Does reading books actually...

They can, yes. I read Fahrenheit451 by Ray Bradbury and it totally blew my mind into another castle. :|

[QUOTE="MythofSisyphus"]

[QUOTE="EmilioDigsIt"]I rarely read books in school, but always got 95-100% on English reading and writing tests if I cared.
Wish I would read more, but my mind wanders.
EmilioDigsIt

stop playing so many video games and it will stop wandering while reading. Video games condition your brain so that you lose interest if you arent interacting with flashing objects on a bright colorful screen.

Can't get enough Baconators and Frosties? :P

you know what, id have to disagree with the notion that reading books makes you smarter. maybe a hundred years ago when people were stupid, reading books might have made you smarter. nowadays, we have google. if you have a question, you google it or maybe even wikipedia it. remmbermytitans

Wikipedia can be a doubtful source. It is edited by 'random' people off the internet. But yeah Google can help. But personally I prefer reading from books. I love that 'book smell'.

[QUOTE="remmbermytitans"]you know what, id have to disagree with the notion that reading books makes you smarter. maybe a hundred years ago when people were stupid, reading books might have made you smarter. nowadays, we have google. if you have a question, you google it or maybe even wikipedia it. Napster06

Wikipedia can be a doubtful source. It is edited by 'random' people off the internet. But yeah Google can help. But personally I prefer reading from books. I love that 'book smell'.

well it makes you "book smart" :Psorry bad pun :(

yes, it does, but at the same time is still entertaining.

[QUOTE="remmbermytitans"]you know what, id have to disagree with the notion that reading books makes you smarter. maybe a hundred years ago when people were stupid, reading books might have made you smarter. nowadays, we have google. if you have a question, you google it or maybe even wikipedia it. Napster06

Wikipedia can be a doubtful source. It is edited by 'random' people off the internet. But yeah Google can help. But personally I prefer reading from books. I love that 'book smell'.

[QUOTE="Napster06"]

[QUOTE="remmbermytitans"]you know what, id have to disagree with the notion that reading books makes you smarter. maybe a hundred years ago when people were stupid, reading books might have made you smarter. nowadays, we have google. if you have a question, you google it or maybe even wikipedia it. zero9167

Wikipedia can be a doubtful source. It is edited by 'random' people off the internet. But yeah Google can help. But personally I prefer reading from books. I love that 'book smell'.

[QUOTE="Napster06"]

[QUOTE="remmbermytitans"]you know what, id have to disagree with the notion that reading books makes you smarter. maybe a hundred years ago when people were stupid, reading books might have made you smarter. nowadays, we have google. if you have a question, you google it or maybe even wikipedia it. zero9167

Wikipedia can be a doubtful source. It is edited by 'random' people off the internet. But yeah Google can help. But personally I prefer reading from books. I love that 'book smell'.

Nope. Me too! Well not actually beacuse I flip the pages slowly. Interesting though, because I have never heard someone say they like books because of the 'sound'. :P

[QUOTE="zero9167"][QUOTE="Napster06"]

[QUOTE="remmbermytitans"]you know what, id have to disagree with the notion that reading books makes you smarter. maybe a hundred years ago when people were stupid, reading books might have made you smarter. nowadays, we have google. if you have a question, you google it or maybe even wikipedia it. Napster06

Wikipedia can be a doubtful source. It is edited by 'random' people off the internet. But yeah Google can help. But personally I prefer reading from books. I love that 'book smell'.

Nope. Me too! Well not actually beacuse I flip the pages slowly. Interesting though, because I have never heard someone say they like books because of the 'sound'. :P

well when speakers go out on your computer you gotta resort to something. :P :| ok that was just crap. :x

Also on a side note, when your power goes out for a while or you don't have internet at your convenience, its kinda hard to read up on stuff online, but then again not all of the computers might be free at the local library. :| Then again there are a LOT of books in there. :shock: I should probably try to findsome more decent books to read, but the only way I'll know for sure is if I read them. :? I don't like the idea since I came across a book with the time zone around WW2, and there were parts only meant for mature audiences... needless to say I never finished the book, nor did a report on it and failed even though the teacher helped point them out so I could avoid them. :x

[QUOTE="zero9167"][QUOTE="Napster06"]

[QUOTE="remmbermytitans"]you know what, id have to disagree with the notion that reading books makes you smarter. maybe a hundred years ago when people were stupid, reading books might have made you smarter. nowadays, we have google. if you have a question, you google it or maybe even wikipedia it. Napster06

Wikipedia can be a doubtful source. It is edited by 'random' people off the internet. But yeah Google can help. But personally I prefer reading from books. I love that 'book smell'.

Nope. Me too! Well not actually beacuse I flip the pages slowly. Interesting though, because I have never heard someone say they like books because of the 'sound'. :P

ok... just by saying that i have concluded i AM crazy :cry:

The best way to tell if reading books makes you smarter is to, well, read books. Can't hurt, can it? Besides paper cuts I guess.mewantcookie

Paper cuts are part of the play hazard :P

Maybe books should carry those disclaimers saying it can hurt people..

It improves your language skillz.SolidSnake35

Depends on what you read.Napster06

I can't believe six people (so far) have denied that reading books educates you. It's just. . . I'm astounded.Linake

Because it's badly worded.

Reading doesn't make you smarter, it just expands your knowledge. Now you could argue that knowledges make you smarter, and i would agree to some point, but reading is just a mean to acquire that knowledge, the act of reading itself doesn't make you smarter. Not sure that makes sense, but i know what i mean.

[QUOTE="Napster06"]Depends on what you read.CptJSparrow

Haha.. What I meant was not neccessarily if you read everything makes you smart. I've met a lot of people especially some of my classmates. When the teacher asks them 'Do you read?' they'll answer 'Yeah. I read' but truth be told, they only read those gossip magazines.

I rarely read books in school, but always got 95-100% on English reading and writing tests if I cared.
Wish I would read more, but my mind wanders.
EmilioDigsIt

Do you read stuff on a computer screen a lot?

I havent read a book in years, but I read the newspaper most days and text on the internet ALOT, and I'd consider myself good at English :)

Obviously some books. I doubt Harry Potter would help at all though.james28893

Im sure it can teach you all about magic and potions, dont be so silly

[QUOTE="james28893"]Obviously some books. I doubt Harry Potter would help at all though.wizard90

Im sure it can teach you all about magic and potions, dont be so silly

Fiction books are good for entertainment. Rarely they provide info on something or can be taken seriously...

In general, yeah they do make people smarter because people are learning about new things as well as other people's experiences. I doubt people buy books about things they already know about!

[QUOTE="EmilioDigsIt"]I rarely read books in school, but always got 95-100% on English reading and writing tests if I cared.
Wish I would read more, but my mind wanders.
skinnypete91

Do you read stuff on a computer screen a lot?

I havent read a book in years, but I read the newspaper most days and text on the internet ALOT, and I'd consider myself good at English :)

Not necesarily the 'academic' intelligence.

It can definitely improve your grammar, but I would say it benefits the reader in the 'widening your horizons' aspect more than anything. Fiction stimulates the mind, whether by imagining fantasy settings or tickling your emotion over some of the more serious masterpieces. Non-fiction puts you to sleep, but before it does it probably teaches you SOMETHING (else why the hell are you reading it).

However, reading bad books makes you less intelligent. Reading biographies by most celebrities actually decreases your intelligence for every minute you have the cover of the book open. Stupid people should not be able to write about their unimportant and insignificant lives and make money off it.

THAT is a crime.