"‘When we “get lost” in a good book, we’re doing more than simply following a story. Imagining what’s happening is as good at activating the brain as “doing” it.’
New MRI scanning techniques now enable science to prove this. In 2009, an American brain-imaging study showed that when we read and imagine the landscapes, sounds, smells and tastes described on the page, the various areas of the brain that are used to process these experiences in real life are activated, creating new neural pathways.
In other words, our brains simulate real experiences, just as if we were living them ourselves.
This doesn’t happen when we’re watching TV or playing a computer game."
More: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2193496/Getting-lost-good-book-help-healthy.html
WikiJustice: WikiLeaks meets Jack London's The Assassination Bureau, Ltd. www.SPYWRITER.com
28/08/2012
24/08/2012
Literature's place in society
"Literature should reach out to people and it should not limit itself within the confines of literacy. It should make an impact on society, should transform history, and demolish hurdles that hinder the growth of society."
From: http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Tiruchirapalli/article1480695.ece
WikiJustice: WikiLeaks meets Jack London's The Assassination Bureau, Ltd. www.SPYWRITER.com
From: http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Tiruchirapalli/article1480695.ece
WikiJustice: WikiLeaks meets Jack London's The Assassination Bureau, Ltd. www.SPYWRITER.com
Espionage Monopoly
More: http://www.mnn.com/green-tech/gadgets-electronics/stories/4-unbelievable-spy-gadgets
###END OF POST###
THE BLACK VAULT by Jack King:
It's the year of
23/08/2012
Judging Literature
Rumors circulate about the likely recipient of this year's literary nobel prize. But is judging literary work possible and apropriate?
"To any reasonable man or woman, the Nobel Prize in Literature seems rather innocuous. But the Nobel Prize in Literature is not the truth. The Nobel Prize in Literature is not fair to all concerned. The Nobel Prize in Literature will not build goodwill nor better friendships. The Nobel Prize in Literature is not beneficial to all concerned. And therefore, the Nobel Prize in Literature fails the Four Way Test and cannot be considered an ethical institution.
Let me explain in more detail. First and foremost, the Nobel Prize in Literature is not the truth. When the Swedish Academy chooses an author to be a Nobel Laureate, they are effectively saying that this author has attained literary greatness. They are attempting to objectively rank a subjective art. Unlike other literary awards such as the National Book Award, the Man-Booker Prize, or the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction, the Nobel Prize in Literature is awarded for a body of work rather than a specific book. Thus, it represents the world's most important instrument in codifying literary greatness.
This is why it is not the truth. It is impossible to objectively rank literature, and any institution that purports to do so is, to an extent, lying."
From: http://westport.patch.com
WikiJustice: WikiLeaks meets Jack London's The Assassination Bureau, Ltd. www.SPYWRITER.com
"To any reasonable man or woman, the Nobel Prize in Literature seems rather innocuous. But the Nobel Prize in Literature is not the truth. The Nobel Prize in Literature is not fair to all concerned. The Nobel Prize in Literature will not build goodwill nor better friendships. The Nobel Prize in Literature is not beneficial to all concerned. And therefore, the Nobel Prize in Literature fails the Four Way Test and cannot be considered an ethical institution.
Let me explain in more detail. First and foremost, the Nobel Prize in Literature is not the truth. When the Swedish Academy chooses an author to be a Nobel Laureate, they are effectively saying that this author has attained literary greatness. They are attempting to objectively rank a subjective art. Unlike other literary awards such as the National Book Award, the Man-Booker Prize, or the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction, the Nobel Prize in Literature is awarded for a body of work rather than a specific book. Thus, it represents the world's most important instrument in codifying literary greatness.
This is why it is not the truth. It is impossible to objectively rank literature, and any institution that purports to do so is, to an extent, lying."
From: http://westport.patch.com
WikiJustice: WikiLeaks meets Jack London's The Assassination Bureau, Ltd. www.SPYWRITER.com
17/08/2012
Literature for social woes
"A writer has two personas, one social and one personal. In his personal life he has his own particular tastes and preferences. When an educated, cultured person reads fiction, poetry or literature, he derives an aesthetic pleasure out of it, and finds inspiration to create a work of similar nature. After this the issue becomes external. What does he write and why does he write? If he is writing for his personal pleasure or for money, then his contributions remain superficial. If, however, he writes for a greater purpose of social change, then this brings harmony into his personal and social literary personas, and the two are essentially conflated.
Life is complicated, and literature is a reflection of life, and true literature therefore captures that complexity. And if you treat literature only as an instrument for entertainment and amusement, it will lose its authenticity, and will be alienated from its nature. If you make literature a guide to life, then it is inevitable that you will have to take up social issues as well. If an artist is incapable of doing so, then I believe that there is something deficient in his skill."
