Is Believing In God Evolutionarily Advantageous?
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Monday, 08/30/10 9:00pm - All Things Considered
Alix Spiegel
Jesse Bering's mother died of cancer on a Sunday, in her own bed, at 9 o'clock at night. Bering and his siblings closed her door and went downstairs, hoping they might somehow get some sleep.
It was a long, hard night, but around 7 a.m., something happened: The wind chimes outside his mother's window started to chime.
Bering remembers waking to the tinkle of these bells, a small but distinct sound in an otherwise silent house. And he remembers thinking that those bells carried a very specific message.
"It seemed to me ... that she was somehow telling us that she had made it to the other side. You know, cleared customs in heaven," Bering says.
The thought surprised him. Bering was a confirmed atheist. He did not believe in any kind of supernatural anything. He prided himself on being a scientist, a psychologist who believed only in the measurable material world. But, he says, he simply couldn't help himself.
"My mind went there. It leapt there," Bering says. "And from a psychological perspective, this was really interesting to me. Because I didn't believe it on the one hand, but on the other hand I experienced it."
Why is it, Bering wondered, that even a determined skeptic could not stop himself from perceiving the supernatural? It really bothered him.
It was a very good question, he decided, to take up in his lab.
God, Through The Lens Of Evolution
For decades, the intellectual descendants of Darwin have pored over ancient bones and bits of fossils, trying to piece together how fish evolved into man, theorizing about the evolutionary advantage conferred by each physical change. And over the past 10 years, a small group of academics have begun to look at religion in the same way: they've started to look at God and the supernatural through the lens of evolution.
In the history of the world, every culture in every location at every point in time has developed some supernatural belief system. And when a human behavior is so universal, scientists often argue that it must be an evolutionary adaptation along the lines of standing upright. That is, something so helpful that the people who had it thrived, and the people who didn't slowly died out until we were all left with the trait. But what could be the evolutionary advantage of believing in God?
Bering is one of the academics who are trying to figure that out. In the years since his mother's death, Bering has done experiments in his lab at Queens University, Belfast, in an attempt to understand how belief in the supernatural might have conferred some advantage and made us into the species we are today.
In one experiment, children between the ages of 5 and 9 were shown to a room and told to throw a Velcro ball at a Velcro dartboard. They were told that if they were able to hit the bull's-eye, they'd get a special prize. But this particular game had an unusual set of rules: The children were told that they had to throw from behind, they weren't allowed to throw the ball while facing the dartboard, and they had to use their nondominant hand -- rules that basically made it impossible for any of the children to win the game unless they cheated.
The children in the study were divided into three groups. The first group was left alone and told to play the game as best they could. The second were told the same, with one difference -- the children in the second group were told that there was someone special who was going to watch them. The experimenters showed the kids a picture of a very pretty woman -- a character that Bering had made up whose name was Princess Alice.
Princess Alice, the kids were told, had a magical power: Alice could make herself invisible. Then the children were shown a chair and were told that Alice was sitting in the chair and that Alice would watch them play the game after the researcher left. The third group of kids was told to play the game, but the researcher sat with them and simply never left the room at all.
The question that Bering sought to answer was this: Which group of children was least likely to cheat?
The children in the first group -- the completely unsupervised kids -- by far cheated the most. But what was surprising was the behavior of the second group.
The children who were under the impression that Princess Alice was in the room with them were just as likely to refrain from cheating as those children who were actually in the room with a physical real-life human being. A similar study Bering did with adults showed the same thing -- that they were dramatically less likely to cheat when they thought they were being observed by a supernatural presence.
A Change In Behavior
Bering has a credo, a truth he says he's learned after years of studying this stuff.
"I've always said that I don't believe in God, but I don't really believe in atheists either," Bering says. "Everybody experiences the illusion that God -- or some type of supernatural agent -- is watching them or is concerned about what they do in their sort of private everyday moral lives."
These supernatural agents, Bering adds, might have very different names. What some call God, others call Karma. There are literally thousands of names, but according to Bering they all have the same effect.
"Whether it's a dead ancestor or God, whatever supernatural agent it is, if you think they're watching you, your behavior is going to be affected," he says.
In fact, Bering says that believing that supernatural beings are watching you is so basic to being human that even committed atheists regularly have moments where their minds turn in a supernatural direction, as his did in the wake of his mother's death.
