How does reading affect the brain?

Reading doesn't just fill your brain with information. It actually changes the way your brain works for the better. To read, you use parts of the brain designed for tasks like visual processing, language comprehension, and speech production. Reading strengthens your ability to imagine alternative paths, remember details, picture detailed scenes, and think through complex problems. It’s also empathy workout. It forces you to take a character's perspective, which increases emotional intelligence. This effect can literally be seen in your brain waves when you read - if a character in the book is playing tennis, areas of the brain that would light up if you were physically on the court are activated. Research also shows that reading can reduce age-related cognitive decline, protect cognitive function and lower the risk of dementia. In short, reading not only makes you more knowledgeable, it also makes your brain function better.

Sources:

https://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/reading-books-brain-chemistry.html

https://www.insider.com/benefits-of-reading

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Chinese students develop 'invisibility cloak' to hide from AI security cameras

China has some of the world's most advanced surveillance systems. They use facial recognition technology to collect people's data without their consent and track "suspicious" individuals, such as people from minorities disliked by the government. To protect people's privacy and security, four graduate students from the University of Wuhan have recently invented a low-cost "invisibility cloak" that hides the wearer's identity by creating an unusual heat pattern. And tests have confirmed that it works - it allows the human body to be hidden from cameras monitored by artificial intelligence. I feel that cameras with facial recognition software may have some advantages, such as discouraging people from committing crimes and making it easier for police to find criminals. But at the same time, they are dangerous to people's privacy and freedom. It’s easier for the government to track and control people, and during the recent wave of anti-lockdown prote...

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Recently, researchers conducted a study on the effect of wearing masks on deviant behavior in China. According to this large-scale study co-authored with MIT, wearing masks for health reasons makes people act more morally. It was found that individuals wearing masks were less likely to engage in deviant behavior than those who weren't wearing them which included: breaking parking regulations, running red lights, and cheating for money. At first I thought that a mask might even encourage deviant behavior because those wearing it gain more anonymity, so the result of this study surprised me. However, it seems that wearing a mask increases moral consciousness, as people sacrifice their personal comfort for the collective good. Also, the outcomes of this research shouldn’t be generalized, since it was conducted only in China, so I wonder if the results of such study would be the same in other countries as well. Source: https://scitechdaily.com/wearing-a-mask-can-change-your-behavior/a...

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Ania G

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