Neurologist Dr. Sid Warrier: “YouTube is already unpacked; books teach you to unpack

Meet neurologist and Bhagavad Gita expert Dr Sid Warrier. “I started my YouTube Channel during the pandemic to teach medical students who were perforce sitting at home,” he says. “Over time, I wanted to make neuroscience and science-based wellness accessible and understandable to everyone.” For starters, he recommends ’Behave- The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst’ by Robert M. Sapolsky as a must read. Reeta Ramamurthy Gupta spoke to him about what neuroscience and the Bhagavad Gita have to say about the importance of reading.

The Bhagavad Gita says that the ‘mind is restless but can be controlled by bringing it to a single point of focus.’ Can you analyse this for me in the context of reading?

Yes. The mind is inherently restless. It has always been so; imagine how far back the Bhagwad Geeta was written. There was no social media then, but the mind was still restless. The mind is constantly searching for what it should pay attention to. When it finds something, it doesn't settle there but looks for something else- “is there something more deserving of my attention?” But if you keep searching for alternatives, its a never ending loop. This is how we lose focus.

The Geeta says,

यततो ह्यपि कौन्तेय पुरुषस्य विपश्चितः।इन्द्रियाणि प्रमाथीनि हरन्ति प्रसभं मनः॥

Yatato hy api Kaunteya puruṣhasya vipaśhchitaḥ,

Indriyāṇi pramāthīni haranti prasabhaṁ manaḥ.

This means, 'Even for a person who tries hard to control them, O Arjuna, the turbulent senses can forcibly carry away the mind.'

It is important to bring the mind back to focus. Reading can help here.

How does reading help to focus the mind?

The mind creates images from memory. So it is creating a reality that does not exist. This is our superpower as human beings- animals cannot do this.As we create images in our mind, we build consecutive realities on the preceding one. This process is sequential - so in essence an idea is a succession of images that build on each other to complete the picture. But if we have to build on one image, we have to hold on to it for a while. Stay attentive. The mind being restless, finds it difficult to stay on an idea. Hence, practices like reading- which are inherently about building successive images from text- are helpful.

As opposed to scrolling/watching reels/videos etc?

Yes. A reel is a complete idea. Each reel is different. The next reel does not consciously build on the previous one. And each reel is discarded quickly from the mind and hence even after two hours of scrolling, you will find that you haven’t reached anywhere. Unlike these, movies, documentaries that are telling a story, can actually help you build a narrative.

So you’re saying that the ‘mind thinks in story’. But surely, there has to be a difference between consuming these stories from videos and books.

When you read, each word is a collection of symbols that your brain will interpret and create meaning. You have to first ‘decompress’ and then build. In that sense, it is a compressed data source. In contrast, a movie is a decompressed data source.The images are already available and you don’t have to build anything new. The brain has to do far less work. So the two are very different.

So is it better for the brain to do less work or more?

Many activities- singing, dancing - involve many parts of the brain. So does reading. The more active the brain, the better it is.

So the ‘abhyasa’ or study is essential for the brain?

Let me explain with an example. A book is like a packed suitcase. You have complete freedom to unpack it and put the stuff where you want it; so you will know where to find things later.But if Ive already unpacked and put things in place, your experience is different. You will never learn to unpack and arrange things your way. YouTube videos are like unpacked suitcases. Less effort. I will however say that videos are a great way to understand a new topic- say for those who don’t know how to unpack yet. You can create a basic framework and then decide to what to study in detail. For this, you will have to learn how to unpack and this is where books come in.

Makes sense. But how do I know that video is not enough to teach me a subject; and that I need to pick up a book.

The simple answer is- can you teach it? Unless you have unpacked it yourself, you cannot find it. Similarly- you cant teach what you don’t understand fully.You can parrot a few lines and pretend, but when asked questions, you will fold!

Reeta Ramamurthy Gupta is a columnist and bestselling biographer. She is credited with the internationally acclaimed Red Dot Experiment, a decadal six-nation study on how ‘culture impacts communication.’ Asia's first reading coach, you can find her on Instagram @OfficialReetaGupta.