"They experience it but they reject it," Bering says. "Sort of override or stomp on their immediate intuition. But that's not to say that they don't experience it. We all have the same basic brain. And our brains have evolved to work in a particular way."
Why would the human brain have evolved to work in that way?
For Bering, and some of his friends, the answer to that question has everything to do with what he discovered in his lab -- the way the kids and adults stopped cheating as soon as they thought a supernatural being might be watching them. Through the lens of evolution then, a belief in God serves a very important purpose: Religious belief set us on the path to modern life by stopping cheaters and promoting the social good.
God And Social Cooperation
Dominic Johnson is a professor at the University of Edinburgh in the United Kingdom and another one of the leaders in this field. And to Johnson, before you can understand the role religion and the supernatural might have played in making us the people we are today, you really have to appreciate just how improbable our modern lives are.
Today we live in a world where perfect strangers are incredibly nice to each other on a regular basis. All day long, strangers open doors for each other, repair each other's bodies and cars and washing machines. They swap money for food and food for money. In short: they cooperate.
This cooperation makes all kinds of things possible, of course. Because we can cooperate, we can build sophisticated machines and create whole cities -- communities that require huge amounts of coordination. We can do things that no individual or small group could do.
The question is: How did we get to be so cooperative? For academics like Johnson, this is a profound puzzle.
"Explaining cooperation is a huge cottage industry," Johnson says. "It dominates the pages of top journals in science and economics and psychology. You would think that it was very simple, but in fact from a scientific academic point of view, it just often doesn't make sense."
It doesn't make sense because there's often tension between the interests of the group and the interests of the individual. Johnson gives an example. Recently he was on the subway in New York and as he was going through the turnstile a little child ran in with him and got through the barrier. He got onto the subway without ever paying.
"Now we only have the Metro if everyone pays," Johnson says. "But there's an advantage for everyone if they don't have to pay themselves."
And what's true of the subway is true of everything.
Why fight in a war, risk your own death, if someone else will fight it for you? Why pay taxes? Why reduce your carbon footprint?
These all have clear costs, and from an individual perspective, you and your offspring are much more likely to thrive if you don't get killed in a war or pay your taxes -- if you behave like the child in the subway.
The problem is that even a relatively small number of people who choose to behave like the child can affect the functioning of the whole.
"Even a few cheats undermine cooperation," Johnson says, because once people realize that they are paying for the same thing others are enjoying free, they become less willing to cooperate.
Punishment And Deterrents: Enforcing God's Law
Today, if you cheat -- if you decide to pass on paying Uncle Sam or if you steal a car -- there are systems in place that will track you down and punish you. And this threat of punishment keeps you on the straight and narrow. But imagine if you lived hundreds of thousands of years ago.
"We know that punishment is very effective at promoting cooperation," Johnson says. "The problem is: Who punished in the past before we had police and courts and law and government? There wasn't anyone formally to carry out the punishment"
In those early human communities when someone did something wrong, someone else in the small human group would have to punish them. But as Johnson points out, punishing itself is often dangerous because the person being punished probably won't like it.
"That person has a family; that person has a memory and is going to develop a grudge," Johnson says. "So there are going to be potentially quite disruptive consequences of people taking the law into their own hands."
On the other hand, Johnson says, if there are Gods or a God who must be obeyed, these strains are reduced. After all, the punisher isn't a vigilante; he's simply enforcing God's law.
"You have a very nice situation," Johnson says. "There are no reprisals against punishers. And the other nice thing about supernatural agents is that they are often omniscient and omnipresent."
If God is everywhere and sees everything, people curb their selfish impulses even when there's no one around. Because with God, there is no escape. "God knows what you did," Johnson says, "and God is going to punish you for it and that's an incredibly powerful deterrent. If you do it again, he's going to know and he is going to tally up your good deals and bad deeds and you will suffer the consequences for it either in this life or in an afterlife."
Differing Views
So the argument goes that as our human ancestors spread around the world in bands, keeping together for food and protection, groups with a religious belief system survived better because they worked better together.
We are their descendants. And Johnson says their belief in the supernatural is still very much with us.
"Everywhere you look around the world, you find examples of people altering their behavior because of concerns for supernatural consequences of their actions. They don't do things that they consider bad because they think they'll be punished for it."
