The Science of Reading: E-Screens or Paper Books

In the November 2013 issue of Scientific American, the stark differences between reading a 'paper' book and reading a book on screen are examined. In the article, ....”The Science of Paper Versus Screen”, we learn about the influences each reading style has on the brain's capacity for memory, remembering, knowing and seeing. ...The tactile manipulation of the paper book helps promote a better understanding of text while establishing better long term memory. Electronic devices, with their portable, small screens, pose a greater strain on the eyes, and the brain's ability to think, understand or read the print, in an easy manner. ...
                                . ..."reading on paper still boasts unique advantages". ...

Screens on today's hand held devices are tiny versions of the television screens of yesteryear and today's modern day big screen viewing windows. Once upon a time, my mother would remind me not to sit to close to the television screen because it would 'hurt' my eyes. Funny, how things have changed. Or have they ? Understanding what is being read may be less efficient for the reader using electronic reading devices than reading the actual 'paper' book, a product of man's evolution.

From the beginning of time, man has been using his hands to manipulate both writing tool and the surface on which these ideas, thoughts and pictures are documented. Does our brain work more efficiently using the paper pages of a book to advance our understanding of the text? It would seem so. E-books are being touted as the next best thing in reading, a way of ridding our planet of paper books as we simplify the whole process of reading and learning. ... The Folio Society, book clubs, libraries and museums might beg to differ on whether the elimination of paper books is a welcoming departure from what history has given us. The Momsey loves books, newspapers, 'focus' magazines that enlighten, teach and enthrall. (A friend uses an e-reader when travelling by plane, thus reducing the 'bulk' consequences of paper books.)


Though e-readers are new age technology, paper books are our history's footnotes, a reminder of our existence, at one point in time. ... Books are constant reminders of where we have been, what we know and what happened, along the way. ... Like photographs, books tell a story about us, previous generations, our collective place in history and can be revisited anytime, anywhere. With e- readers, these magnificent reading machines, if the power grid goes, so does the screen and the print that accompanies it. Of course, the paper book is unreadable for only a moment while a camping lantern, candle or flashlight is switched on. ... When daylight arrives, the paper book still retains its properties: the text still remains intact, exactly where you left it. For the e-reader, daylight has no meaning. If the power grid is still down, our incredible reading machine is also. ..,


The printed word began our history. The e-reader was probably the mother of invention, an alternative way of reaching an audience, losing touch with books and their sometimes, ridiculous associated costs. (University/college textbooks are notoriously costly. Captive audience, perhaps?) The paper book can survive on its own. Can the same be said of the e-reader? This new reading device requires a host from which it can operate. It is sad to think that a paper book is being thought of as a regressive step, a relic of the past. ...  Authors are born when their paper book gets published. Magazines-the great ones- provide us with information in a format that is not necessarily available in their entirety 'on the net'. The net changes its landscape, sometimes, almost daily. What you located yesterday might not be there tomorrow or might be altered in a format not expected. We are used to instantaneous gratification. There is no permanence to an e-reader. There is with a paper book.


A chemistry book, 50 years after its publication debut, a 'relic' from my 'school days', is a treasured 'paper' memento to this day. Would it exist today on an e-reader? Another hard cover book, published in the 1800's, over a century ago, is as delicious as a piece of Italian rum cake. There is no contest. There is room for both. ...