[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:18.56,0:00:22.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If I came and told you\Nthere is this one thing you could all do
Dialogue: 0,0:00:22.80,0:00:27.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which would make you more imaginative,\Nmake your memory better,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:27.36,0:00:29.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,probably improve\Nyour personal relationships,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:30.17,0:00:32.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and make you a nicer person,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:32.44,0:00:34.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you would probably be very skeptical.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:34.20,0:00:36.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And even more so\Nif I said it costs nothing
Dialogue: 0,0:00:36.86,0:00:40.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and probably everybody in this room\Ncan already do it.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:40.64,0:00:43.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, you will probably have guessed by now
Dialogue: 0,0:00:43.71,0:00:45.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that I'm talking about reading -
Dialogue: 0,0:00:45.96,0:00:47.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there's a clue in the title.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:48.70,0:00:51.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But I'm not talking\Nabout the sort of reading
Dialogue: 0,0:00:51.06,0:00:53.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that we all know is incredibly important;
Dialogue: 0,0:00:53.47,0:00:56.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that is, the sort of reading\Nwe do for education,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:56.02,0:00:58.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the sort of reading\Nwe do for administration,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:58.14,0:01:01.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the sort of reading which we have to do\Nnowadays just to get through life.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:01.62,0:01:05.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm talking rather\Nabout fiction, stories, narratives -
Dialogue: 0,0:01:06.35,0:01:11.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the sort of reading where you are reading\Nthings from inside another person's head,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:11.38,0:01:12.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where it takes you right inside
Dialogue: 0,0:01:12.86,0:01:15.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the character's emotions\Nand feelings and actions
Dialogue: 0,0:01:15.66,0:01:17.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so you are seeing it\Nfrom their perspective.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:19.25,0:01:24.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's the sort of reading\Nwhich is at best thought of as pleasurable
Dialogue: 0,0:01:24.39,0:01:26.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and at worst quite often\Nas a waste of time.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:26.44,0:01:29.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I mean, I remember my mother telling me
Dialogue: 0,0:01:29.10,0:01:31.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that when she was a child\Nshe was crazy about books
Dialogue: 0,0:01:31.49,0:01:35.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but that her father once ripped\Na novel out of her hands,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:35.44,0:01:39.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,saying that 'If you have to read,\Nat least read something useful.'
Dialogue: 0,0:01:40.81,0:01:42.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What I want to tell you today
Dialogue: 0,0:01:42.38,0:01:47.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is that, surprisingly,\Nfiction is very useful indeed,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:47.14,0:01:50.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in ways that we probably\Nnever previously suspected;
Dialogue: 0,0:01:50.29,0:01:54.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in fact, it's more important, probably,\Nthan any other form of reading.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:54.66,0:01:56.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I have some new evidence,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:56.43,0:01:59.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which comes rather surprisingly\Nout of the brain sciences,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:59.94,0:02:02.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to support that, which I'll come to.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:02.53,0:02:05.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,First of all, some not-so-new evidence:
Dialogue: 0,0:02:05.87,0:02:09.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in 2013 there was a series of experiments
Dialogue: 0,0:02:10.21,0:02:16.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,done by two New York psychologists,\NDavid Kidd and Emanuele Castano.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:16.90,0:02:20.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What they did was take people\Nand ask them to read
Dialogue: 0,0:02:20.53,0:02:23.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,quite short passages \Nfrom various types of books.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:24.56,0:02:28.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Some of them were nonfiction books,\Nexplanatory or learning books,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:28.87,0:02:31.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and some of them where thrillers, plots,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:31.42,0:02:34.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where you read about the events\Nhappening in a story
Dialogue: 0,0:02:34.28,0:02:37.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but not very much about the people;\Nyou weren't inside their heads.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:38.20,0:02:39.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And the third sort
Dialogue: 0,0:02:39.65,0:02:41.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was the sort of fiction\NI am talking about,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:41.70,0:02:45.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is when you were reading things\Nfrom the perspective of the characters.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:46.38,0:02:52.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,After that, the researchers got the people\Nto look at a series of photographs
