--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As a cognitive neuroscientist and scholar…" description: "\"As a cognitive neuroscientist and scholar of reading, I am particularly concerned with the plight of the reading brain as it encounters this technologi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/512/maryanne-wolf-10802_books_as-a-cognitive-neuroscientist-and-schola_3022700.jpg" --- # As a cognitive neuroscientist and scholar of reading, I am… ![“As a cognitive neuroscientist and scholar of reading, I am particularly concerned with the plight of the reading brain as it encounters this technologically rich society.” quote by Maryanne Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/512/maryanne-wolf-10802_books_as-a-cognitive-neuroscientist-and-schola_3022700.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/512/maryanne-wolf-10802_books_as-a-cognitive-neuroscientist-and-schola_3022700.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/512/maryanne-wolf-10802_books_as-a-cognitive-neuroscientist-and-schola_3022700.jpg) > “As a cognitive neuroscientist and scholar of reading, I am particularly concerned with the plight of the reading brain as it encounters this technologically rich society.” [Maryanne Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The modern environment challenges the brain’s reading abilities, risking loss of deep comprehension. **In simple terms:** Technology threatens how we read and understand. Key Takeaway Protect and practice deep reading. Themes reading technology cognition Mood concerned thoughtful Type educational advocacy When to use this quote - education - parenting - media consumption - policy making Key Concepts neuroscience literacy digital distraction Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance digital tools with deep reading? - What habits foster sustained focus? A Different Perspective Deep reading may be less appealing in fast‑paced media culture. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Brain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brain/) [Brain Encounters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brain-encounters-4900475/) [Cognitive Neuroscientist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cognitive-neuroscientist-2665303/) [I am](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-am/) [Neuroscientist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neuroscientist/) [Neuroscientist Scholar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neuroscientist-scholar-4900474/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Reading Brain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading-brain-336731/) [Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rich/) [Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society/) ## Related quotes > [A distinguished cognitive neuroscientist confessed to me that, because of his religious upbringing, he could not get rid of psychoneural dualism. The idea that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-bunge/a-distinguished-cognitive-neuroscientist-confessed-to-me-that-because/) [Mario Bunge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-bunge/) > [Children need to have both time to think and the motivation to think for themselves, to develop an expert reading brain, before the digital…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/children-need-to-have-both-time-to-think-and-the-motivation-to-think/) [Maryanne Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/) > [I am an apologist for the reading brain. It represents a miracle that springs from the brain's unique capacity to rearrange itself to learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/i-am-an-apologist-for-the-reading-brain-it-represents-a-miracle-that/) [Maryanne Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/) > [The attention span of children may be one of the main reasons why an immersion in on-screen reading is so engaging, and it may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/the-attention-span-of-children-may-be-one-of-the-main-reasons-why-an/) [Maryanne Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/) > [As work in neurosciences indicates, the acquisition of literacy necessitated a new circuit in our species' brain more than 6,000 years ago. That circuit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/as-work-in-neurosciences-indicates-the-acquisition-of-literacy/) [Maryanne Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/) > [There's an old rule in neuroscience that does not alter with age: use it or lose it. It is a very hopeful principle when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/there-s-an-old-rule-in-neuroscience-that-does-not-alter-with-age-use/) [Maryanne Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/) > [I am an educator and neuroscientist who studies how the brain learns to read and what happens when a young brain can't learn to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/i-am-an-educator-and-neuroscientist-who-studies-how-the-brain-learns/) [Maryanne Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/) > [“come on whats wrong with reading fill it in your brain”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-lam/come-on-whats-wrong-with-reading-fill-it-in-your-brain/) [Jeremy Lam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-lam/) > [“Finally, from so little sleeping and so much reading, his brain dried up and he went completely out of his mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes-saavedra/finally-from-so-little-sleeping-and-so-much-reading-his-brain-dried/) [Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes-saavedra/) > [“Reading is listening to the dead with our eyes. (page 325, Reading in the Brain, Stanislas Dehaene, 2009)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francisco-de-quevedo/reading-is-listening-to-the-dead-with-our-eyes-page-325-reading-in/) [Francisco de Quevedo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francisco-de-quevedo/) > [“Books can be viewed as food for the mind Stop reading and your brain can become anemic Read junk and your thinking can become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-frakes/books-can-be-viewed-as-food-for-the-mind-stop-reading-and-your-brain/) [Jonathan Frakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-frakes/) > [I can be a bit of a science geek. I tend more towards reading about brain science, neuroscience. I was an English major, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mapother/i-can-be-a-bit-of-a-science-geek-i-tend-more-towards-reading-about-2/) [William Mapother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mapother/) > [“- I'm a Neuroscientist. - What's that? What do you study? - I study your brain!