Proust and squid. Neurobiology of reading (Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain)
This book by Marianne Wulf is a perfect fit for this channel:) The author is a neuroscientist, professor, head of the Center for Reading and Speech Research at Tufts University, Massachusetts. In her book, she reveals the depth of a skill as simple as reading.
In fact, this is an extremely difficult activity:
- our ancestors of order. 2000 We spent years on the transition from the simplest tokens to language systems based on the alphabetic principle. Every child learns to read order. 2000 Unlike vision or hearing, we do not have special tools for this skill and we are forced to train our neural networks in practice.)
The book consists of three parts.
Part part 1. How the brain learned to read. In this part, there is an immersion in the history of mankind, which for a long time went to writing in general and specifically to the alphabetic principle, where phonemes were matched with letters. The part is finalized by considering how the Greeks created their alphabet, which promoted writing that was secondary to speech and oratory. Socrates was opposed to reading and writing and believed that books would interfere with the work of active critical thinking.
Part part 2. How the brain learns to read over time This section looks at which brain systems read, what stages readers go through, and how difficult it is for them to do so. Here are the stages:
- pre-reader
- beginner
- decoder
- fluent
- skilful Each stage displays dynamic changes in the development of reading, and each of us passes through them. However, some do not reach the fifth level - usually, such people are diagnosed with dyslexia, which is discussed in the next part.
Part part 3. When the brain is unable to learn to read. It is in this chapter that a reference to the squid becomes clear, which also sometimes has a congenital disorder, due to which he does not know how to swim quickly. And children with dyslexia do not know how to read quickly, which in the usual development of events leads to the fact that they do not have time to study according to the school curriculum and become lagging behind. Moreover, if you do not know about the genetic basis of this inability of the child to learn to read well, then you can get reproaches from teachers and others that the child simply does not try hard. In this part, the author, with the help of knowledge about dyslexia, tries to show even more deeply what it takes for the brain to become a fugitive reader. To sum up, the author notes “a dynamic relationship between the brain’s contribution to reading and the contribution of reading to the cognitive abilities of the brain.” Based on this development/environmental dynamic, the basis for the greatest transition from mastery of reading to actual reading is formed - or it does not happen.” After reading the book, it becomes clear why the phrase “We are what we read” appears on its cover.
#PopularScience #Brain #Reading