More: http://www.thefridaytimes.com/beta3/tft/article.php?issue=20120817&page=23
### END OF POST ###
www.SPYWRITER.com
Life is complicated, and literature is a reflection of life, and true literature therefore captures that complexity. And if you treat literature only as an instrument for entertainment and amusement, it will lose its authenticity, and will be alienated from its nature. If you make literature a guide to life, then it is inevitable that you will have to take up social issues as well. If an artist is incapable of doing so, then I believe that there is something deficient in his skill."
More: http://www.thefridaytimes.com/beta3/tft/article.php?issue=20120817&page=23
### END OF POST ###
www.SPYWRITER.com
16/08/2012
Faking It, or sticking it to the establishment
"the literary fake—a piece of fiction that pretends in some way to be true. Is it fact or fiction? Is it good fun or something more disturbing? By operating under the auspices of traditionally nonfictional modes to tell its story, the literary fake chooses to bring the reader to suspension of disbelief through means that include extreme guile—and, in cases where the reader recognizes the trick, continues to amuse, entertain, and say something interesting about the human condition regardless. As such, it destabilizes our view of reality, which can be uncomfortable, sometimes unforgivable, especially if we think someone is laughing at us. We don’t always appreciate things that look like other things, even if there’s a purpose to the mimicry; perhaps this is a vestige of an ancient evolutionary trait that allowed us to discern between the harmless and the harmful.
Nor do some readers, apparently, like to think they are being made to believe something false against their will. Fakes are especially divisive at two essential moments in time: when they slip past the reader’s defenses and when the reader discovers the deception. Whether this latter point occurs soon after picking up the book or halfway through it, a literary fake eventually forces the reader to decide whether to be sympathetic or hostile toward the fakery."
But writers may be onto something when they fake it:
"Fakes [...] can be a form of guerilla warfare against the establishment, acting out against the artificiality and sheer bureaucratic impulse that animates much of modern book culture. Naturally, then, a fake can “disturb the guardians of literary studies, book-reviewing, and the literary awards system."
More: http://www.newhavenreview.com/index.php/print-editions/the-art-of-the-literary-fake-with-violin/
### END OF POST ###
www.SPYWRITER.com
Nor do some readers, apparently, like to think they are being made to believe something false against their will. Fakes are especially divisive at two essential moments in time: when they slip past the reader’s defenses and when the reader discovers the deception. Whether this latter point occurs soon after picking up the book or halfway through it, a literary fake eventually forces the reader to decide whether to be sympathetic or hostile toward the fakery."
But writers may be onto something when they fake it:
"Fakes [...] can be a form of guerilla warfare against the establishment, acting out against the artificiality and sheer bureaucratic impulse that animates much of modern book culture. Naturally, then, a fake can “disturb the guardians of literary studies, book-reviewing, and the literary awards system."
More: http://www.newhavenreview.com/index.php/print-editions/the-art-of-the-literary-fake-with-violin/
### END OF POST ###
www.SPYWRITER.com
15/08/2012
Who needs literature?
"Starting this year, at least half of all reading in our schools is supposed to be non-fiction. And that includes kindergarten.
What makes matters even worse for later grades is that students already read non-fiction almost exclusively in all their other courses, so if you take science, social studies, and math into account, only one-eighth of student reading will be literary. And that fraction is likely to shrink in the future.
So the question looms: Is literature necessary? ...
While ripping “The Cat in the Hat” from the hands of kindergarteners and replacing it with “How Factories Work” may, in the long run, produce better factory workers, it is unlikely to produce better citizens. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be operated on by a doctor who couldn’t master “Dr. Zhivago,” nor do I want to be defended by a lawyer who thinks Sydney Carton is a box of Australian cigarettes.
In truth, we should be encouraging students to read more literature, not less. Literature allows us to see how all humans are connected through common experiences and emotions. It allows us to examine our past and plan for our future. It can help make us more empathetic to our fellows. Perhaps most importantly literature exposes us to new ideas and forces us to think in new ways.
If our goal is to improve education, what could be more practical than that?"
From: http://www.nytimes.com/schoolbook/2012/08/15/never-mind-algebra-is-literature-necessary/
What makes matters even worse for later grades is that students already read non-fiction almost exclusively in all their other courses, so if you take science, social studies, and math into account, only one-eighth of student reading will be literary. And that fraction is likely to shrink in the future.
So the question looms: Is literature necessary? ...
While ripping “The Cat in the Hat” from the hands of kindergarteners and replacing it with “How Factories Work” may, in the long run, produce better factory workers, it is unlikely to produce better citizens. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be operated on by a doctor who couldn’t master “Dr. Zhivago,” nor do I want to be defended by a lawyer who thinks Sydney Carton is a box of Australian cigarettes.
In truth, we should be encouraging students to read more literature, not less. Literature allows us to see how all humans are connected through common experiences and emotions. It allows us to examine our past and plan for our future. It can help make us more empathetic to our fellows. Perhaps most importantly literature exposes us to new ideas and forces us to think in new ways.
If our goal is to improve education, what could be more practical than that?"
From: http://www.nytimes.com/schoolbook/2012/08/15/never-mind-algebra-is-literature-necessary/
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