

Does the brain like ebooks? - yannis
http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/14/does-the-brain-like-e-books/

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tokenadult
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...](http://www.amazon.com/Reading-Brain-Science-Evolution-
Invention/dp/0670021105)

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."

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RevRal
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.

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psyklic
Tablet PC + Adobe Reader?

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RevRal
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.

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johnwatson11218
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.

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sketerpot
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.

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mapleoin
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.

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yannis
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.

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DrJokepu
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.

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jamesbritt
"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?

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CrazedGeek
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.