Of course there are plenty of criticisms of these ideas. For example one premise of this argument is that religious belief is beneficial because it helped us to cooperate. But a small group of academics argue that religious beliefs have ultimately been more harmful than helpful, because those religious beliefs inspire people to go to war.
And then there are the people who say that cooperation doesn't come from God -- that cooperation evolved from our need to take care of family or show potential mates that we were a good choice. The theories are endless.
Unfortunately it's not possible now to rewind the movie, so to speak, and see what actually happened. So these speculations will remain just that: speculations.
As unknowable -- ultimately -- as God himself.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
U.S. army adopts mindfulness meditation NARAYAN LAKSHMAN SHARE · PRINT · T+ In an unusual departure from traditional prescriptions for coping
U.S. army adopts mindfulness meditation
NARAYAN LAKSHMAN
SHARE · PRINT · T+
In an unusual departure from traditional prescriptions for coping with high stress the United States army is recommending something more eclectic to its soldiers in Iraq – mindfulness mediation.
According to Army Major Victor Won, Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence, mindfulness is a simple but ancient approach to living that Western medicine has begun to recognise as a powerful tool for dealing with stress, illness and other medical or psychological conditions, and it could help soldiers in any circumstance.
Quoting the definition of the term used in the book ‘Wherever You Go, There You Are,’ by popular mediation teacher Jon Kabat-Zinn, he added, “Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way or maintaining the awareness on purpose, in the present moment.”
Major Won said it would be more effective for soldiers to learn and train mindfulness prior to deployment as the practice will offer soldiers a means to cope with their mental stress before getting into a high-stress environment.
University of Pennsylvania researchers, with Army support, were said to be examining the effects of meditation as a means to deal with post-traumatic stress disorder. Major Won said, “Many psychotherapists around the world have applied mindfulness, treating various psychological diagnoses such as PTSD, depression and even personality disorders,” adding that it was “through finding peace within and clarity that you see that you are not the thoughts or the emotions that bind you and take you away into suffering.”
Keywords: U.S. army, meditation, stress
NARAYAN LAKSHMAN
SHARE · PRINT · T+
In an unusual departure from traditional prescriptions for coping with high stress the United States army is recommending something more eclectic to its soldiers in Iraq – mindfulness mediation.
According to Army Major Victor Won, Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence, mindfulness is a simple but ancient approach to living that Western medicine has begun to recognise as a powerful tool for dealing with stress, illness and other medical or psychological conditions, and it could help soldiers in any circumstance.
Quoting the definition of the term used in the book ‘Wherever You Go, There You Are,’ by popular mediation teacher Jon Kabat-Zinn, he added, “Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way or maintaining the awareness on purpose, in the present moment.”
Major Won said it would be more effective for soldiers to learn and train mindfulness prior to deployment as the practice will offer soldiers a means to cope with their mental stress before getting into a high-stress environment.
University of Pennsylvania researchers, with Army support, were said to be examining the effects of meditation as a means to deal with post-traumatic stress disorder. Major Won said, “Many psychotherapists around the world have applied mindfulness, treating various psychological diagnoses such as PTSD, depression and even personality disorders,” adding that it was “through finding peace within and clarity that you see that you are not the thoughts or the emotions that bind you and take you away into suffering.”
Keywords: U.S. army, meditation, stress
Monday, July 19, 2010
New Study Show Buddhist Meditation Improves Concentration 7/19/2010 10:04 AM ET (RTTNews) - A new study published in the current edition of Psychol
New Study Show Buddhist Meditation Improves Concentration
7/19/2010 10:04 AM ET
(RTTNews) - A new study published in the current edition of Psychological Science suggests that Buddhist meditation techniques could help improve concentration and relaxation.
According to lead researcher Katherine A. MacLean, the practice is challenging even for those experienced in meditation, but often improves performance in computer tasks.
For the study, MacLean and her team followed 60 experienced meditators as they underwent 30-day meditation studies. For short period of time each day, the subjects were asked to identify lines of varying lengths on a computer screen.
She found that those practicing Buddhist style meditation were often most accurate in identifying which lines were slightly shorter or longer than normal.
