The greatest thing about reading is coming across an Ah-ha! moment. A single epiphany can prove to be well worth hours of otherwise unproductive reading.
The second best thing about reading is comfort. You don't have to know someone personally to find reassurance in knowing another has been before where you are currently - and survived.
Reading about it might even make it less awkward.
I found comfort of another type this evening in reading about lethologica - also known as the "tip of the tongue" phenomenon.
You've undoubtedly experienced it yourself - needing to halt a sentence because some particular word is refusing to drop from your brain to your mouth.
You know it's there in stock, but it seems to have been left on the wrong shelf.
Sometimes you can think of the first letter. Or you have a vague idea of what it "sounds like". But nothing comes.
Some time later - whether it will be seconds or hours is unpredictable - the word is shaken loose and drops into consciousness, clear as day.
I suffer from lethologica more and more frequently. I have noticed this over the past year or so.
I'm only 56, but this growing frequency of misplacing words has fueled one of my greatest fears: Alzheimer's.
Today, though, I came across this article online and my fears are suddenly allayed.
Studies have shown there may be an alternate explanation for lethologica besides an age-degenerated brain. Perhaps "older adults may simply have more knowledge" - sometimes leading to greater wait times while more mental shelves are searched for that correct word!
Wow. In a few moments spent perusing a handful of paragraphs, my fears are alleviated while my ego is stroked!
Reading is the best.
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