“Heimdall, open the Bifrost!” The mighty Thor often said this line, sometimes in a funny way or with utmost with urgency. But what exactly was Thor talking about? In Norse Mythology, Heimdall was the powerful Asguardian guard of the Bifrost, or the Rainbow Bridge, which connects Asgard to the other nine realms, one of which was the world of humanity. (norse-mythology.org)

The Rainbow Bridge in Norse Mythology is similar to the Einstein-Rosen bridge. “In 1935, Einstein and physicist Nathan Rosen used the theory of general relativity to elaborate on the idea, proposing the existence of “bridges” through space-time. These bridges connect two different points in space-time, theoretically creating a shortcut that could reduce travel time and distance. The shortcuts came to be called Einstein-Rosen bridges, or wormholes. Although Einstein’s theory of general relativity mathematically predicts the existence of wormholes, none have been discovered to date.” (www.space.com)

Travelling to another dimension can be done with less complex details. In fact, with this unique activity you can not only travel through time, you can also change into an animal, an alien, a robot even without leaving the comfort of your own room. This activity is called reading.

The theme for this year’s BOOK MONTH is “Reading: A Wormhole into Another Universe”. Reading is indeed like travelling into another universe. You get to run with vampires (Oh wait, you can’t run with them. They run too fast!), you can visit Mars, have tea with Queen Elizabeth, fight alongside King Arthur, or listen to the parables of Jesus. Your mind becomes the playground of the authors and your version of the story will always, always be better than someone else’s.

Apart from the exciting stories, you can actually learn to do a lot of things when you read. You get to expand your vocabulary, discover new models for writing, improve your cognitive and critical thinking skills, broaden your view of the world, and improve your grammar skills. Let’s face it, asdfghjkl doesn’t quite say exactly what you mean.

So what are you waiting for? Give your gadgets a break. Go and open your Einstein-Rosen bridge and who knows, perhaps you can write your own story and build your own wormhole to another dimension. Get lost inside a book today and discover the wondrous possibilities your mind can imagine.

This article appears in the Sept. 2018 issue of TLA Blaze. Click here to view or download a copy of this newsletter.