A Considerable Amount Of Work

Compared to drawing and carving, the making of pots, and the weaving of baskets, reading is a relatively recent human accomplishment, dating back no more than fifty-two hundred years.  Unlike speech, which is acquired by easy osmosis, reading is not something that comes naturally to most of us.  Instead, it must be learned, slowly and painstakingly, by each successive generation.  The eye works its way across the page in little jumps, known technically as “saccades,” pausing at intervals like a frog on a lily pad, in order to ingest the next new word.  As science writer Simon Ings explains, “The eyes literally cannot see stationary objects; they must tremble constantly in order to bring them into view.”  Whereas listening is relatively fast (one needs only a hundredth of a second between sounds in order to distinguish them), looking takes far longer (one needs at least a tenth of a second between two images if they are not to blur), and reading takes longest of all, requiring a full quarter second for each individual word.  Reading, then, involves a considerable amount of work.
—    Christian McEwen, World Enough & Time
[This quote was found at one of the blogs I follow:  “Live And Learn” at  DavidKanigan.com
The specific post is located at:  http://davidkanigan.com/2016/04/03/intense-rendezvous/
David’s blog is well worth a visit.    —    kmab]
.
On This Day In:
2021	The Real World Effect Of Fox News’ Lies
	Anymore
2020	#45: White House Turnover
	R.I.P.: Eddie Van Halen
	Gee Whiz
2019	Two Peace
2018	The Sensation Of Human Intimacy
2017	One Night In A Thousand Years
2016	A Considerable Amount Of Work
2015	Panzer Soldier
2014	Babies (I)
2013	Patriotic == Tell The Truth
2012	30 Days To Go
2011	Altering The Course

Read Full Post »