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The Leonard Lopate Show

The Science of the Reading Brain

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Unlike vision and speech, reading has no direct genetic program passing it on to future generations. So where did this unlikely skill come from? And why do some people, like dyslexics, find it hard to read? Maryanne Wolf, a professor of child development, explores these complicated questions in Proust and the Squid. She integrates psychology and archaeology, linguistics and education, and history and neuroscience to look into the development of the reading brain.

Proust and the Squid is available for purchase at amazon.com


Comments

  • [1] Chad Harris from Ridgewood September 25, 2007 - 12:13PM

    Can you ask her about teaching children to learn with computers? E-learning?
  • [2] Michael D. Robinson from Park Slope September 25, 2007 - 12:20PM

    Note on Chinese: Modern Chinese writing is not pictographic and has not been for many centuries. Each Chinese character today has a single sound value. Essentially, each character represents a syllable and has a very limited connection to pictographs, although vestiges of pictography do remain.
  • [3] Jan from NYC September 25, 2007 - 12:34PM

    You speak of "sounds" of words. What happens when a child is deaf?


  • [4] Ben from Richmond, VA September 25, 2007 - 12:38PM

    Hello,

    A question for Maryanne

    I am married to a Slovak women who is fluent in English and many other languages. When we decide to have children is it important for them to hear one language until a certain age and then begin to learn other languages? Can their young brains process the various sounds without confusing their development?

    Thank you

    Ben
  • [5] jamie from brooklyn September 25, 2007 - 12:38PM

    xenophon
  • [6] Jeff Hook from East Orange, NJ September 25, 2007 - 02:23PM

    This text might not even be "approved" by the Amazon.com moderator, but I was so favorably impressed by Dr. Wolf's comments that I attempted to post this at Amazon's cited page for Dr. Wolf's book:

    I haven't read this book, but I just heard an interview in which Dr. Wolf discussed this text on WNYC Radio in New York City. I'll limit my remarks because I can't evaluate the book itself, but I wanted to share my impression of Dr. Wolf's comments. She speaks *passionately* about the many topics which she discusses in the book. She seems to know these fascinating subjects deeply and exhaustively, and she displays an *admirable* appreciation of them. I'm only assuming the book is packed with the type of insights which Dr. Wolf communicated in the radio interview, but the prior reviews which have been posted here seem to suggest readers won't be disappointed. Dr. Wolf appears to be a recognized expert in her field. I suspect she's an excellent guide to these important and stimulating topics.

    Another reviewer mentioned that an audio version of this book hasn't yet been released. I think Dr. Wolf should record her own audio version! She's an *exceptional* speaker. Who better to "speak" this text?

    I'm encouraged to hear someone of such deep and profound learning who also communicates such interest and such appreciation.


  • [7] Gilda Nussbaum from Riverdale, Bronx, NY September 25, 2007 - 02:33PM

    Dear Leonard,

    I have been listening to you day and (if I'm up late enough) night for years. This is the first time I have written to any radio or TV show, but I had to tell you how much I enjoyed

    your conversation with Maryanne Wolf. It was most informative and fascinating and her enthusiasm and love of the subject of reading just radiated through the radio speaker. Thank you so much for this and all your other wonderful broadcasts.

This thread is closed.


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