Who knew pages held such power? That whole “emotional manipulation” that we suffer from television and movies? You think you’re safe from it by turning to a book? Think the ink and paper provides enough of a barrier for your mind to distance itself from being tugged in directions it doesn’t necessarily want to go? To see images you didn’t want to see?
Think again. A new study, using MRI scans, shows that the same regions of the brain–those involved with experiencing an emotion–are activated no matter whether a person is watching an image of an object or event, reading about that same object or event, or actually experiencing that object or event.
So, writers of the world, be aware of this awesome power you hold over people’s minds. With great power comes…you know…world domination and stuff.
(Also, do realize boredom is an emotion, and that it can be felt just as strongly reading a book as anything else. Make sure the plot never lets the reader want to put it down.)
I see that smile.
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