One of the most crucial skills for understanding texts is the ability to build a mental map of what is being read, watched or listened to, while doing so. I believe the ability to do this has allowed me to understand arguments in non-fiction books and articles, musical narratives, and stories in fiction books and films.

Musical Structures

I only really stumbled on the existence of the ability while I was studying composition, and was having difficulties structuring my works. I was always lost during the creative process whenever I thought ‘What should come next?’ I began to consider the importance of understanding the structural models that pieces exist within, in order to hopefully be able to use them in my own work. I wanted to be able to know what the section of the piece I’m currently listening to actually is, and thus what role it plays in the narrative of the entire work.

A simple example of this is in popular music. Knowing that I am listening to the 2nd verse, or the bridge, or the final chorus, within a typical structure of verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus, allows me to understand where that section is in the piece – what has come before it, and where it might be leading to. It provides context for the musical ideas I am hearing.

A way to visualise this is to be building a waveform of the entire piece (similar to those on Soundcloud) as I was listening to it, and knowing how to break that waveform into a series of sections, understanding what was in them and what their functions were in the entire piece.

Structures of Arguments in Non-Fiction Writing

I have found that the same technique is essential for truly seeing someone’s argument laid out in a piece of non-fiction writing. As I read more non-fiction books – especially over the last year and a half – I felt that I had to develop this same skill to see how the author was piecing together their point. The initial chapters laid out the contexts, then concepts were gradually introduced and importantly interlocked into that context, until the later chapters when the author introduces their main points, drawing on the proposed information in the preceding chapters. Much like a lawyer building their case, now that I think of it.

So a fundamental part of literacy is to be able to recall the points from earlier chapters, while reading the later chapters; remembering what was proposed there, and seeing how it all links together. It requires building this same form of linear mental map of the structure of the book, and holding this in your head as you read the book.

Structures of Narratives in Fiction

The same goes for fictional stories. I noticed how much reading non-fiction books has expanded this capacity when I read a fiction book. This was clear when I had taken about 5 months off fiction, reading a bunch of more difficult non-fiction than what I had usually been reading. Reading the fiction book – Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne – felt so much easier than usual. I recognised that I could keep track of the plot for the entire length of the book way easier than I could 5 months before. When I was in the later parts of the story, I could look back over the previous length of the book and trace everyone’s journeys and progressions.

Usually with fiction, it had felt a little more like I could only focus on where they were currently, and maybe where they had been in the previous chapter or two. But trying to piece together a complete timeline of where the character had been throughout the entire book was always very difficult. I don’t think I ever actively tried to do that – it was more that I felt that I suddenly could do it for this book.

Is It Becoming Scarcer?

A tragic thing is that I believe much of the problem was an over-engagement with short form content, and the structures of internet media. This is a big part of why The Shallows resonated with me so much – the books describes just how much a medium itself (rather than the content transmitted through the medium) shapes our thinking. The medium shapes how we think, while the content shapes more of what we think about. Non-linear, fragmented content leads to the same styles of thinking, whereas consuming linear, long-form content leads to cohesive and deeper thinking. I very much feel that what I’ve described above is a clear example of this concept at play.

Building mental maps of what I’m reading, listening to, or watching, plays a crucial role in my ability to understand what is being transmitted through the text. It worries me that this ability is becoming scarcer, or perhaps more accurately, that the technologies that attack this ability are becoming more pervasive. I wonder if this will, or already has, led to a rising sense of confusion, alienation and misunderstanding of the world, its events, others and ourselves.