Last Updated on April 15, 2017 by Dave Farquhar
This oft-cited story about Shakespeare’s wealth and how he got it in the Telegraph led me–as the Internet often does–to something else: Shakespeare as therapy.
Brain scans indicate that reading the unfamiliar language and complex syntax in classical writing such as Shakespeare and Wordsworth spurs a great deal of brain stimulus and introspection. Reading both plays and poetry proved beneficial, but especially poetry. The studies found that reading classical poetry proved more beneficial than reading self-help books.
Reading modern renderings of classical writing in contemporary language proved less beneficial, suggesting that the unfamiliarity provides some of the benefit.
David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He has written professionally about computers since 1991, so he was writing about retro computers when they were still new. He has been working in IT professionally since 1994 and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He holds Security+ and CISSP certifications. Today he blogs five times a week, mostly about retro computers and retro gaming covering the time period from 1975 to 2000.