Reading has been a part of all of our lives for years, ever since we have been in school of course. There’s no doubt that reading has shaped us into the intelligent individuals that we are today, given the fact that it stimulates our brain and allows us to continually span our knowledge. However, my question is, “Does reading VOLUNTARILY and on a regular basis outside of school assignments improve your mental abilities.”
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To look into this topic, I started searching for sources that discussed reading and how it affects the body. The study that I found explores a correlation between cognitive aspects of literacy. The article points out the fact that this was more of an observational study as opposed to experimental simply because almost every has some level of reading experience, therefor trial groups didn’t need to be clearly set up and defined. Large sample sizes are easy to obtain for the same reason as well. However, a study done by Schribner and Cole (1981) produced data stated that literacy was a repressive force. Because of this, research on the topic has come to a stalemate as no one has initiated many new successful studies that dive further into this question.
The conclusion? There is absolutely no evidence that reading HURTS you, so instead of watching TV or taking a nap with your free time, why not to something a little more stimulating that has the chances (although not specifically proven) of increasing the level of your cognitive development? Happy Reading!
Hm I think the idea of reading is a relatively western idea. They’re parts of the world in which stories get passed down by word from generation to generation yet; they have no written language. Would they then be considered not smart or left out of the observation entirely? Great post 🙂
I definitely believe reading makes you smarter. I think that reading is the best way for someone to gain a better vocabulary as well as expands view of the earth. Reading also helps foster imagination. For these reason i believe reading makes you smarter
Reading has always been encouraged to further intelligence and literacy rates are usually very important to countries.
It is very interesting to see this perspective on reading. My mom always tried to get me to read more but I never did. I always knew that the more I read the more my vocabulary would expand. There are a lot of intellectual benefits to reading a variety of books.