How to Build a Better Brain 

Louis Kruger

The human brain has over 100 billion neurons, forming approximately 100 trillion connections. According to one neuroscientist, this means your brain can fire in roughly 22,752,000,000,000,000,000,000 different combinations—the number of atoms in the universe, 1082, is downright pathetic in comparison. This functionally infinite complexity gives rise to our sometimes remarkable, more often dubious, intelligence; the entire histories of art, science, and philosophy can be distilled down to a sequence of neural permutations.

We often think of these neurons as static structures—the brain as an impressive paper-mache storage and processing system. In fact, it is more like an exceptionally well-managed and prosperous city. Like any city, the brain must ensure optimal flow of traffic, so it can operate efficiently. To this end, it upgrades frequently used thoroughfares, builds new, useful connections, and bulldozes unused ones—but instead of roads, of course, these are neurons. It’s like an endless game of Mini Motorways. 

We choose what we think and do. Therefore, we determine which neurons fire, and which don’t. From this, a remarkable fact arises: we can deliberately shape our neural structures. One of the most effective ways to do so is through reading. 

To put it briefly, reading greatly increases the density of white matter in the brain. Why? For one, it is an incredibly complex task, that requires the dialogue of diverse brain centers: to name a few: the occipital-temporal region, which identifies letters, sounds, and words; the lower anterior frontal gyrus which derives meaning from these combinations; the anterior temporal lobe which processes synctatic meaning; and finally the doroslateral cortex which derives information from grammatical and linguistic meaning; and the prefrontal cortex which integrates information for understanding. When we read, the neural connections between these centers are activated, and therefore grow and strengthen. As a result, impulses travel faster between them—the brain has been rewired to process and integrate new information more efficiently, i.e. we learn more quickly.

It is important to note that our brain cannot distinguish between real and imagined experiences: when we read about someone skydiving, our neurons fire as if we are the ones having the experience. This has two profound implications: first, that while reading, we are actively creating and participating in an alternate reality. Second, not only does reading increase our metaphorical library of experience, it also solidifies this experience in new neural networks; the more we read, the more sprawling our neural metropolis becomes. Further, it is clear that the brain must fuse sensations, thoughts, and feelings already felt in order to form these artificial experiences. Now, and bear with me here, what this means is that our memories become more densely integrated, incorporated into entirely new webs of experience. This high level of integration gives us the ability to combine varied and incongruous elements of the mind, giving rise—how, we are not quite sure—to novel and surprising associations. This phenomenon is also known as creativity. 

We have shown how reading rewires the brain: it strengthens the circuitry responsible for information processing and synthesization; and integrates diverse parts of the brain for creativity. It is also significant that the more our brain changes, the more malleable it becomes. This is known as neural plasticity. So not only reading does reading transform the brain, it also increases its capacity for growth and change. Think of it as a flexibility exercise: not for the hammies, but for the neurons.  

We live in a world where frequent, dedicated reading for pleasure has become an oddity. You have the ability to turn an oddity into a personal commodity. It’s a basic law of economics: when supply is low, demand is high. The world needs readers: quick learners, creative thinkers, and versatile and innovative leaders. You can take the first step to transform your mind, and your life.