Sleep, Stories, and Memory

My wife finds all sorts of interesting podcasts. One that is particularly fascinating (and educational) is RadioLab. This podcast/show covers questions like Why did the War of Worlds Work? and topics like the birth of the modern zoo. They are very fascinating, but sometimes cover topics that may not be appropriate for younger ears.

One of the most fascinating episodes is on sleep. I'm going to recommend you listen to it instead of tell you all about it. But at the end of the show they begin to speculate why our dreams are so vivid, so linear, so... story-like. One of the professors speculates that, for whatever reason, we remember, learn, and process things better if they are in a story form... even in our sleep.

Stories--not just ideas, facts, figures, or even concepts--stick in our minds, help us remember, and allow us to learn.

It is little wonder then why the arguably greatest teacher of all time used stories to teach His lessons, and didn't just tell us the bullet points we needed to remember.

The same is true of the lessons of Dr. Seuss, which I've heard most people can recall even in college.

Sonlight has utilized a literature-based approach to education from the very beginning. In fact, there are several articles on Sonlight's site about why literature is a great way to learn. And now, Radiolab gives us another reason to be confident in this educational model.

May all your proteins be properly folded. (Give it a listen to learn more.)

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father