07 June 2012

Bookish people have BETTER social skills?!

I haven't finished any books this week (I helped my son finish his sizeable end-of-the-year school project... we're all wiped out ;-)

But I enjoyed reading this post on a blog I follow, MWF Seeking BFF.

The Hard Facts: Fiction Readers Have More Social Skills

WHO KNEW?  I mean, when I'm holed up with a book, would anyone have believed I'm gaining social skills?

Apparently reading about the lives (and suffering) of fictional characters strengthens '"theory of mind,' is the ability to interpret and respond to those different from us, a pretty vital skill for anyone looking to make new friends or, I don’t know, exist in the world."

Cool!

2 comments:

  1. I agree totally. It gives the reader a new perspective on life. Sometimes the reader can truly identify with a character and that can be comforting to know you're not alone in your problems.

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  2. Yes! If you think about it, storytelling is as old as humanity (think Odysseus, Beowulf, the book of Genesis, the Bhagavad Gita, etc.). Down deep, we are just trying to understand each other.

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