Dialogue: 0,0:02:52.98,0:02:57.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of people with very strong facial\Nexpressions of one sort or another,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:57.95,0:03:01.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they were asked to judge\Nfrom the expressions alone
Dialogue: 0,0:03:01.62,0:03:05.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what they thought was going on\Ninside those people's heads.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:06.97,0:03:09.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is actually quite a standard test
Dialogue: 0,0:03:09.63,0:03:12.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for something that we call\N'Theory of Mind',
Dialogue: 0,0:03:12.45,0:03:15.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is a rather bad phrase, I think,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:15.87,0:03:19.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for a faculty which we're all,\NI hope, pretty familiar with;
Dialogue: 0,0:03:19.22,0:03:21.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we've all got it\Nto some extent or another.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:21.67,0:03:25.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And that is the intuitive ability
Dialogue: 0,0:03:25.74,0:03:29.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to see from the way a person is moving\Nor expressing themselves
Dialogue: 0,0:03:30.61,0:03:33.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what is going on in their head.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:34.19,0:03:37.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It allows us to,\Njust at least for a moment,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:37.66,0:03:40.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to step outside our own heads
Dialogue: 0,0:03:40.48,0:03:44.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and see the world for a bit\Nfrom other people's point of view.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:45.17,0:03:48.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And the same faculty, by extension,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:48.71,0:03:51.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,opens up whole worlds to us
Dialogue: 0,0:03:51.32,0:03:54.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because it allows us\Nto imagine what it's like
Dialogue: 0,0:03:54.57,0:03:56.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to be somewhere else,\Ndoing something else,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:56.80,0:03:58.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,seeing it in a different way.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:59.51,0:04:04.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And thus people who don't have it\Nare quite severely handicapped,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:04.59,0:04:06.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,particularly in social life -
Dialogue: 0,0:04:06.15,0:04:08.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they find relationships very difficult -
Dialogue: 0,0:04:08.54,0:04:12.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and more than that, they are limited\Nby a very limited imagination.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:12.79,0:04:16.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because without that ability\Nto step outside yourself,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:16.15,0:04:19.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's difficult to imagine\Nanything, really.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:20.06,0:04:24.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, you don't actually have to look\Nat academic papers to see this effect.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:24.31,0:04:25.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We're all quite familiar with it.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:25.90,0:04:27.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I want to tell you about a particular -
Dialogue: 0,0:04:27.90,0:04:30.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A few years ago, I went to a reading group
Dialogue: 0,0:04:31.08,0:04:35.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which was for people\Nwith various types of mental issues.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:35.21,0:04:38.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A lot of them had had\Nsevere depression or anxiety,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:38.41,0:04:40.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they had come together \Nto start a reading group.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:40.89,0:04:42.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I joined several months in,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:42.55,0:04:44.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when it was already having effect.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:44.93,0:04:49.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The particular meeting I went to\Nthey were reading 'Wuthering Heights',
Dialogue: 0,0:04:49.58,0:04:50.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the English novel,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:50.90,0:04:53.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I just got to this bit\Nwhere Kathy, the heroine,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:53.87,0:04:56.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,had to decide between marrying\Neither boring old Linton
Dialogue: 0,0:04:56.74,0:05:01.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or this wildly exciting\Ntempestuous chap, Heathcliff.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:01.16,0:05:03.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I just want you to see\Nwhat they had to say.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:04.15,0:05:07.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,- Every Linton on the face of the earth\Nmight melt into nothing
Dialogue: 0,0:05:08.26,0:05:10.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,before I could consent\Nto forsake Heathcliff.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:11.41,0:05:14.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,- Stop there, Faye.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:14.75,0:05:19.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Is this sort of state she's in\Nsomething you'd aspire to?
Dialogue: 0,0:05:19.33,0:05:22.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Would you like to be feeling\Nwhat Katherine's feeling?
Dialogue: 0,0:05:23.56,0:05:24.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,- Definitely!
