Mark Seidenberg is the Vilas Research Professor and Donald O. Hebb Professor in the department of psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a cognitive neuroscientist who has studied language, reading, and dyslexia for over three decades. He lives in Madison, Wisconsin.
"Language at the Speed of Sight is an incisive tour through the
fascinating science of reading. From cuneiform to dyslexia to the
future of literacy, Seidenberg is a master guide who--lucky for
us--is as gifted a writer as he is a scientist."--Benjamin Bergen,
author of What the F
"A world-renowned expert explains the science of reading with
clarity and wit--anyone who loves to read will be fascinated, and
teachers will absolutely devour this book."--Daniel Willingham,
best-selling author of Why Don't Students Like School?
"Cognitive neuroscientist Seidenberg digs deep into the science of
reading to reveal the ways human beings learn how to read and
process language.... Seidenberg's analysis is backed up by numerous
studies and table of data. His approach is pragmatic,
myth-destroying and rooted in science--and his writing makes for
powerful reading."--Publishers Weekly
"Few works of science ever achieve Italo Calvino's six qualities of
our best writing: Lightness, exactitude, visibility, quickness,
multiplicity, and consistency. Mark Seidenberg's new book achieves
just that. If every educator, parent, and policy maker would read
and heed the content of this book, the rates of functional
illiteracy, with all their destructive sequelae, would be
significantly reduced."--Maryanne Wolf, author of Proust and the
Squid
"Have you picked up the idea that reading is something that kids
'just pick up' and shouldn't be rushed into it, or that learning to
read is something different from mastering something separate
called 'comprehension, ' or that a whole book about reading would
be dull? Language at the Speed of Sight will disabuse you of all
three notions and more-pick it up and marvel at how hard it will be
to put it down."--John McWhorter, New York Times best-selling
author of Nine Nasty Words, Word on the Move, and Talking Back,
Talking Black
"In Language at the Speed of Sight, [Seidenberg] develops a careful
argument, backed by decades of research, to show that the only
responsible way to teach children to read well is to build up their
abilities to connect reading with speech and then to amplify these
connections through practice, developing skillful behavioral
patterns hand in hand with the neurological networks that undergird
them...Every teacher of young children as well as those who train
them should read this book."--Wall Street Journal
"No technologically advanced society exists without reading. This
is the remarkable story of why and how it all works. From David
Letterman's irony to posited Sumerian patent trolls, the writing is
lively, informative, and supremely entertaining."--Daniel J.
Levitin, best-selling author of This Is Your Brain on Music and The
Organized Mind
"Seidenberg reviews the latest science on reading and makes an
impassioned plea for putting this knowledge to use."--Scientific
American
"Seidenberg...unravels the science of reading with great flair. He
is the ideal guide - and it turns out that we need a guide to
reading, even though we've been doing it most of our
lives."--Washington Post
"The neuroscience underlying [Seidenberg's] findings is complex, of
course, but [he] does not often fall into thickets of
technicality...his discussions are clear and accessible.... A
worthy primer on the science of comprehending language."--Kirkus
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