"People may think meditation is something that makes you feel good and going on a meditation retreat is like going on vacation and you get to be at peace with yourself," MacLean said in a statement. "That's what people think until they try it. Then you realize how challenging it is to just sit and observe something without being distracted."
She added, "Because the task is so boring and yet is also very neutral, it's kind of a perfect index of meditation training."
by RTT Staff Writer
For comments and feedback: contact editorial@rttnews.com
7/19/2010 10:04 AM ET
(RTTNews) - A new study published in the current edition of Psychological Science suggests that Buddhist meditation techniques could help improve concentration and relaxation.
According to lead researcher Katherine A. MacLean, the practice is challenging even for those experienced in meditation, but often improves performance in computer tasks.
For the study, MacLean and her team followed 60 experienced meditators as they underwent 30-day meditation studies. For short period of time each day, the subjects were asked to identify lines of varying lengths on a computer screen.
She found that those practicing Buddhist style meditation were often most accurate in identifying which lines were slightly shorter or longer than normal.
"People may think meditation is something that makes you feel good and going on a meditation retreat is like going on vacation and you get to be at peace with yourself," MacLean said in a statement. "That's what people think until they try it. Then you realize how challenging it is to just sit and observe something without being distracted."
She added, "Because the task is so boring and yet is also very neutral, it's kind of a perfect index of meditation training."
by RTT Staff Writer
For comments and feedback: contact editorial@rttnews.com
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Meditation Boosts Attention Span
Meditation Boosts Attention Span
By LiveScience Staff
posted: 14 July 2010 02:39 pm ET
Buzz up!
Comments (1) | Recommend (0)
The life of a Buddhist monk may seem far-removed from the busy, gadget-packed daily buzz most of us experience. But new research suggests daily meditation can give us a piece of the peaceful life, as the focused practice boosts attention spans.
"You wonder if the mental skills, the calmness, the peace that [Buddhist monks] express, if those things are a result of their very intensive training, or if they were just very special people to begin with," said Katherine MacLean, who worked on the study as a graduate student at the University of California – Davis. [10 Ways to Keep Your Mind Sharp]
By LiveScience Staff
posted: 14 July 2010 02:39 pm ET
Buzz up!
Comments (1) | Recommend (0)
The life of a Buddhist monk may seem far-removed from the busy, gadget-packed daily buzz most of us experience. But new research suggests daily meditation can give us a piece of the peaceful life, as the focused practice boosts attention spans.
"You wonder if the mental skills, the calmness, the peace that [Buddhist monks] express, if those things are a result of their very intensive training, or if they were just very special people to begin with," said Katherine MacLean, who worked on the study as a graduate student at the University of California – Davis. [10 Ways to Keep Your Mind Sharp]
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Do We Live in a Meaningful Universe?
Do We Live in a Meaningful Universe?
What's Your Reaction:diggfacebook Twitter stumble reddit del.ico.us Inspiring
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Read More: Larry Dossey , Spiritual Life , Spiritual Living , Spiritual Path , Spiritual Practice , Spirituality , Spirituality Science , Living News
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Share Comments 76 Science educators often skim off the top, as it were. They regale young minds with the marvels of science while remaining silent about the problems to which it has contributed.
When I was in grade school as a member of a different younger generation, we had routine drills in which we took cover under our desks. This was to prepare us to act quickly in case the Russians decided to nuke our playground. No one ever explained how this pathetic maneuver would save us, but it seemed to make the teachers feel better. Today's youngsters are treated to a different menu of menaces. Their nuclear hazard is more likely to come in the form of a dirty nuclear device detonated by a terrorist instead of from a Russian plane or missile. Then there is global warming, nuclear waste, environmental degradation, polluted air, water and soil. There are acidified oceans, melting polar ice, oceanic dead zones, dying coral reefs, vanishing species, on and on, all of which are due in some measure to the downside of science and technology. The mantra that only science can save us from these perils rings hollow to many youngsters, since it was largely science and technology that bequeathed them in the first place. As anthropologist and educator Loren Eiseley put it,
We have lived to see the technological progress that was hailed in one age as the savior of man become the horror of the next. We have observed that the same able and energetic minds which built lights, steamships and telephones turn with equal facility to the creation of what euphemistically is termed the "ultimate weapon." It is in this reversal that the modern age comes off so badly.
