Uncomfortable reading | Rachel Kellerman | TEDxPaloAltoHighSchool
[Applause] enjoy this book I've said that thousands of times in my long career as a teacher librarian but lately I'm thinking about changing my party message because the books I want to recommend aren't particularly enjoyable they don't feature Wizards vanquishing dark horses in the end or enemies becoming friends they are books about struggle and strife sometimes unimaginable sorrow there are books about people who hide in plain sight and spend their whole adult lives overcoming oppressive governments books about violence discrimination and places that areed almost Beyond healing books that are written by people who have held extraordinary power but have committed unspeakable acts against humanity books written by people who are highly abated now you're probably wondering why a friendly librarian like me wants to make people's for aren't my brains a social good aren't we supposed to make people feel feel better well there are certainly a place for healing through Reading and I do recommend books that are pleasurable and enjoyable at least in the end but lately my prence has been for uncomfortable reading let me tell you why we live in a world that is more interconnected than ever and yet studies shows that we tend to read only what is familiar to us and which conforms to our existing political inclinations and social bianes this phenomenon is called confirmation bias and is evident in the other media we consume as well a study from the PE Research Center called political polarization and media habits suggests that people who identify as consistant conservative with all of their news from Fox [Music] people who identify themselves as consistently liberal tend to defr or block people on Facebook to hold differing political views now digging into the gray matter of our brains the New Scientist Journal recently ported on a study from neuroscientist Michael Frank Frank looks at how the brain chemical dopamine affects our consumption of either familiar or disruptive information he found that dopamine Comforts us when our brain is presented with familiar information and stimulates us when we're presented with the unfamiliar for most of us soothing Comfort generally wins out over the disordinate clang of the new so we continue to read comfortably however he also found Some people prefer the unfamiliar and thrive on this sort of information now I don't know if we can open up our minds to the novel novel but I do think the ACT trying to overcome our bias for uncomfortable reading is worth the effort I know when I was in high school an uncomfortable book was lifechanging I went to high school a long time ago 40 years to be exact in a predominantly white suburb of Los Angeles but I still remember the day My Librarian handed me the autobiography of Malcolm X As Told to Alex Haley I still remember the day I cracked open this thick book and read about theil right perspective from the fiery Malcolm X page 381 when the assassination in Dallas made Johnson president who was the first person he called for it was for his best friend Dicky Richard Russell of Georgia Civil Rights was a moral issue Johnson was declaring to everybody while his best friend was the southern racist who led the Civil Rights opposition how would some Sheriff sound declaring himself so against bank robbery and Jesse James his best friend now this was a very different narrative than my textbook history of civil rights which is very tame because of this book I to question my education I began to take charge of my education I began to read the newspaper and listen to the news no internet back in my day I began to form my own political beliefs apart from my parents and my friends thinking about it now it was sort of like the Locking of a boat before M Alex's FY words I was at home in my cozy vessel tied to my but Malcolm and Alex's confrontational and controversial language I'm tethered my mind launching me into our fascinating yeah totally imperfect world that's essentially what a comfortable reading is all about putting ourselves out into the larger World past present and yes even future in order to develop empathy and understanding for others in fact a recent Harvard study suggests that people who read compelling fiction develop regions in their brain that activate social cognition uncomfortable reading is difficult it is sad demoralizing and topic but perhaps at the end of the story you might find there's a biological dopamine Rush that incites a new idea or Insight so take it from someone who is still learning in high school engage your adversaries by reading their words what do they have to say why are they saying what they're saying do not isolate your mind and your heart in only comfortable places when you need free to become the Global Citizens we are all called to be thank you