Fascinating survey data out from Pew about teens and writing. The gist of it is that teens are writing a lot more than their parents - text messages, social networking messages, and IM - but that they don't consider this kind of writing as "real writing." It's more like an expression - a verbal expression - than what they conceive of as the stuff they do for homework.
This topic is fascinating to me in light of a recent book I've read called the Alphabet Versus the Goddess, by Leonard Shlain. Here's a blurb from Shlain's web site about the book:
"Shlain proposes that the process of learning alphabetic literacy rewired the
human brain, with profound consequences for culture...Shlain argues that literacy
reinforced the brain's linear, abstract, predominantly masculine left
hemisphere at the expense of the holistic, iconic feminine right one.
This shift upset the balance between men and women initiating the
disappearance of goddesses, the abhorrence of images, and, in
literacy's early stages, the decline of women's political status.
Patriarchy and misogyny followed."
Shlain's arguments are compelling. He traces trends across the passage of known history that support his thesis. If for a moment, you accept his thesis, and you look at the pew data that shows that 60% of teens do not think of their electronic texts as "writing," you are lead to ask if we are entering a new era of written communication.
Is our writing becoming so ingrained in the fiber of our electronic lives that it's as natural as speaking? Are we moving even further down the worm hole of linear abstraction? Or are we devaluing the written word such that it's becoming more like a grunt than a considered translation of perception to paper? Do our brains function similarly when we send a mobile phone text message as when we compose a paragraph for print? Or do these two acts engage distinct processes?
The Pew study focuses narrowly on writing as a life skill, but if we use Shlain's approach, we arrive at broader social questions that could potentially impact gender relations, brain evolution, and our attitudes towards life on the planet. I'd love to know what Shlain thinks about this recent report...
Holy moly, I clicked save on this post, then reached for today's newspaper and discovered an article on this very topic: How Alphabets Shape the Brain in the WSJ. This article discusses studies that show that people who are dyslexic in one language may not be in another - because different languages use such different parts of the brain. is: a dyslexic English reader, may do perfectly fine in Chinese. Some pithy quotes:
"In this sense, we may regard dyslexia in Chinese and English as two
different brain disorders," Dr. Tan said, "because completely different
brain regions are disrupted. It's very likely that a person who is
dyslexic in Chinese would not be dyslexic in English."
In ways that ancient scribes never imagined, text has transformed us.
Every brain shaped by reading, whether it is schooled in Chinese or
English text, measurably differs -- in terms of patterns of energy use
and brain structure -- from one that has never mastered the written
word, comparative brain-imaging studies show. "There are real
differences that emerge because of literacy," Dr. Wolf said.
Added 6.15.08
Just came across this article in the Economist, which is tangentially related to the above - it's about the genetic legacy of nomadism... essentially that there are biological benefits to feel the need to wander to new places, to do new things, to not be satisfied with the sedentary. Essentially ADHD is a benefit to nomadic groups... and only becomes a "medical condition" when we change our living habits.
I was thinking this same thing in terms of eyesight... My distance vision has been deteriorating recently. I can't read signs that are far away. However, several years ago, I went on a sailing trip for 3 weeks and didn't notice that far away was blurry whatsoever. There was nothing to read in the distance. The distance was naturally blurry. The idea of 20/20 is only relevant in a given modern context.
My Aunt Marge is the best. She called up her local library (Livermore) and strong-armed them into buying the book. Then she sent me a photo of the book on the shelf. So, thanks Marge! It's fun to see it in the public space.
