Mindless reading is fundamental

Stop the presses! Absolutely mind-blowing, stunning new research has been done that will pave the way for tremendous new strides in understanding why some people don't learn as much from reading as others. Or not.

It seems that "checking out" while reading, or "zoning out", may have bad effects on how much the reader retains:

"For the first time, researchers have demonstrated the ill effects of mindless reading — a phenomenon in which people take in sentence after sentence without really paying attention.

Ever read the same paragraph three times? Or get to the end of a page and realize you don't know what you just read?

That's mindless reading. It is the literary equivalent of driving for miles without remembering how you got there — something so common many people don't even notice it.

In a new study of college students, researchers from the University of Pittsburgh and the University of British Columbia established a way to study mindless reading in a lab.

Their findings showed that daydreaming has its costs.

The readers who zoned out most tended to do the worst on tests of reading comprehension — a significant, if not surprising, result. The study also suggested that zoning out caused the poor test results, as opposed to other possible factors, such as the complexity of the text or the task.

The researchers hope their work inspires more research into why zoning out happens, and what can be done to stop it.

Well, now... Maybe we could all, oh, I don't know, pay attention?

I can see it all now... a new diagnosis for people who zone out while reading, complete with prescribed therapies, required interventions by schools, new state and federal codes that define procedures for dealing with the "zoners", etc. People will discover they've been "zoners" for years, and just didn't know it, and now they understand.

I wonder how many new Ph.D.s in education will be awarded for people who study "zoners", create new methodologies for teaching them, and design new curriculum to inculcate "zoner frendliness" into the next crop of educators. I'll bet there will be a state mandated inclusion in all teacher ed programs, covering "zoners" and their needs.

Quickly now, close your eyes... what did you just read?