Does the brain like ebooks? | Hacker News Reader

Does the brain like ebooks?

roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com

24 pointsyannis14 comments

Quoted author Maryanne Wolf seems to be saying something that is at least partly contrary to what is said in the new book Reading in the Brain

http://www.amazon.com/Reading-Brain-Science-Evolution-Invent...

by Stanislas Dehaene. He is very up to date on the best research on reading acquisition in children and adult reading performance in countries around the world with different writing systems, and he has some very interesting suggestions in his book about how an electronic device for screen reading could actually SPEED UP human reading with optimal, brain-research-informed design, by presenting the words of the text in rapid succession (up to the word size limit enforced by eye fixation and focusing ability).

Stanislas Dehaene has great comments in his book about the right way to teach reading to children and, as one reviewer notes, "Reading in the Brain isn't just about reading. It comes nearer than anything I have encountered to explaining how humans think, and does so with a simple elegance that can be grasped by scientists and nonscientists alike."

What I want is a high resolution tablet ebook. That is, so I can take digital notes using the stylus.

Then I'll take the leap, but for now. Ebooks won't replace paper for in-depth study.

Tablet PC + Adobe Reader?

I really like the way the "ink lcd" technology looks.

The platform has a way to go, and I'm just going to wait until I see the added functionality.

Okular

Kindle + pen and paper?

I bought an ebook reader app for my android phone and I love it. Now when I am stuck in line I reach for my current ebook rather than the web browser. I like reading at night w/o any lights on. Being able to carry around a library is also huge since it is on my phone and that pretty much goes everywhere. Many times I have my tech books split between home and work.

I think the best is yet to come. I have been using 'zap reader' to get through blog reading sessions. The idea of keeping your focus fixed and scrolling the text past the fixed point at 300-400 words per minute is so powerful. I can't believe that this idea hasn't caught on more. I am sure that ebook readers will start to support this kind of reading.

I already read around 300-400 words per minute most of the time, with a maximum speed of around 1000 words per minute. The barrier here is comprehension, not the speed with which we can read words on the screen. Plus, when I'm reading words normally, it's easier for me to adjust my reading rate when I miss a word or need to think more about a particular part of the text before going on. I just don't see the appeal of scrolling text past a fixed point at "high" speed.

it seems they're talking about reading books on the internet, on the PC as opposed to what the title implies: dedicated ebook reading devices.

There isn't really any major difference IMHO. The panelists discuss learning from a screen versus learning from a book. I got interested in the article and posted it here trying to find out if there is a difference in the way the brain takes in or absorbs information when it is presented electronically versus on paper? Does the reading experience change, from retention to comprehension, depending on the medium? Personally I have been through a few ebooks lately and have noticed that I am not absorbing the material at the same rate than a book.

Oh there is a lot of difference, in terms of body position. It's just not as much fun/comfortable to read a book at a desktop while sitting in a chair etc as opposed to laying on the couch with a tablet. Do not underestimate the power of a comfortable body position.

"Do not underestimate the power of a comfortable body position."

OK, but what about the tablet affords for more comfy positioning that you can't achieve with a paper book?

For the Kindle (and others, I presume), you don't need to keep moving to flip pages, which allows me to lay on one side in bed and read comfortably.

That would be the ultimate killer e-book reader. I would definitely buy one.

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