“The way we read changes the way we think. The way we think changes the way we read.”–KSB
The Medium
The medium we use and the technology we rely on becomes a part of who we are. You’ve heard of the bookworm, the computer nerd, or the video gamer. I remember my dad telling my mom we didn’t need a dishwasher because we already had two of them. That would have been my sister and I. Now we don’t know what to do if the dishwashing machine breaks. Oh yea,…there was a day when we did those dishes by hand.
Technology Changes Us
The technology we use changes the way we think about our own abilities. If we read on the web, we are distracted by hyperlinks, ads, and notifications. We begin to read in shorter spurts. Reading full length books requires a quiet, less distracting environments. Now we have a television or computer screen in every room in our house and a phone chiming in in our pocket.
Distracted Reading
Reading longer works requires a calm, focused, undistracted linear mind. But the way we read on the web is faster bursts, distracting hyperlinks, often disjointed and overlapping bursts. The way we take in information changes not only the information we attain but our expectations of stimulation itself.
Use it or Lose it
Practicing undistracted reading may save the ability to do read and retain information. As you use certain technology, your brain adapts to what is expected of it. The brain remaps its resources to the areas used most. Being intentional of what you want your brain to excel at and making time to practice it, keeps those neurons firing. Without use, your brain will reallocate those regions to be used elsewhere.
The Challenge
Finding a place to be calm and undistracted is a challenge. I am sitting in a public library. I remember libraries being a quiet, undistracted place for study and reflection. Today, it’s loud, kids are screaming, people are talking on their cellphones, and books are being slammed on the rickety carts as they are wheeled down the aisles.
I was super excited when I thought of sitting in the library to write. I imagined peace and quiet monitored by librarians with soft hushes. I thought getting away from televisions blasting away in every room of the house and from the distractions of barking dogs and chatting kids would mean more productivity. I chose the librarian over a wi-fi cafe expected at the most a soft backdrop of whispers.
The Resistance
Unfortunately not only is our online experience over stimulated with noise and distractions but I am afraid our entire culture has forgotten how to hush themselves. What is this noise, noise, noise, noise doing to the shape of our brains. As one resisting the remapping of my brain to these short bursts of stimuli, I fear I may be losing my mind.
The Takeaway – Practice
Reading takes practice. The more you read the more your brain maps areas of your brain to read and comprehend and remember what you read. If you want to read longer works, find quiet place where your can read without distractions. Then practice the endangered art of reading before your brain changes your mind.
#readabook #thewaywethink #thewayweread #technologybecomesus