Dialogue: 0,0:05:24.62,0:05:27.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,- I want to feel it all the time,\Nand I felt like that, you know,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:27.68,0:05:30.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,happy nearly all the time,\Nand it can last for weeks, months.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:30.53,0:05:33.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,- It's a beautiful idea: one moment\Nshe's like 'I am Heathcliff',
Dialogue: 0,0:05:33.57,0:05:34.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and then you get the sense
Dialogue: 0,0:05:34.83,0:05:37.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that it could be very,\Nyou know, dangerous as well.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:37.36,0:05:40.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,- She's marrying someone\Nunder false pretenses.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:41.64,0:05:44.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,- I could imagine it then\Nfrom Linton's point of view.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:44.50,0:05:45.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Imagine marrying Katherine
Dialogue: 0,0:05:45.97,0:05:48.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but then knowing she's in love\Nwith somebody else.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:48.73,0:05:51.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And he will, he will find out.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:51.86,0:05:54.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,- I think deep down\Nshe should be with Heathcliff.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:54.40,0:05:58.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,- I think in one way she's sexually\Nattracted to him, and the passion.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:58.63,0:05:59.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,- Yeah.\N- Yes.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:59.65,0:06:01.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,- And I think she should go for it.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:01.41,0:06:02.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:06:03.95,0:06:06.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It did seem to me as I watched\Nand listened to those people
Dialogue: 0,0:06:06.94,0:06:10.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that this quite simple act of reading\Nfiction had really changed their lives;
Dialogue: 0,0:06:10.98,0:06:13.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and in fact, in one case\Nit actually saved a life.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:13.62,0:06:15.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I know that -
Dialogue: 0,0:06:16.36,0:06:19.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as you will probably see\Nin the end, I'll come to it.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:19.32,0:06:21.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, the question that occurred to me was,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:21.85,0:06:24.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What on Earth is happening\Nin people's brains
Dialogue: 0,0:06:24.05,0:06:27.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to have this rather\Nprofound effect, this pastime?
Dialogue: 0,0:06:27.89,0:06:31.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I just want to go a little bit\Nover what is happening in the brain.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:31.60,0:06:35.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You probably know that our brains\Nare made up of neurons, electrical cells,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:35.13,0:06:38.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that they join together\Nto form pathways,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:38.21,0:06:41.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which have electricity zapping\Nback and forth endlessly,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:41.37,0:06:43.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that electricity ebb and flow
Dialogue: 0,0:06:43.44,0:06:47.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is our thoughts, our emotions,\Nand our feelings.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:47.95,0:06:50.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Some of these pathways\Nare pretty similar in all of us
Dialogue: 0,0:06:50.58,0:06:53.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because they're actually\Nbuilt into our genes.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:53.34,0:06:56.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Up here, on the left here,\Nthey're the pathways we all have
Dialogue: 0,0:06:56.97,0:06:59.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which take light from the eyes\Nto the visual cortex,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:59.93,0:07:01.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so the back of our head.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:01.14,0:07:02.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,On the other side of the frame,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:02.62,0:07:05.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you have got the connections\Nbetween the two hemispheres of the brain
Dialogue: 0,0:07:05.91,0:07:09.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so that each side quite literally \Nknows what the other is doing.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:09.03,0:07:11.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, I just want to show you quickly
Dialogue: 0,0:07:11.45,0:07:15.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the difference between\Nspeaking and reading
Dialogue: 0,0:07:15.55,0:07:17.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because they are very different.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:17.37,0:07:21.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Speaking is something\Nthat, again, is in our genes,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:21.09,0:07:24.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we already have those pathways\Nwired into us when we are born.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:24.51,0:07:28.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,All you have to do is put a baby \Naround people who are talking
Dialogue: 0,0:07:28.89,0:07:31.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and sooner or later they will\Nstart to do it too, it's natural.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:31.86,0:07:34.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But reading is not.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:34.44,0:07:37.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You could put a baby in a library,\Nsurrounded by books,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:37.42,0:07:38.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from the day it's born,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:38.94,0:07:41.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it would never start\Nspontaneously reading.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:41.87,0:07:44.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It has to be taught how to do it.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:44.38,0:07:46.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this is the reason\Nspeech has been with us
Dialogue: 0,0:07:46.88,0:07:49.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for at least 100,000 years,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:49.18,0:07:53.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,quite time for natural selection\Nto actually get it wired into our brains.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:54.17,0:07:57.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But reading probably only started\Nabout 5,000 years ago,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:57.75,0:08:01.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and until about 100 years ago,\Nmost people didn't do it at all.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:02.91,0:08:06.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So rather than being able\Nto use those pre-wired,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:06.11,0:08:08.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,intuitive, if you like, pathways,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:08.100,0:08:13.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,every time, every person\Nwho learns to read has to do it afresh.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:13.61,0:08:17.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And that means making\Nnew pathways, individual pathways,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:17.19,0:08:19.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the sort that individuals\Ndo make all through their life.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:19.100,0:08:23.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Every time they have an experience\Nwill lay down a memory or a new habit;
