On the influence of various activities on the brain - based on "Digital Slaves: Transhumanism in Practice" by Grzegorz Osiński

I was browsing through my old notes and I accidentally came across some interesting information about the brain that I had written down from Grzegorz Osiński’s previously discussed book "Digital Slaves: Transhumanism in Practice". I found these insights valuable enough that they should be shared.

A great deal has already been written about the value of reading, and Grzegorz Osiński joins these praises by stating that reading activates large areas of the brain, especially the cerebral cortex. What may surprise some people even more is the claim that reading aloud activates the brain to an even greater extent. If you think about it, this is logical, since in addition to vision we also use our speech and hearing apparatus. As a teacher, I can confirm that a text read aloud is remembered better — so this is not merely a school exercise, but it is an activity that has a truly positive effect on our brains. Of course, the author does not suggest reading aloud only (nor is it always possible). Instead, he recommends reading long texts over the course of several days or even a couple of weeks, for at least an hour a day.

He also points out that films activate different areas of the brain, especially those responsible for emotions — yet to gain the full benefit from them, it is best to watch them in a cinema on a large screen with good sound and image quality, while remaining focused. The worst option, on the other hand, is watching on the small screen of a smartphone. The Internet has also given us the opportunity to learn by watching recorded lectures or presentations. Without questioning these opportunities for intellectual development, the author believes that participating in lectures or classes “in real life” is far better. Moreover, children benefit more from playing outdoors with their peers than from playing computer games. I can agree with this — direct human contact always surpasses immersion in the digital world, just as traditional learning surpasses remote education.

Some people may be surprised to learn that there are natural limits to neuron activation that should not be exceeded. If the brain activates more than 10% at once, it overheats — and certain games, especially VR games, affect it in precisely this way. Prolonged gaming under such conditions leads to an increase in the brain’s average temperature. To clarify, it should be added that it is normal for the brain to “switch” neurons dozens of times per second (activating some while deactivating others).

Additionally, Osiński emphasizes the value of repetition (without it, neural connections are not permanent) and handwriting (which engages the brain far more intensely than a keyboard or touchscreen).

That is all I wanted to share in today’s post. Once again, I encourage everyone to read "Digital Slaves" and other worthwhile books.