Article Review: "Why the Brain Prefers Paper" by Ferris Jabr

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In this article, originally publishing in Scientific American, science writer Ferris Jabr presents series of arguments to show that reading comprehension and retention are better when material is presented in print media as than in electronic media. His first argument deals with what he calls “textual landscape.” “Much as we might recall that we passed the red farmhouse near the start of a hiking trail before we started climbing uphill through the forest, we remember that we read about Mr. Darcy rebuffing Elizabeth Bennett at a dance on the bottom left corner of the left-hand page in one of the earlier chapters of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.” (p. 100) Constantly flowing text does not work this way. Also, e-books lack the tactile qualities of paper books and are incapable of giving the same physical clues as to the reader’s progress in the work. His second major argument is that reading electronic material is more fatiguing to the reader. This is all the more so when the screen is backlit. One of the studies pointed to a 2011 survey of graduate students at Taiwan University, when a majority report scanning a few paragraphs of an item online before printing it out for on depth reading. In my own experience, I find the two forms more complimentary than antagonistic. Electronic medic gives me access to a greater range of material than I could ever have through print media—and I can fit it all in the palm of my hand. Yet, I remember how I annoying pharmacy continuing education via pdf was. The material was not difficult, but I generally printing it out to make for easier reading. I don’t see either media dying out soon. At the same time, I didn’t have to wait for anything in the mail. This was an interesting article and thought-provoking article. At the same time, I’d like to have asked more questions regarding permanence, textbooks, illustrations, leisure books, Nooks vs. Kindle, color vs black and white that went unanswered. _____ Title: “Why the Brain Prefers Paper” Published in: The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2014 ed. Deborah Blum First Published: Scientific American Nov. 2013 Author: Ferris Jabr (Associate Editor at Scientific American) Text available: *An earlier version of this review appeared on another site. It's been updated and expanded for inclusion on myLot*