The usual defense from the science community toward views such as Eiseley's is that it is technology, not science itself, that has made a mess of things. This is no doubt true to a certain extent. But scientists sometimes take risks in their research that appear breathtakingly irresponsible and reckless, which they usually justify in the name of pure or basic science. Some of these risks are so obvious they draw fire from scientists themselves. Consider a recent editorial in the respected British publication New Scientist titled "The Scary Business of Tinkering with Life":
"By tinkering with the cell's natural machinery ...[the research team] has found a way of making proteins with entirely new properties, opening up a future of exotic designer organisms.... This is a fundamental advance that could lead to new drugs, materials and energy sources. But tampering with life's operating system will inevitably raise safety concerns -- and it's true that we have no way of predicting the fallout of this work. Synthetic biologists need to confront openly and honestly public fears that they are "playing God [emphasis added]."
Science boosters should wake up. Kids aren't dumb. To borrow novelist Ernest Hemingway's term, they have excellent "built-in bullshit detectors." And nothing triggers the warning more than when those in charge present only one side of a story.
Must Science Be Depressing?
Why would anyone who is psychologically healthy pick a career that demands a view of the world that is morbid, pessimistic and depressing? That's precisely the worldview advocated by some of the most outstanding scientists of our day. This can be a turnoff to any optimistic, questing, curious, intelligent kid who stumbles onto it. Perhaps that is why the advocates of science education almost never acknowledge this prevailing view when promoting the wonders of science to youngsters.
Typical of the gloomy perspective is that of Nobel physicist Steven Weinberg in his 1977 book The First Three Minutes. In a now-famous passage, he writes,
It is almost irresistible for humans to believe that we have some special relation to the universe, that human life is not just a more-or-less farcical outcome of a chain of accidents reaching back to the first three minutes, but that we were somehow built in from the beginning... It is hard to realize that this all [i.e., life on Earth] is just a tiny part of an overwhelmingly hostile universe. It is even harder to realize that this present universe has evolved from an unspeakably unfamiliar early condition, and faces a future extinction of endless cold or intolerable heat. The more the universe seems comprehensible, the more it also seems pointless.
By the time Weinberg unveiled his gloomy view, the notion of a purposeless, meaningless universe was already on a roll in science. One of the most influential supporters of this perspective was the Nobel molecular biologist Jacques Monod (1910-1976), whose 1972 book Chance and Necessity powerfully influenced a generation of scientists. For Monod, purpose and meaning in nature were outlaw concepts; for a scientist to believe in them was unbecoming at best and a moral failing at worst. As he confidently proclaimed, "The cornerstone of scientific method is the systematic denial that 'true' knowledge can be got at by interpreting phenomena in terms of final causes--that is to say, of 'purpose.'"
Cognitive scientist and philosopher Daniel C. Dennett of Tufts University has joined the chorus of meaninglessness by dissing free will. "When we consider whether free will is an illusion or reality," he says, "we are looking into an abyss. What seems to confront us is a plunge into nihilism and despair."
Although prevalent, this depressing verdict on the status of meaning, direction and purpose in the world is not unanimous, and kids who intuitively reject this view have a few strong shoulders to stand on, as we'll see in the next blog.
What's Your Reaction:diggfacebook Twitter stumble reddit del.ico.us Inspiring
Enlightening
Crazy
Scary
Helpful
Amazing
Innovative
Important
Read More: Larry Dossey , Spiritual Life , Spiritual Living , Spiritual Path , Spiritual Practice , Spirituality , Spirituality Science , Living News
63
views76Get Living Alerts
Share Comments 76 Science educators often skim off the top, as it were. They regale young minds with the marvels of science while remaining silent about the problems to which it has contributed.
When I was in grade school as a member of a different younger generation, we had routine drills in which we took cover under our desks. This was to prepare us to act quickly in case the Russians decided to nuke our playground. No one ever explained how this pathetic maneuver would save us, but it seemed to make the teachers feel better. Today's youngsters are treated to a different menu of menaces. Their nuclear hazard is more likely to come in the form of a dirty nuclear device detonated by a terrorist instead of from a Russian plane or missile. Then there is global warming, nuclear waste, environmental degradation, polluted air, water and soil. There are acidified oceans, melting polar ice, oceanic dead zones, dying coral reefs, vanishing species, on and on, all of which are due in some measure to the downside of science and technology. The mantra that only science can save us from these perils rings hollow to many youngsters, since it was largely science and technology that bequeathed them in the first place. As anthropologist and educator Loren Eiseley put it,
We have lived to see the technological progress that was hailed in one age as the savior of man become the horror of the next. We have observed that the same able and energetic minds which built lights, steamships and telephones turn with equal facility to the creation of what euphemistically is termed the "ultimate weapon." It is in this reversal that the modern age comes off so badly.
