Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us
In one specific example, children who read fiction most days exhibited better health behaviors and outcomes. They were less likely to try drugs and smoking, and they were more likely to eat fruits and vegetables throughout adolescence. This was not limited only to bookish kids who were whizzes at reading. Ability didn’t matter, Daisy found. What
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Cognitive neuroscientists believe we’re conscious of only about 5 percent of our mental activity. The rest of your experience—physically, emotionally, sensorially—lives below what you are actually thinking. Your brain is processing stimuli constantly, like a sponge, absorbing millions of sensory signals.
Ivy Ross • Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us
Those who have an aesthetic mindset share four key attributes: (1) a high level of curiosity, (2) a love of playful, open-ended exploration, (3) keen sensory awareness, and (4) a drive to engage in creative activities as a maker and/or beholder.
Ivy Ross • Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us
It may seem surprising at first to learn that sound is one of the more effective aesthetic experiences to reduce and alleviate stress,
Ivy Ross • Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us
The DMN is a filter for what you think is beautiful or not beautiful, memorable or not, meaningful or not, and it’s what helps to make the arts and aesthetics a very personal experience for each of us.
Ivy Ross • Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us
And the auditory nerve works both ways: It can signal your ear to dampen outside noise and focus on what the brain perceives as an important sound, which explains why it’s so easy to accidentally startle someone who is absorbed in reading a book or looking at a piece of art. They literally didn’t hear you coming.
Ivy Ross • Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us
Those who have an aesthetic mindset share four key attributes: (1) a high level of curiosity, (2) a love of playful, open-ended exploration, (3) keen sensory awareness, and (4) a drive to engage in creative activities as a maker and/or beholder.
Ivy Ross • Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us
aesthetic mindset is simply the ways in which you are aware of the arts and aesthetics around you, and how you bring them into your life with purpose.
Ivy Ross • Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us
Ritual and routine are important, but the human brain also craves novelty and surprise to flourish.