Good morning, Mq.
I think all here, and especially you, would enjoy Nicholas Carr's book, The Shallows.
In a nutshell, it deals with the way our brains react to the written word and how we learn from different modes of reading.
In the past, text was written continously, without breaks. We would find this mode of reading tedious today as it would smack of stream of consciousness expression. However, it required the reader to concentrate in a way which we rarely do today. As periods and paragraphs were invented and continous text disappeared, the difficulty our ancestors faced when reading became less because the concentration and focus required to read continous text were no longer necessary. Of course, attentions and concentration were required, but not to the same extent.
Online reading has created its own set of problems, primarily related to the distractions the online experience provides.
Tests show that subjects who read the same piece online do not do as well in remembering it or understanding its point when compared to subjects who read the same piece on a book.
Carr makes a very convincing case for the proposition that our brains undergo physiological changes depending on whether we are reading text from a book or online. Deep learning is best done via physical books. Online learning if full of distractions making deep learning difficult. In addition, the things we learn online seem not become embedded particularly well in our long term memory [I thought I had a middle-aged brain.]
It is not surprising that our brain changes shape depending on what our favorite mode of reading might be. This is 'neuroplasticity', a concept I believe will enter the vocabulary of the chattering classes very soon.
Very much worth reading...as a book:
amazon.com |