The usual defense from the science community toward views such as Eiseley's is that it is technology, not science itself, that has made a mess of things. This is no doubt true to a certain extent. But scientists sometimes take risks in their research that appear breathtakingly irresponsible and reckless, which they usually justify in the name of pure or basic science. Some of these risks are so obvious they draw fire from scientists themselves. Consider a recent editorial in the respected British publication New Scientist titled "The Scary Business of Tinkering with Life":
"By tinkering with the cell's natural machinery ...[the research team] has found a way of making proteins with entirely new properties, opening up a future of exotic designer organisms.... This is a fundamental advance that could lead to new drugs, materials and energy sources. But tampering with life's operating system will inevitably raise safety concerns -- and it's true that we have no way of predicting the fallout of this work. Synthetic biologists need to confront openly and honestly public fears that they are "playing God [emphasis added]."
Science boosters should wake up. Kids aren't dumb. To borrow novelist Ernest Hemingway's term, they have excellent "built-in bullshit detectors." And nothing triggers the warning more than when those in charge present only one side of a story.
Must Science Be Depressing?
Why would anyone who is psychologically healthy pick a career that demands a view of the world that is morbid, pessimistic and depressing? That's precisely the worldview advocated by some of the most outstanding scientists of our day. This can be a turnoff to any optimistic, questing, curious, intelligent kid who stumbles onto it. Perhaps that is why the advocates of science education almost never acknowledge this prevailing view when promoting the wonders of science to youngsters.
Typical of the gloomy perspective is that of Nobel physicist Steven Weinberg in his 1977 book The First Three Minutes. In a now-famous passage, he writes,
It is almost irresistible for humans to believe that we have some special relation to the universe, that human life is not just a more-or-less farcical outcome of a chain of accidents reaching back to the first three minutes, but that we were somehow built in from the beginning... It is hard to realize that this all [i.e., life on Earth] is just a tiny part of an overwhelmingly hostile universe. It is even harder to realize that this present universe has evolved from an unspeakably unfamiliar early condition, and faces a future extinction of endless cold or intolerable heat. The more the universe seems comprehensible, the more it also seems pointless.
By the time Weinberg unveiled his gloomy view, the notion of a purposeless, meaningless universe was already on a roll in science. One of the most influential supporters of this perspective was the Nobel molecular biologist Jacques Monod (1910-1976), whose 1972 book Chance and Necessity powerfully influenced a generation of scientists. For Monod, purpose and meaning in nature were outlaw concepts; for a scientist to believe in them was unbecoming at best and a moral failing at worst. As he confidently proclaimed, "The cornerstone of scientific method is the systematic denial that 'true' knowledge can be got at by interpreting phenomena in terms of final causes--that is to say, of 'purpose.'"
Cognitive scientist and philosopher Daniel C. Dennett of Tufts University has joined the chorus of meaninglessness by dissing free will. "When we consider whether free will is an illusion or reality," he says, "we are looking into an abyss. What seems to confront us is a plunge into nihilism and despair."
Although prevalent, this depressing verdict on the status of meaning, direction and purpose in the world is not unanimous, and kids who intuitively reject this view have a few strong shoulders to stand on, as we'll see in the next blog.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Monday, May 17, 2010
why piano lessons?
Benefits of Piano Lessons for Children
• Posted by admin • 16 May, 2010 • (0) Comment The surprising benefits for children taking the piano lessons, be it the online piano lessons or offline, are innumerable. One would be awed at what all seemingly simple piano lessons can do to make your children an all-rounder. Some of the benefits of piano lessons are listed below and are proven facts.
