Many scholars don’t agree that reading literature has the ability to change you in any way. This is largely because there are few studies that try to relate reading literature with improved mental capability. However, there is evidence that reading literature makes you smarter. Professor Emeritus of University of Toronto who specializes in cognitive psychology, together with Raymond Mar, a psychologist at the Canadian York University, published reports in 2006 and 2009. In these reports, the scholars said that people who read fiction frequently are able to understand others better, empathize, and see the world from other people’s perspectives.

These two scholars said that the link between improved mental ability and reading persisted even when they considered that empathetic people might choose to read more than others. In another study conducted in 2010, Raymond Mar did another study on children that showed similar results as the studies published earlier. The newer study showed that children who have been read more stories had keener mental models of others’ intentions. In short, they were more capable of knowing what people’s intentions are compared to children who were read fewer stories.

People do a lot of reading on the web but such reading is mostly superficial. ‘Deep reading’ is on the decline and according to some it is now an endangered practice. It is a practice that ought to be preserved like we preserve ancient works of art or endangered species. When people abandon the practice of deep reading, they will put the intellectual and emotional growth of future generations who will grow up online in jeopardy. A critical part of our culture will also be lost since there will be fewer people left who have been trained to appreciate poems, novels, and other kinds of literature.

According to research conducted recently in cognitive science, deep reading is quite different from the mere decoding of words that most people now do so often online. It is a slow and immersive process that is rich in sensory and emotional detail as well as moral complexity. Deep reading is a distinctive experience and it does not require a person to have a conventional book. However, a printed book has a uniquely conducive environment to encourage deep reading. For instance, a book does not have hyperlinks, flashing banners, ads, notifications, and all the other distractions that people are forced to deal with while reading online. The absence of these distractions enables a person to fully immerse himself in what he is reading.

The brain has a certain way of processing language that has rich detail, allusion, and metaphor. It creates a mental representation that is remarkably similar to the way the brain would perceive the events if they were happening in real life. The moral dilemmas, emotional experiences, and other challenging situations also provide constant vigorous exercise for the brain. The unfolding plot of a novel draws us into the fictional world and increases our capacity to handle situations and be empathetic in the real world.