Proof that all those years hiding out in the high school library was good for you.
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Socially awkward? Hit the books
HAYLEY MICK
From Thursday's Globe and Mail
July 10, 2008 at 9:14 AM EDT
For a good chunk of the summer, 17-year-old Charlotte Spafford plans to hole up in her room so the words of author Toni Morrison can transport her deep into the American South. Not exactly a sure-fire way to enhance her teenage social life - or is it?
A group of Toronto researchers have compiled a body of evidence showing that bookworms have exceptionally strong people skills.
Their years of research - summed up in the current issue of New Scientist magazine - has shown readers of narrative fiction scored higher on tests of empathy and social acumen than those who read non-fiction texts. And follow-up research showed that reading fiction may help fine-tune these skills: People assigned to read a New Yorker short story did better on social reasoning tests than those who read an essay from the same magazine.
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This is really interesting.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in High School I thought reading literature was helpful in gaining wisdom. I've been rethinking this theory more and am coming to a conclusion closer to what this article points towards. I think reading fiction is useful in the cultivation of empathy.
Not that it necessarily needs a "use."