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Torello comments on Open thread, September 9-15, 2013 - Less Wrong Discussion
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I'm looking for strategies/techniques/habits for reading non-fiction effectively and efficiently. I'm looking for methods to help me retain concepts, locate main ideas, make connections, etc.
Has anyone posted about this on Less Wrong previously?
Can anyone point me to relevant resources that have worked for them?
Any skills/systems that you've developed personally would also be helpful.
As I read textbooks, I summarize the most important concepts (along with doing the exercises, if there are any) and write them in a notebook and then later (less than a week) enter the notes into Anki as cloze-delete flashcards. I don't have an objective measure of retention, but I believe that it has vastly improved relative to when I would simply read the book.
I've been procrastinating on trying something similar. Can you please share a few examples of what the Anki flashcards look like? I can't seem to imagine a hypothetical translation from a book to cards that'd feel effective to me.
That's a great idea to use Anki. Thanks.
'Non-fiction' is a pretty big category. What type of stuff are you reading?
Right now I'm reading "The Black Swan." Next, I plan to read "Surfaces and Essences." So I would say popular science recently.
I know textbooks are designed to do the work of drawing out main ideas, explicitly define main ideas, etc., but I would still be interested in learning how people approach textbooks.
I've already read about how to read scientific papers, which seemed like a great resource: http://violentmetaphors.com/2013/08/25/how-to-read-and-understand-a-scientific-paper-2/
Popular science books are often heavily padded. I recommend skipping any sections that are just rehashing the main idea. For some books (maybe even most books) this can mean reading the first few chapters and skipping the rest.
I'd actually go even further and recommend to avoid pop science books altogether, and replace them with introductory books, lecture notes from reputable lecturers, and video lectures on subjects.
I know there are lists of the best texts on this site, so I guess I could use that to find reputable materials.
I guess ideally I'd like to use pop science books to introduce me to topics in a light and entertaining way, but I think you make a good point that if I'm going for efficiency the ways you've suggested are better.
I've noticed that they can be pretty repetitive, but honestly I think it's good for me to hear it over and over, so I remember it and integrate it.
I guess what I'm looking for is a way to integrate/remember faster or better so the rehashing isn't necessary.