COGNITIVE PATIENCE

 My maternal uncle writes descriptive stories based on his personal life experiences and we all enjoy reading the same for the sheer joy of living through the experience he shares. Though most readers appreciate his narrative excellence, one particular reader requested him not to write descriptive stories because, according to him such style of writing is time consuming to the reader and gives unnecessary detailing. Apart from this comment, in the last few months I have experienced similar conversations from many others too. One friend casually told me that she is unable to read long text messages leave alone reading a novel that I had suggested, my son's teacher requested me to tell him to write shorter creative passages in the exam as the examiner would not have the time nor the patience to read through a long passage however engaging it may be; and a few other such incidents made me ponder as to why we as human beings are not able to process longer texts in recent times, though research says that Indians read the most in the entire world.

Reading is a cognitive process that stimulates the brain and reduces decline in memory and other mental processes. Reading involves physiological, psychological and sociological dimensions. The benefits of reading cannot be challenged by any medium even in this digital era. But sadly many people in this world are becoming victims of the digital world where their engagement is drifting more towards videos and movies over books.

This change in behaviour and interest level has been explained very well by practicing Neuroscientist and Developmental Psycholinguist, Maryanne Wolf. She has introduced the term Cognitive Patience in her compilation of essays that has been published in the book titled 'Reader Come Home.' She points out correctly that in this digital world we as human beings are losing the ability to patiently practice 'focused deep reading'. This will eventually lead us to we losing our ability of evaluation and critical understanding.

Human beings are not born with reading skills unlike speaking skills. We learn to read as we involve ourselves in the pursuit of learning so, we need to exert extra effort in mastering and preserving this skill.In this digital world we are gradually splitting our attention and moving away from deep focused reading. When we cultivate deep focused reading in self and in our future generations we are grooming the ability to infer, establish analogy and develop empathy from the writer's perspective and interpret it from our own perspective. This can contribute in making this world a better place.

In this age of instant gratification we are eager to get to the end and not enjoy the journey. This is the reason why we skim through texts and not read and savour each word leisurely. OTT platforms are a success today mainly due to this new trait that humans have acquired, of losing patience. It is not that we are hard pressed for time because if that would be the case we would not be binge watching so many web series and movies. We cannot wait for even 24 hours before we can watch the next episode of a series. We binge watch to get to the end. Some may choose to call this success of the director and actors to engage  the audience but me being of the old school thought prefer to call it impatience.

Digital devices are a necessity but we must refrain from allowing these digital devices take over our lives. Often school teachers find it easier to engage kids in school through activities and audio- visual aids. Though these are good but it robs the joy of reading and the cognitive development, reading offers. Activity based learning and teaching should never replace the traditional reading based teaching and learning methods.

As a teacher when i would teach theory subjects like Organisational Behaviour, Psychology or Business Studies, I would ensure we practice reading in class and i would insist every student must underline key points. Many teachers may disagree with this method of teaching but I believe such teaching method is very effective. I often make notes in the book with a pencil as I read any fictional or non- fictional book too.

Several competitive exams have a reading comprehension section where students are taught to skim read and answer the questions. My suggestion is that one must rethink about this practice, specially if the exam aims to select candidates who can think critically and logically and contribute to the world of business and entrepreneurship.

So, the next time you decide to skim read a text, or drop a book because it has too many pages, refrain from doing so and read it fully enjoying each word. This will benefit not only your memory but also improve your decision making ability.

Happy Reading...Encourage others to read...