Dialogue: 0,0:08:23.55,0:08:28.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they create individual pathways,\Non top of the basic blueprint.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:29.05,0:08:31.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And that's what we have\Nto do when we read.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:32.06,0:08:34.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Quickly, when you look\Nat a brain that's speaking,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:34.39,0:08:37.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's fairly straight forward:\Nif you see a dog, say.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:37.89,0:08:40.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Information zooms to the back\Nof the head, visual cortex,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:40.59,0:08:41.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,then sort of chunks forward.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:41.97,0:08:45.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As it chunks forward, it picks up\Nmemories of what it's looking at
Dialogue: 0,0:08:45.12,0:08:47.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,until by the time it gets\Nto that blue area,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:47.89,0:08:50.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is the first\Nof the major language areas,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:50.66,0:08:54.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it is then able to put a word to it.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:54.10,0:08:57.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And then it gets jogged on again\Nto that next red area, Broca's,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:57.75,0:09:00.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that's when we remember how to say it.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:00.47,0:09:03.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Quite literally, the motor area,\Nwhich is that green stripe,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:03.58,0:09:06.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is then instructed to send instructions\Nto our lips and our tongues
Dialogue: 0,0:09:06.72,0:09:08.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to actually make the word.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:08.40,0:09:10.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's how speaking works.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:10.35,0:09:13.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And, as I say, it's natural,\Nthose pathways are there already.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:13.90,0:09:17.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But reading is\Na very different kettle of fish.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:17.25,0:09:22.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When we see abstract symbols written down,\Nour brain has to do far more work.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:22.42,0:09:25.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It actually has to,\Nwhen we are learning to read,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:25.11,0:09:27.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we have to create\Nall those new connections
Dialogue: 0,0:09:27.69,0:09:29.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in many, many different\Nparts of the brain.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:29.82,0:09:32.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You can see the red bits,\Nor the lit-up bits.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:32.22,0:09:36.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You can see these aren't clear,\Neasy, one-trap pathways.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:36.14,0:09:38.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These are really complicated networks
Dialogue: 0,0:09:38.92,0:09:41.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that are being formed\Nin the brain when we read.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:41.68,0:09:45.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So your brain is doing a lot more work,\Nit's connecting far more parts.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:45.57,0:09:48.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If you like, it's a more\Nholistic experience.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:48.34,0:09:53.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It forces you to use parts of the brain\Nthat aren't usually used.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:54.04,0:09:57.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,More than that, the reason,\Nor one reason why it's so widespread,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:57.78,0:10:01.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is that when we read things\Nabout somebody doing something,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:01.74,0:10:05.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,run for their life or they're screaming\Nor they're frightened,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:06.25,0:10:12.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what happens in the brain of the reader\Nis that those same bits of the brain
Dialogue: 0,0:10:12.48,0:10:15.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that would be active\Nif they were doing it themselves,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:15.69,0:10:16.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,become active.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:16.89,0:10:21.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Admittedly not quite to the same extent,\Nor we'd act out everything we read,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:21.23,0:10:24.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and we can usually inhibit them\Nenough not to do that,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:24.15,0:10:25.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but basically -
Dialogue: 0,0:10:25.22,0:10:27.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These are brain scans of people,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:27.85,0:10:30.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you can see from the color chart below,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:30.20,0:10:31.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they're reading.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:31.20,0:10:35.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The actual movement produces\Nthe pattern on your left,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:35.62,0:10:37.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and when you're reading it,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:37.77,0:10:40.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what is happening in your brain\Nis the pattern on the right.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:40.94,0:10:44.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And as you see, they are very similar,\Nwith the only difference being
Dialogue: 0,0:10:44.36,0:10:47.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that when you're reading about things,\Nit's not quite as intense.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:47.56,0:10:50.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If it carried on in intensity,\Nyou would act it out.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:50.93,0:10:52.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because the important thing about reading
Dialogue: 0,0:10:52.88,0:10:57.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is that you're not just learning\Nwhat's going on in that person's head.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:57.02,0:11:00.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You, too, to a certain extent\Nare experiencing it.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:01.23,0:11:03.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And there's a very big difference there.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:03.54,0:11:05.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's the same with everything.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:05.03,0:11:06.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,With pain -
