of contemplation through narrative offer another story.

The benefits are plenty, which is especially important in a distracted, smartphone age in which one-quarter of American children don’t learn to read. This not only endangers them socially and intellectually, but cognitively handicaps them for life. One 2009 study of 72 children ages eight to ten discovered that reading creates new white matter in the brain, which improves system-wide communication.

White matter carries information between regions of grey matter, where any information is processed. Not only does reading increase white matter, it helps information be processed more efficiently.'>>>

http://bigthink.com/21st-century-spirituality/reading-rewires-your-brain-for-more-intelligence-and-empathy?

[eppur_se_muova]

1. Reading is a profoundly unnatural act, and requires extensive training and practice to do well.

Whatever the effort, the rewards are literally beyond the imagination of those who haven't achieved true reading competence. Just being able to read a menu or newspaper headline or (especially) a tweet is not enough; it's not even much of a start. Reading is a habit that needs to be maintained throughout life at a vigorous level. It amazes me how some people -- SCPOTUS included -- can abjure such a fundamental aspect of civilized life.

[elleng]

2. and my profoundly unnatural grandkids,

2 and 4 years old, just spent a lot of time 'reading,' on my visit to them! The 3 year old, who I'll visit next week, does the same, give them books and they're ALL IN!

[dweller]

3. it's pretty simple really

reading encompasses the whole brain ... and this is just my opinion

but if you are for example watching a movie, a story being projected upon your vision and you are listening to the dialogue etc... you can follow and enjoy...

but if you are reading the original story as written, with the usual visual clues described ( along with what you hear, smell, taste, feel, etc) and every detail an accomplished author has to offer, you are engaging a more creative aspect of your brain... I believe you are engaged in active creation of the story, and are stimulating your brain cells in ways that are more beneficial to your well being


says the guy that has too many books, and can't get enough time to read 'em
😁

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

4. A corollary.

More than 40 years ago I was going through one of my episodes of not having a TV. But I read. A lot. Mostly books, but some magazines. At the time I may have had a subscription to Time Magazine. Anyway, a co-worker was genuinely concerned that I might not know what was going on in the world. We lived in the Washington DC area, which helps account for his concern.

Anyway, every single time he quizzed me on current events I knew what was going on. To his amazement. Because he could not fathom a person who could possibly know what's going on in the world without TV. And this was back when there were only 3 networks.

I am now in the fourth and probably final time in my life without TV. I say final because I cannot begin to imagine having conventional TV ever again. There's the internet. There are books and magazines.

And so far as ordinary TV shows go, I get to watch most of them via the internet. Heck, there is so much good stuff out there that there's no way a person can watch all of it. And that's without having a debate on standards of "good stuff out there".

My kids are long since grown up, but I do wish parents of kids today would put a lot more thought into giving their kids a phone of any kind.

[BigBearJohn]

5. Thanks sooooo much for this.