How reading changes your mind

Paul Klee - Dynamics of the Head - 1934

Why do we read?  Saunders, in Swim in the Pond, that "our minds were changed" by having read a story.  He muses about what that means:

But I'll give it a try.

I am reminded that my mind is not the only mind.

I fell an increased confidence in my ability to imagine the experiences of other people and accept these as valid.

I  feel I exist on a continuum with other people: what is in them is in me and vice versa.

My capacity for language is reenergized. My internal language (the language in which I think) gets richer, more specific and adroit.

I find myself liking the world more, taking more loving notice of it (this is related to that re-energization of my language).

I feel luckier to be here and more aware that someday I won't be.

I feel more aware of the things of the world and more interested in them.

So, that's all pretty good.

Essentially, before I read a story, I'm in a state of knowing, of being fairly sure. My life has led me to a certain place and I'm contentedly resting there. Then, here comes the story, and I am slightly undone, in a good way. Not so sure anymore, of my views, and reminded that my view-maker is always a little bit off: it's limited, it's too easily satisfied, with too little data.