‘Readers: Born or made?’: Is there a recreational reading gene?
Has anyone ever studied the recreational reading habits of identical twins raised in different households? Just how much does environment count? Maybe less than we’d think?
Is there a pleasure reading gene or set of them? Or at least an absence of problems, such as the mildest trace of dyslexia or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, that would interfere with enjoyment of books?
And on the other side of the coin, might positive genes help keep people distracted from recreational reading? Maybe hand-eye coordination genes that served their owners well in baseball or video-gaming?
Oh, and how to distinguish the pleasure reading gene from the work reading gene, the latter of which might be too highly developed in lawyers?
I’m wondering after having read—for pleasure, not just work—the following in Darrell Bain’s June newsletter:
“Betty and I have taken sort of an informal survey of our families and friends on the subject of who reads for pleasure as a principal form of entertainment and who doesn’t. We’ve discovered that it apparently doesn’t matter how much or how little parents try to influence kids to enjoy fiction and reading for pleasure. They either do or they don’t and the amount of influence or exposure from parents isn’t much of a factor. We’ve come to the conclusion that readers are born, not made. There’s something in the identity of the person that makes some people gravitate to reading fiction but we don’t have a clue what it is. Does anyone?”
That said, could e-books alter the equation—make pleasure readers out of people who otherwise might not be so inclined? Perhaps through the ability to change type size or background color or text width or otherwise adapt to readers’ preferences? Or perhaps simply through the readers’ mysterious preference for pressing buttons rather than flipping pages? Is there anyone here who always hated recreational reading of P but turned around for E?
Detail: I’m already resigned to the fact I’ll hear from superbly coordinated video games fans who’ve read and loved every line of Homer and Shakespeare for pleasure. Go ahead! Say so! I’m asking questions, not saying I have the answer to Darrell’s riddle.
July 7th, 2008 at 9:49 am
Of course it is always dangerous to to try and broadly characterize a group, but I think you will find that readers also tend to be more likely fans of sports based on individuals (tennis, golf, gymnastics) than group sports (football, basketball). They tend to value individual achievement over group goals. It also helps if the person felt a need to escape the “real” world from a young age - when other forms of escape would have been closed to them. A touch of introvert or shyness, a disability, or problems communicating also, I think, can encourage reading. Certainly a good imagination, or strong abitity to visualize helps too. A curiosity about the world and a strong desire to “know” things, without the real ability to travel, and/or or study would also lead someone to read. Because they read, you will find that readers tend to write better, have a better vocabrulary, and tend to appear better educated than their formal education would suggest.
July 7th, 2008 at 10:18 am
Interesting thought, and something I’ve wondered too.
I don’t know though, I have ADHD and I’m an avid reader…
September 22nd, 2008 at 9:26 am
[...] Sci-fi author Darrell Bain also wonders if readers are born instead of made (ht Teleread): [...]