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vardan-hambardzumyan/i-m-a-neuroscientist-what-s-that-what-do-you-study-i-study-your-brain/) [Vardan Hambardzumyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vardan-hambardzumyan/) > [“how does it feel,' wonders the neuroscientist Christof Koch, 'to bhe the mute hemisphere, permanently encased in one skull in the company of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-leslie/how-does-it-feel-wonders-the-neuroscientist-christof-koch-to-bhe-the/) [Ian Leslie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-leslie/) > [“Names Behind Naskar (Sonnet) The world often wonders about my influences, in doing so it often cooks up fake inspiration. So I write this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/names-behind-naskar-sonnet-the-world-often-wonders-about-my/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) ## More by Maryanne Wolf > [There's a richness that reading gives you, an opportunity to probe more than any other medium I know of. Reading is about not being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/there-s-a-richness-that-reading-gives-you-an-opportunity-to-probe/) [Maryanne Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/) > [The act of learning to read added an entirely new circuit to our hominid brain's repertoire. The long developmental process of learning to read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/the-act-of-learning-to-read-added-an-entirely-new-circuit-to-our/) [Maryanne Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/) > [Skimming has led, I believe, to a tendency to go to the sources that seem the simplest, most reduced, most familiar, and least cognitively…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/skimming-has-led-i-believe-to-a-tendency-to-go-to-the-sources-that/) [Maryanne Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/) > [The brain is constantly adapting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/the-brain-is-constantly-adapting/) [Maryanne Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/) > [We humans invented literacy, which means it doesn't come for free with our genes like speech and vision. Every brain has to learn it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/we-humans-invented-literacy-which-means-it-doesn-t-come-for-free-with/) [Maryanne Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/) > [The same plasticity that allows us to form a reading circuit to begin with, and short-circuit the development of deep reading if we allow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/the-same-plasticity-that-allows-us-to-form-a-reading-circuit-to-begin/) [Maryanne Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/) > [If you word-spot James Joyce, you'll miss the entire experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/if-you-word-spot-james-joyce-you-ll-miss-the-entire-experience/) [Maryanne Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/) > [“There are few more powerful mirrors of the human brain's astonishing ability to rearrange itself to learn a new intellectual function than the act…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/there-are-few-more-powerful-mirrors-of-the-human-brain-s-astonishing/) [Maryanne Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/) > [We have to move into the 21st century, but we should do so with great care to build a 'bi-literate' brain that has the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/we-have-to-move-into-the-21st-century-but-we-should-do-so-with-great/) [Maryanne Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/) > [The brain is plastic its whole life span.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/the-brain-is-plastic-its-whole-life-span/) [Maryanne Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/) > [I am an apologist for the reading brain. It represents a miracle that springs from the brain's unique capacity to rearrange itself to learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/i-am-an-apologist-for-the-reading-brain-it-represents-a-miracle-that/) [Maryanne Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/) > [We human beings were never born to read; we invented reading and then had to teach it to every new generation. Each new reader…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/we-human-beings-were-never-born-to-read-we-invented-reading-and-then/) [Maryanne Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/) > [When we have any function, whether it's language or vision or cognitive functions like memory, we aren't dealing with a straight line to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/when-we-have-any-function-whether-it-s-language-or-vision-or/) [Maryanne Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/) > [Every opportunity to practice is a gift to the developing reader. Practice, practice, practice, in every form and medium!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/every-opportunity-to-practice-is-a-gift-to-the-developing-reader/) [Maryanne Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/) > [Each young reader has to fashion an entirely new 'reading circuit' afresh every time. There is no one neat circuit just waiting to unfold.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/each-young-reader-has-to-fashion-an-entirely-new-reading-circuit/) [Maryanne Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/) [Explore all 63 Maryanne Wolf quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) [Christopher K. Krebs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-k-krebs/) > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) [Markus Herz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-herz/) > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "As a cognitive neuroscientist and scholar of reading, I am particularly concerned with the plight of the reading brain as it encounters this technologically rich society.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Maryanne Wolf" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/as-a-cognitive-neuroscientist-and-scholar-of-reading-i-am/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/as-a-cognitive-neuroscientist-and-scholar-of-reading-i-am/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/512/maryanne-wolf-10802_books_as-a-cognitive-neuroscientist-and-schola_3022700.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/512/maryanne-wolf-10802_books_as-a-cognitive-neuroscientist-and-schola_3022700.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/512/maryanne-wolf-10802_books_as-a-cognitive-neuroscientist-and-schola_3022700.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“As a cognitive neuroscientist and scholar of reading, I am particularly concerned with the plight of the…” — Maryanne Wolf", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Maryanne Wolf", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "As a cognitive neuroscientist and scholar...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/as-a-cognitive-neuroscientist-and-scholar-of-reading-i-am/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/as-a-cognitive-neuroscientist-and-scholar-of-reading-i-am/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```