Why Reading Matters (BBC)

Este documentário da BBC Four foi levado ao ar no mês de Fevereiro deste ano. O documentário tem duração de 60 minutos. Embora não esteja mais disponível no site da BBC iPlayer cujo link é indicado no texto abaixo, você pode encontrá-lo em 6 partes no You Tube. Basta seguir o link abaixo onde encontra a primeira parte e depois procurar pelas demais em "Related videos".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdwFFFBCPzw&feature=related

Science writer Rita Carter tells the story of how modern neuroscience has revealed that reading, something most of us take for granted, unlocks remarkable powers. Carter explains how the classic novel "Wuthering Heights" (O Morro dos Ventos Uivantes) allows us to step inside other minds and understand the world from different points of view, and she wonders whether the new digital revolution could threaten the values of classic reading.

The documentary, about the incredible power that reading unlocks in the brain, features Philip Davis, editor of The Reader magazine, investigating the ‘Shakespeared Brain’ - how the shapes of Shakespeare’s lines and sentences effect our minds - and The Reader Organisation’s pioneering outreach project Get Into Reading.

Professor Thierry, an expert in language processing and particular semantics (the meaning of language) contributed to the programme (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00hk7w3). The programme makers were particularly interested in research on Shakespeare conducted by Thierry in collaboration with Professor Philip Davis at the University of Liverpool.

The experiment, run in Thierry's lab in the School of Psychology at Bangor University found that Shakespearean language excites positive brain activity, adding further drama to the bard's plays and poetry.

Shakespeare uses a linguistic technique known as functional shift that involves, for example, using a noun to serve as a verb. This process causes a sudden peak in brain activity and forces the brain to work backwards in order to fully understand what Shakespeare says. Remarkably however, the neuroimaging data obtained shows that this surprise effect leaves the processing of meaning unaltered, the reader (or listener) understands the message equally well.

Professor Philip Davis, from the Liverpool University's School of English, said: "The brain reacts to reading a phrase such as 'he godded me' from the tragedy of Coriolanus, in a similar way to putting a jigsaw puzzle together. If it is easy to see which pieces slot together you become bored of the game, but if the pieces don't appear to fit, when we know they should, the brain becomes excited. By throwing odd words into seemingly normal sentences, Shakespeare surprises the brain and catches it off guard in a manner that produces a sudden burst of activity - a sense of drama created out of the simplest of things."

Experts believe that this heightened brain activity may be one of the reasons why Shakespeare's plays have such a dramatic impact on their readers.

Twenty participants were monitored using an electroencephalogram (EEG) as they read selected lines from Shakespeare's plays. The findings were published in the prestigious journal Neuroimage last year.

It’s not available on BBC iPlayer anymore but you can watch on YourTube - [BBC] Why Reading Matters in 6 parts.