To think being a reader doesn't make you better or smarter?

[OnceaReaderNeveraReader]

Never been a reader. I have tried many times in my life and have enjoyed the odd book here and there but have never managed to actually become a regular reader and don't miss books ever. I was talking about this with some colleagues the other day and one of them made me feel a bit bad about this as if reading is a sign of better intellectual ability and superiority.
I am uni educated and enjoy a variety of other cultural hobbies such as art, theatre and dance but I just cannot understand what is so special about books!
How does one become a reader later in life and is it really that bad if I don't enjoy it?

I suspect most people could do neither. And who’s to say that knowing the Love Island winners are less useful anyway - if you are right and most people know them, then surely that gives you a better way to connect with people?

Also, what is reading Jack Reacher novels (for instance) going to tell you about the seven ancient wonders of the world?

I am actually a reader. But people get hideously snobbish about reading vs everything else, for no good reason as far as i can see.

I think, but couldn’t quote any studies so might be wrong, that reading lights up different parts of your brain than TV. But I also know different kinds of music do that too and I would imagine lots of interests light up different parts of your brain. Personally I spend lots of time online in not enriching ways, a bit on news/politics/research and then reading, cooking and gardening are probably the good for my brain things I do. You sound like you have lots of interests that are good for your brain and don’t need to add something you don’t enjoy.

I think this very much depends on what you read! Just because something is published does not mean it's any good!

I also don't think that fiction is for everyone and for non fiction there are lots of other resources, including podcasts.

I am a big reader and I think it broadens my mind. I read books written by authors from different parts of the of the world and from different times. I can read for hours, but have really poor attention span when it comes to Tv watching. I don’t listen to music and rarely manage to sit through a film.

When you watch a TV series or film, most of the work is done for you and you can consume it quite passively. A theatre show might require you to use your imagination more. But when you read a novel, you have to visualise everything yourself (and you'll probably end up using all your senses, or the memories evoked by them, in order to bring the setting and dialogue to life). It's totally absorbing. Because of this, there are people who argue that a novel isn't complete until someone reads it. Your impression of the novel will be unique and in a way, you interact with the author, even though you've never met them and they might be long gone.

As Alan Bennett wrote in The History Boys:

The best moments in reading are when you come across something - a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things - that you'd thought special, particular to you. And here it is, set down by someone else, a person you've never met, maybe even someone long dead. And it's as if a hand has come out and taken yours.

I think reading is they key though.

I don’t retain much from documentaries or Podcasts. But l retain lots from reading. Even dates stick in my mind. I don’t get that from docs unless it’s an area l knew about already.

There is a link with early years and being good at reading. As then it’s easier for you to grasp all subjects if you can read earlier than your peers.

However, my neighbour was good at reading and loved books but academic level was very average. I never loved reading but was more academic gifted.

I don’t think not liking novels means you are less intelligent.

i do think it offers a different perspective reading widely - depends on the material ! Are you more someone who’d like to read more ? If so, I swear there’s a book for Everyone!

According to the stats
The average reading age for a UK adult is approx age 11 or 12.

Which is why Government & NHS literature is written in easy to understand language.

Reading comes in many formats on packaging, books, Internet, numbers, images, reasoning, payterns

How or why do you think that so many people get scammed on a ever increasing basis ?

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow Is this not linked to the type of learner? I’m definitely more visual and can visualise so much, I prefer colours / pictures / physically doing something with my hands. Give me a page of text and it’s not going in aswell.

One of my children is an avid reader.
He has learnt masses from books, so I'm his case, yes it's made him a whole lot smarter!
He amazes me with his knowledge and vocabulary - it's not from us, it's from his books.

And the Weapons of Mass Destruction!😁

Probably!

Smarter? Well, not always, depends what you read I presume.
I used to love read a good novel, losing myself in it, much like some do with a movie I suppose. But I never read anything heavy going or high brow, not my kind of book..
Since menopause I no longer have the attention span or memory to read books and I miss them.

Yes!

I love reading crime novels. However i hated 50 shades of grey. I don't mind reading about sex but i don't want to read about 2 people having sex on every other page.

Why do you think that young children are encouraged to read ?

It is one of the keys to a better life, to freedom, to independence

Why do some countries ban education for all their females ?

It probably depends what you are reading. Some people will read lots of non fiction and it brings depth to their conversation and allows them to make intelligent reasoned arguments like my father inlaw. Some people ready trashy beach novels (like me) and this does nothing to broaden their perspective but they might be intelligent and gain knowledge and understanding in other ways and have the ability to be critical of information which comes their way.

Like you I have a degree and I would imagine as you do have all the skills that were acquired in doing so including the ability to read widely critical analysis etc. However, as a teacher I spend huge amounts of time reading repetitive exams and essays, I do also read articles and websites relevant to my subject. As a result of this I am exhausted and so don't read in my spare time. Apart from in the 6 week summer holidays when my brain can finally switch off the mental load of teaching. At that point I like nothing more than some absolute trashy beach novel.

I'm not sure the NHS have that take on it. There are large numbers of people in the UK for whom English is not their first language, and also that some people reading NHS information could well be panic-stricken or extremely anxious about their symptoms, and not thinking straight. Not to mention those with declining faculties.

I think the challenge with films is that there isn't the exposition and the describing of the scene.

So the thread recently about kids not knowing the word velvet or the other poster saying she learned the word muslin - in books they describe the scene, in films you see it but you don't know that it's a velvet chaise longue the heroine is reclining on unless you already know what one is - a book you think what's that and ask someone or look it up, bingo, 2 new words.

@Needmorelego nothing to do with the op but I found your post very interesting. My son, who has autism, was describing this very thing to me just the other day. He is unable to picture things in his head. He also has a terrible sense of direction, he says it’s because he can’t picture where he’s going ahead of time. He is very academic and does read but enjoys books best when he has seen the film first and he reads the same books over and over again ie: Harry Potter, Hunger Games, Divergent. I thought it might be an autistim thing but perhaps it’s not!

Yes, it is a thing not being able to visualise things in your mind's eye. It's called aphantasia, and has been well studied by a scientist called Dr Zeman in the UK.

I used to be a very avid reader with a vivid imagination and mind's eye, and could picture anything that I was reading about. I certainly could get "lost" in a book using my imagination.

Then I had a head injury and post concussion syndrome and lost my ability to see in my mind's eye 💔😪😞

It was pretty devastating, and as someone who loved fiction, I found it strange not seeing things I was reading. I got very depressed about it, and still am sad a decade later.

It never improved nor is it likely to unfortunately 😕 I miss reading avidly. I don't read much fiction now, as I also had lost my ability to write after my head injury too. This came back gradually, but it was equally devastating as an editor and writer by trade.😪😪😪

I read a lot and I think it definitely increases general knowledge and probably vocabulary. Not so much an increase in actual intelligence though.

but does it make you smarter than you would have been if you didn't read?

Learning styles has been comprehensively debunked.

https://onlineteaching.umich.edu/articles/the-myth-of-learning-styles/

This is only one paper. There are gazillions out there.