Dialogue: 0,0:11:06.53,0:11:09.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,if watch or read about somebody in pain,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:10.96,0:11:14.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the same bits of the brain that would\Nbe active if you were feeling the pain
Dialogue: 0,0:11:14.57,0:11:16.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,will become active as well.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:16.79,0:11:21.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And some people feel this so much
Dialogue: 0,0:11:21.49,0:11:25.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that they actually\Ndo feel and report the pain.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:26.30,0:11:28.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Same with anger, same with any emotion,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:28.20,0:11:30.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,same even with quite\Ncomplicated intellectual things,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:30.88,0:11:34.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like judgments,\Nmoral judgments, and so on.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:35.22,0:11:38.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, this is the new information\Nwhich has really only come out this year.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:38.71,0:11:42.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Some researchers from\NEmory University in the States
Dialogue: 0,0:11:42.87,0:11:47.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,decided to see if they could actually see\Ninside the brain what was going on.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:47.52,0:11:49.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We know already from the earlier work
Dialogue: 0,0:11:49.63,0:11:54.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that people become at least temporarily\Nmore sensitive to other people's feelings
Dialogue: 0,0:11:54.20,0:11:57.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,once they've read a book\Nor been reading some fiction.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:57.64,0:11:59.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this researchers set out to see
Dialogue: 0,0:11:59.72,0:12:02.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,if this was something\Nthat could actually be seen
Dialogue: 0,0:12:02.55,0:12:04.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,inside of the brain, physically.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:04.80,0:12:08.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So they had students,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:08.68,0:12:11.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,lots and lots, I think it was\Nquite a large sample,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:12.43,0:12:18.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,reading a passage of a particularly\Nengaging and exciting novel
Dialogue: 0,0:12:18.84,0:12:23.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with a lot of inside-character\Ndriven stuff.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:23.83,0:12:26.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was actually 'Pompeii',\Nby Robert Harris,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:26.10,0:12:29.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,if you want to do\Nthe same thing yourself.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:29.69,0:12:33.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And they had the people read just 30 pages\Na night for five nights in a row.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:33.85,0:12:37.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And they took brain scans before\Nthe people started doing this exercise
Dialogue: 0,0:12:37.22,0:12:39.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to get a baseline
Dialogue: 0,0:12:39.57,0:12:41.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of what their brains looked like before.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:41.82,0:12:43.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Then they had them read,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:43.02,0:12:45.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and every night after\Nthey had read a passage,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:45.39,0:12:48.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they came in next morning\Nand they had their brain scanned again.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:49.96,0:12:54.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And every day there were differences.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:54.66,0:12:55.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The differences,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:55.56,0:13:01.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this is a sort of schematic picture\Nof where the differences where found,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:01.48,0:13:02.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the connections,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:02.56,0:13:06.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which as the week went on\Nand they read a passage each night,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:06.95,0:13:08.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they got thicker and denser.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:08.76,0:13:11.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And they are, as you see,\Nall over the brain,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:11.58,0:13:13.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,not just in the language areas,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:13.28,0:13:14.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,everywhere.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:14.31,0:13:16.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Basically, what these people\Nseemed to be doing
Dialogue: 0,0:13:16.53,0:13:18.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was giving themselves\Na really good workout.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:18.72,0:13:23.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In fact, the brain scans looked\Nmore or less what you'd expect to find
Dialogue: 0,0:13:23.59,0:13:27.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,if this people had lived the events\Nthat they had been reading about.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:28.03,0:13:30.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They had actually lived an experience,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:30.60,0:13:34.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it had become part\Nof the architecture of their brain.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:34.89,0:13:36.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So in conclusion,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:36.07,0:13:40.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm really giving the same message,\NI think, as Delia, the speaker before,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:40.56,0:13:45.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is that your brain needs\Na workout as much as your body.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:45.48,0:13:50.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And reading fiction seems to be\None of the best workouts you can get.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:51.90,0:13:57.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And not only is it good for you,\Nbut it's also good for society as a whole
Dialogue: 0,0:13:57.53,0:13:59.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because the brain is like a muscle:
Dialogue: 0,0:13:59.98,0:14:04.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the more you force yourself through books\Nto take other people's perspectives,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:05.02,0:14:08.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to sympathize, to empathize\Nwith other people,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:08.58,0:14:11.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the more empathetic\Na society we will have.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:11.72,0:14:12.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thank you.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:12.75,0:14:14.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Applause)