Half a year ago, #MariaKonnikova published some tips
on “Being a Better Reader” – citing much authoritative research/opinion to
illustrate the depth of the problem. Her takeaway? “Maybe the decline of deep reading isn’t due
to reading skill atrophy but to the need to develop a very different sort of
skill, that of teaching yourself to focus your attention.”
Perhaps, but there may be a slight problem with heeding this advice. According
to research done by #neuroscientists like Anthony Jack and Matthew Lieberman, the
relentless focus needed for non-casual online reading could interfere with the
dreamy, “trance-like state of mind” associated with #deepreading (and evoked
by #NicholasCarr in “The Dreams of Readers”).
