Is reading really good for you ?

Albert Einstein once said:

Reading, after a certain age, diverts the mind too much from its creative pursuits. Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking.

Most people’s first impression to this statement, would probably be to disagree. After all, reading is supposed to be good for you. It improves your vocabulary, broadens your horizons, allows you to learn new things, helps you sleep, can help with dementia and can even make you a better leader.

So why, one of the world’s smartest person, would say that reading could be disadvantageous.

Well, let us dive into what Einstein actually said any why?

To begin with, he claims

reading, after certain age, diverts the mind too much from its creative pursuits.

This could be compared to a student who is afraid to leave higher education and step into the world of business. He keeps reading, he keeps studying, but not much beyond that.

Whilst reading could be fantastic for learning, nothing can replace the impact that true experience brings.

Books can offer access to vast and wonderful worlds and experiences. When reading our imagination can go wild and we can discover what is otherwise inaccessible to us. It is important however that we also live our lives in the real world. For instance, discovering true love rather than just reading about it is like reading about different tastes and actually trying things for ourselves.

A dangerous part of reading can manifest itself when we read too much about only one side of the story. This is particularly important in politics or in any opinionated debates.

In particular today, when the world is full of unfiltered, biased and often false information, it is important that we take ownership of what we are fed. We must not let other people create our own realities and throw off the shackles of propaganda.

In this particular instance, it is reading less of some and reading more of all parts to the story.

So what was that part about

Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking.

Albert Einstein was a theoretical physicist. He surely used his brain a lot and thought a lot, so why is he saying that thinking is a lazy habit?

Reading improves our imagination and our imagination can generate tons of wonderful ideas. However unless turned into actionable steps, all our thoughts vanish and never see the light of the day. Einstein dared us to let our thoughts out and share them with the world.

Reading is wonderful and we should all continue to do that. It brings a vast range of benefits and there is something for everyone. We could probably fill an ocean with all the books and articles that have been written so far.

Live happens outside of the written word. It takes place at the dinner table with our partner, at the playground with our children, in a gym with our friends.

It takes place everywhere around us.

We should read, but we should also live.

M | K