Thursday, March 22, 2012


Your Brain on Fiction


According to this NY Times article, new research shows that the human brain makes little distinction between reading something and actually experiencing it.  The more sensory details, the more this is the case: 
"Reading produces a vivid simulation of reality, one that 'runs on minds of readers just as computer simulations run on computers.' Fiction — with its redolent details, imaginative metaphors and attentive descriptions of people and their actions — offers an especially rich replica. Indeed, in one respect novels go beyond simulating reality to give readers an experience unavailable off the page: the opportunity to enter fully into other people’s thoughts and feelings" 
                          Amazing!!

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/18/opinion/sunday/the-neuroscience-of-your-brain-on-fiction.html
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1 comment:

  1. 13piApril 3, 2012 at 8:26 AM

    Looking at this, it makes me think of how people who've read a book and watched a movie version of the same book generally say that the book's better. Mabye it's because when your brain 'expierences' the things by reading it, you develop a version of the story and characters that are personalized to yourself, rather than the one size fits all image projected to you by a movie or TV shows.

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