- First and foremost, piano lessons help to preserve the natural learning process and the creative abilities of the children right from their younger age. By learning to understand the piano lessons at a young age and composing own melodies are the proof of the above statement. Music is also a language and by being exposed to it via piano lessons, children easily develop reading habits and interest to learn new languages. The children exposed to piano lessons obviously develop a sense of music appreciation and respect it.
- It is also proved that children who learn the piano lessons have a better performance at school as they are mostly good at spatial cognitive development and standard tests. Many researches have also proved that children taking piano lessons are comfortable with math as they deal problems with fractions and ratios with lots of ease. A report claims that preschoolers who had piano lessons scored 34% higher than the non-musical counterparts.
- The concentration level and co-ordination skills are also enhanced in the children who take piano lessons. Performing with both the hands at the same time and also to read the notes, translate the rhythm and tempo simultaneously during the piano lessons help to boost the concentration levels. The hand-eye cooperation is also achieved.
- The children undergoing their piano lessons accomplish a sense of achievement and learn to perceive hard to reach their goals. This also gives a boost to their self esteem and the confidence on themselves to achieve great things in their life by staying focused.
- The children grow out to be a well rounded adult interested in many fields due to the piano lessons they take up. It nurtures their personality development as they are exposed to the powerful classical music, Mozart or Bach all their life. The chances of them picking up another musical instrument after the pleasant experiences they gained from the piano lessons are very high.
- As any teacher would justify, the co-curricular activities only help a child shape into a complete individual having their uniqueness, so that they are not lost in the crowd. Taking up piano lessons is one of such best co-curricular activity which moulds the children’s personality as it spells their uniqueness when they are capable to create their new compositions, however simple it might be.
- One of the most important and crucial benefits of children taking up the piano lessons is they are saved from being depressed or lonely as they have their beautiful music to vent their feelings.
The magic of children taking up piano lessons at younger age is immeasurable and should be cultivated in all the children.
• Posted by admin • Sunday, May 16th, 2010 at 8:59 am • (0) Comment
Benefits Children. Lessons Piano
• Posted by admin • 16 May, 2010 • (0) Comment The surprising benefits for children taking the piano lessons, be it the online piano lessons or offline, are innumerable. One would be awed at what all seemingly simple piano lessons can do to make your children an all-rounder. Some of the benefits of piano lessons are listed below and are proven facts.
- First and foremost, piano lessons help to preserve the natural learning process and the creative abilities of the children right from their younger age. By learning to understand the piano lessons at a young age and composing own melodies are the proof of the above statement. Music is also a language and by being exposed to it via piano lessons, children easily develop reading habits and interest to learn new languages. The children exposed to piano lessons obviously develop a sense of music appreciation and respect it.
- It is also proved that children who learn the piano lessons have a better performance at school as they are mostly good at spatial cognitive development and standard tests. Many researches have also proved that children taking piano lessons are comfortable with math as they deal problems with fractions and ratios with lots of ease. A report claims that preschoolers who had piano lessons scored 34% higher than the non-musical counterparts.
- The concentration level and co-ordination skills are also enhanced in the children who take piano lessons. Performing with both the hands at the same time and also to read the notes, translate the rhythm and tempo simultaneously during the piano lessons help to boost the concentration levels. The hand-eye cooperation is also achieved.
- The children undergoing their piano lessons accomplish a sense of achievement and learn to perceive hard to reach their goals. This also gives a boost to their self esteem and the confidence on themselves to achieve great things in their life by staying focused.
- The children grow out to be a well rounded adult interested in many fields due to the piano lessons they take up. It nurtures their personality development as they are exposed to the powerful classical music, Mozart or Bach all their life. The chances of them picking up another musical instrument after the pleasant experiences they gained from the piano lessons are very high.
- As any teacher would justify, the co-curricular activities only help a child shape into a complete individual having their uniqueness, so that they are not lost in the crowd. Taking up piano lessons is one of such best co-curricular activity which moulds the children’s personality as it spells their uniqueness when they are capable to create their new compositions, however simple it might be.
- One of the most important and crucial benefits of children taking up the piano lessons is they are saved from being depressed or lonely as they have their beautiful music to vent their feelings.
The magic of children taking up piano lessons at younger age is immeasurable and should be cultivated in all the children.
• Posted by admin • Sunday, May 16th, 2010 at 8:59 am • (0) Comment
Benefits Children. Lessons Piano
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