Reader, come home - book summary

 

1.     Wolf, Maryanne. Reader, Come Home the Reading Brain in a Digital World. First Harper

paperbacks edition. New York: Harper, 2019.

 

Maryanne Wolf explores years of research of the human brain especially related to the digital era. One of her points of concern, to which she summons society to a watchful vigilance, is to avoid that “the quality of our attention and memory, the perception of beauty and recognition of truth, and the complex decision-making capacities based on all of these atrophy along the way”. That may contribute to this atrophy is the fluidity of our attention, as we go from “one stimulus to another… with consequences none could have predicted.” Wolf understands that the bigger impact of technology on the human brain, especially in children, is the ability of deep reading that traditionally would be obtained with physical books. This concept includes processes of connecting background knowledge to new information, the activity of making analogies and drawing inferences, examining truth value, the expansion of empathy and knowledge, and critical analysis. She acknowledges that it is inevitable for us to navigate the digital environment, that is why education and training can help children, and people in general, in order not to lose the deep reading abilities that are important for the development of brain activity. As concerned as she is with the brain and its abilities facing a digital era, is very clear in stating: “I have little doubt that the next generation will go beyond us in ways we cannot imagine at this moment.” It means that the digital world and mobile technology are not shrinking but will continue to expand in ways we can hardly figure out by now.

 

Wolf’s contribution to the neurological research and its practical aspects, especially the concept of deep reading, adds an ingredient with which the Churches are familiar. A Lutheran Congregation is used to work with carefully crafted content to be offered, and that careful work should spill over to a mobile app.

Also, being situated inside the tradition of the historical Churches is an advantage. The congregation already provides spaces and opportunities where the communication, teaching and learning is not totally mediated by technology. The in-person activities are an asset that connects to aspects of the deep reading process, such as intentional reading, reflection, and contemplation. This way the ability of deep reading continues to be fostered by the work of the Church.