…because it makes you more intelligent.

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Is being “more intelligent” important?  Desirable?  Worth the effort?

Arguably, yes – that is, if you want to mitigate pain and unnecessary suffering in your life and promote positive, meaningful, and joyful experience.

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First consider that “more intelligent” correctly implies more able – as in to understand, create, and problem-solve; while “less intelligent” signifies less able, or likely, or possible.  Reading – here considered a Rider function (i.e., primarily the cortex, although many other “parts of the the mind” [which are in the Elephant] are involved) – is the cognitive exercising of the brain; i.e., it is a mental workout for using the capabilities of such functioning (including executive but also memory, creativity, imagination, logic and rationality).  Just like the body is “meant to be used” and “exercise” maintains health and facilitates physical skills, so the mind is sustained and developed by reading.

So, along with making you more intelligent and promoting mental health, the benefits of reading include: