Some researchers are finding evidence that fiction improves a person's ability to empathize by sharpening their theory of mind. And by empathy I mean more than

Some researchers are finding evidence that fiction improves a person's ability to empathize by sharpening their theory of mind. And by empathy I mean more than just being able to comfort people well. I mean the ability to know that She knew that he knows that they think she thinks they know about her top secret project. This level of intentionality is useful for making optimal decisions and navigating complex social scenarios, the best authors have one or 2 more levels than the average of 4 . Reading a sensory description actually activates the respective areas in the brain, a bona fide simulation of reality. The reason reading can absorb one so much is that the brain is actually generating signals that are essentially the same as if the person was actually experiencing the phenomenon* . Better than common sense, scientific evidence is actually showing that reading has measurable beneficial effects. ( * ) What’s more, this activity was concentrated in one part of the motor cortex when the movement described was arm-related and in another part when the movement concerned the leg. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/18/opinion/sunday/the-neuroscience-of-your-brain-on-fiction.html?pagewanted=all http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/18/opinion/sunday/the-neurosc...