We had the tantalizing beginnings of a conversation today about various forms of distraction from reading -- both visual and auditory. The main forms of *visual* distraction that we identified were films, television, video games, and the internet (recognizing that there is some overlap among those categories, of course).
It was also asserted that *auditory* stimuli -- particularly music on an MP3 player -- can take one's attention and energy away from reading. This is clearly the case for at least some of you.
On the other hand, it was also asserted (and I have heard this said a number of times before today) that having music on, in the background, can actually *help* one focus one's concentration when one is studying. On the surface of things at least, this seems to suggest that music is, or can be, an aid to concentration rather than a distraction from it.
Discuss.
2 comments:
I would have to say that music's tendency to improve concentration is dependent on two things. The first element of relevance is the type of music. The second is the genre of the reading material and how particularly interested a reader is in that specific material. And, what do we call it when a book, article, poem, or any set of words on a page is so fantastic, involved, and enrapturing that they make the sounds of the rest of the world silent?
I'm no biology expert, but I did hear that the visual processing parts of our brain are newer than some of the other parts. This would make them less energy-efficient, so that when they are engaged with stimulus, other parts of your brain get neglected. That might explain how one might find it easier to take in additional stimuli when not occupying their visual cortex. Again, I'm no expert, but it makes sense.
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