I'm seriously impressed with the number of questions and responses
that are already on the blog, and with the thought you have put into
them. Thank you!! Here is the link to our next reading, "The Neuroscience of Your Brain on Fiction".
Also, I've provided all the links to this unit of readings on the side
bar to the right, just in case you're ambitious and want to read ahead
:)
Just as a side note, as I was driving home today, I
caught a radio broadcast on NPR with storyteller Bill Harley. He
provides some interesting insights on how stories affect the way we
think and why we need stories to help us make sense of the world around
us. It really seems to go hand-in-hand with the article we're reading
for next week. If you get a chance, visit the website listen to some of
it. Here is the link: Radiowest Bill Harley interview.
It seems to me like what this article is saying, part of it anyways, is that reading fiction is like a training ground for our mind. That it gets us ready for real life situations and how to deal with them as they arise. It's interesting how they describe in the article how people who read more fiction are more able to empathize with others. I'm not sure how I feel about that.
ReplyDeleteJeremy Brown
What I got was a lot of factual data concerning our brain. We indeed have capacity beyond what scientists understand. Our minds work differently towards fictional stuff. Many of us respond according to our moods, how we develop our brains, even how engaged we are in the activities etc...
ReplyDeleteNelson M
What are some of the interesting facts you read about the function of our brain?
ReplyDeleteNelson M
The part that I thought was interesting was the part where they studied the parts of the brain that dealt with motion and smells and how when people read in description what was going on, like the smell of roses, that part of the brain then went active. I had never thought about that but not that I think back I can remember reading stuff like that and have that smell in my nose like I was smelling one right then.
DeleteJacob Grant
I found it interesting that our minds react to certain metaphors. I never would have thought that descriptive words would have such an affect on my sensory cortex.
DeleteIn the article it explained the positives about reading fiction books and the actual effects it has on the brain. At the very end it also said that movies can have the same stimulation and the same effects that reading a fiction novel. Do you think that they extent of the stimulation are the same? Can get all of the things we can from reading by simply watching a move with a group of people to develop the same social skills,Theory of Mind, and the ability to interact?
ReplyDeleteThat is cool to think of all the effects of not just reading, but all the other things we do
DeleteCraig Nielsen
Does everyone prefer to read fiction over non-fiction? I personally have no interest in reading biographies or any other non-fiction.
ReplyDeleteJoanna M.
Both for me. But if I want to just get away and not have to think to hard I will read fiction. Sometimes its fun to follow a character on a journey.
DeleteJeremy B.
i like both honestly. they each have things that seem to draw me into their genre.
ReplyDeleteWhat is it that draws you into a fiction book more so than a non-fiction? or vis-versa?
ReplyDeleteFiction kind of draws me out of this world, it gives me something different to think about, for at least the period of time which I am reading the book. The world we live in has so many problems and I like to have a little break from it.
DeleteJoanna M.
I agree with Joanna. Reading fiction makes me get thought provoked. I like that when I'm reading fiction, I get pulled into the same emotion the speaker is feeling.
DeleteNataly S.
I'm kind of a control freak and if I can't control a situation in my life I like to read books where there is a problem and it is solved. Books actually give us solutions to our own problems so I like to read for benefits of that matter. I liked in the article how it talked about the benefits of reading socially, I agree that visualizing the interactions between characters in books encourages me to act/behave similarly.
ReplyDeleteAlyssa H
I never would of thought of it like that. I've never went to a novel to look for answers to my life's' problems but i can definitely see how that might work out.
DeleteI would prefer fiction over non-fiction any day. The stories and challenges are more creative in a fictional book. The authors do a better job at pulling you in and keeping you in their control.
ReplyDeleteFiction doesn't maintain my interest like non-fiction dose. I've tried reading fiction many times but nine times out of ten I don't get into it at all. I'm more into the realistic type of novels and have a stronger tendency to want to read non-fiction then fiction.
ReplyDeleteKatherine Blas
I would agree that non-fiction is a better way to go. There are no bounds or restrictions that the author has to follow. Its just what ever they can imagine and I feel like there are much more interesting things to find in a non-fiction book.
DeleteI think that non-fiction novels are great reading for the mind. It allows one's creative imagination to run free and think of things that are probably not plausible like in a fiction-based mentality.
ReplyDeleteJ. Cooper
Reading non-fiction novels are like excersise to your brain. It lights up other parts of your brain other than the laguage regions of the brain. Knowing that this is like practice for the brain and can help you in the real world makes me want to read more.
ReplyDeleteJason O.
I really like to read non-fiction as long as the author keeps you interested. Learning about the lives of import figures in the world is just interesting to me.
ReplyDeleteJacob P.
This was a very interesting read. I like how Paul talked about the areas of the brain. I really related when he said that the more we read and learn the more it changes the way we look at things
ReplyDeleteDavid B.