What you are holding in your hands is already very outdated. In a world where many people rely on their cell phones and iPods to provide quick entertainment, the written word is often overlooked in favor of abbreviated, misspelled conversation typed onto one-inch screens. There is nothing digital about ink on paper, and nothing that can be edited, erased, or updated. We all feel the distracting draw of our devices—that cannot be denied. I am more apt to send a text message than crack open Richard III, but I know I will learn more from reading Shakespearian verse than I will from finding out what my friends are doing. We all crave interaction, even if it’s the creepy kind found on Facebook, and when we are presented with a medium that requires our individual attention, it is hard to detach ourselves. The written word demands our participation, however, and will reward us for our efforts.
Reading is an act traditionally done in solitude, with the notable exception of first grade story time where they gave you animal crackers and you got a nap afterwards. Unfortunately, that golden age was lost years ago. Now, in this fast-paced collegiate environment, I often find myself skimming over chapters in my textbooks so I can ease my guilty conscience by saying that I “read” them even when I know I didn’t learn a single thing. Reading should be directly tied to the idea of learning, for to do one is to do the other. And if we aren’t here to learn, why are we here?
The term “reading” is relative, however. We all read, yes, but do we comprehend? These are two completely different animals. To read could be as easy as glossing over a chapter of your biology textbook over Sunset Strips (what the hell are those, by the way?) and a smoothie in the Student Union. Comprehension, you’ll find, is lacking when you fail the subsequent quiz. What went wrong? Passing your eyes over text does not engage your mind, nor does it activate your memory to record what you are seeing for later use. True comprehension entails complete involvement of the mind in what you read on the page. If you are truly engaged in a text (which could be anything: a play, an article, a book, everything in Generation), the world around you fades and you are brought entirely into a new setting.
I know, I know. Like a movie, right? Yeah, kind of, but without someone else making all the decisions for you. Use your imagination! Say you’re reading Romeo and Juliet, right, and instead of some hairy Elizabethan dude playing Juliet in a staged movie adaptation, you could imagine Scarlett Johansson in a low cut dress. Not so bad after all, is it? Unless, of course, you’re into furry, medieval British men. And that’s cool too.
The key to learning is to tune out all distractions—close your cell phone, turn off the iPod, tell the kid next to you to shut up for a second, and just enjoy something for its own sake, apart from any other stimuli. Find a quiet spot, grab a book, and forget about everything else for a few minutes. Hell, I don’t care if you’re reading a cooking magazine as long as you learn something.
Hey, speaking of learning, we have a whole Day of Learning coming up in a week, which is a pretty remarkable concept. The whole university will shut down completely in order to allow us to experience a lecture from one of the world’s most respected leaders. If you are interested in learning more about the Dalai Lama and his visit to Buffalo, check out our article in the Features section.
And, well—4 those of u who would rathr txt msg ur college carers away, u mite miss out on sum kool stuff.
Good luck with your semester. Make me proud.
Stephen Boyd
Literary Editor
