Photo: Thinkstock

Whenever I see my toddler zoning out to her beloved iPad "gamies," I am reminded of something an education consultant once told me about how when very young children look at pictures or a book their eyes sweep across the page, but when they watch a screen their eyes don't move nearly as much. Essentially, little kids with tons of "screen time" were not learning how to move their eyes in the way you need to in order really see the world around them, and particularly to learn how to read. 

I was reminded of this when I read the fascinating blog post, "Are Your Eyes Also a Window to Your Brain?" Smithsonian Innovations blogger Randy Rieland writes of a recent study which "suggests that who a person is relates to how they move their eyes. In this case, the scientists found that people they identified as more 'curious'–based on their answers to survey questions–also were more likely to be the ones whose eyes moved freely around photos they were asked to view. Their eyes, it seemed, were true to their curious nature."

Doesn't it make you wonder how your eyes move? And whether or not it works the other way around? If I want to be a more curious, thoughtful person, do I just make an effort to move my eyes around more? It can't hurt to try, I suppose. Tonight, instead of turning into Facebook-zombies, perhaps I should try studying some pictures, perhaps even, you know, reading a book. I may just be surprised at how much I start to see.

Rieland's comprehensive post offers a wealth of interesting facts and findings about eyes–including how our eye movements reveal our personalities and skills.

Read More:
How Brain Science Can Change Our Lives
The Neuroscience of Gratitude