Comment author: moreati 01 July 2013 10:34:45PM 4 points [-]

If it's material you want to/are required to learn from try taking notes as you read the material, to force yourself to recall it in your own terms/language.

If it's just recreational/online reading try increasing the font size/spacing or decreasing the browser width, or using a browser extension like readability. Don't scroll with the scroll bar or the mouse wheel - use pg up/pg down to make it easier to keep your position.

Comment author: letter7 01 July 2013 11:04:54PM 0 points [-]

I understand the "recall in your own terms", that sounds like very practical advice, even more in my case since english isn't my mother language and thus I could try translating it, which would ensure a deeper understanding. Thanks.

I don't see how the way that information is displayed (font size/spacing and using the scroll bar) could impact in the way I'm reading, could you explain that a little more?

Comment author: shminux 01 July 2013 10:14:27PM 2 points [-]

Probably automaticity is what you are looking for. I am not sure how to force one's mind to attend to a repetitive task. One trick for avoiding reading automaticity is to paraphrase and check for potential BS every paragraph or so.

Comment author: letter7 01 July 2013 11:02:39PM *  3 points [-]

Indeed it's something along those lines, however, in the article it's represented in a positive light, where

a skilled reader, multiple tasks are being performed at the same time such as decoding the words, comprehending the information, relating the information to prior knowledge of the subject matter, making inferences, and evaluating the information's usefulness to a report he or she is writing

My problem is that, somehow, I do that, but without comprehending anything. The article linked to an interesting program in Australia, though, QuickSmart. It's aimed at middle students, but I think I could perhaps benefinit from it.

Comment author: letter7 01 July 2013 08:54:06PM 14 points [-]

There's something that happens to me with an alarming frequency, something that I almost never (or don't remember) see being referenced (and thus I don't know the proper name). I'm talking about that effect when I'm reading a text (any kind of text, textbook, blog, forum text) and suddenly I discover that two minutes passed and I advanced six lines in the text, but I just have no idea of what I read. It's like a time blackhole, and now I have to re-read it.

Sometimes it also happens in a less alarming way, but still bad: for instance, when I'm reading something that is deliberately teaching me an important piece of knowledge (as in, I already know whathever is in this text IS important) I happen to go through it without questioning anything, just "accepting" it and a few moments later it suddenly comes down on me when I'm ahead: "Wait... what, did he just say 2 pages ago that thermal radiation does NOT need matter to propagate?" and I have again to go back and check that I was not crazy.

While I don't know the name of this effect, I have asked some acquantainces of mine about that, while some agreed that they have it others didn't. I would like very much to eliminate this flaw, anybody knows what I could do to train myself not to do it or at least the correct name so I can research more about it?

Comment author: gyokuro 17 June 2013 06:51:58PM 2 points [-]

I've been using HabitRPG for around a month now to increase the amount of exercise I do and decrease the amount of chocolate I consume. It's caused successful habit formation—I've reduced the motivation needed to do unpleasant strength exercises and 3+ mile runs, even on days where I get no points for completing them. I have little success with decreasing my chocolate consumption, partly because I eat first and pay for it with the game-gold later. I'll keep using this system.

HabitRPG may work for me because I have freakishly great self-motivation and this helps me channel it. It's also my to-do list, though the site crashes with annoying frequency.

Comment author: letter7 17 June 2013 08:32:13PM 2 points [-]

If you don't know, I would like to point out that you can run a server locally without almost any effort (there are detailed instructions on the site), thus avoiding crashing problems and allowing you to access it offline.

Comment author: TimS 02 June 2013 02:20:58PM 4 points [-]

I suggest practice in groups. Does Toastmasters charge money, and do they have any meetings near you?

Comment author: letter7 02 June 2013 02:38:14PM 0 points [-]

Sadly, no. I'm from Brazil, there are a few Toastmasters in my country, but all of them are a plane travelling distance away.

Comment author: letter7 02 June 2013 02:02:12PM 7 points [-]

I have been constantly thinking recently: Your voice impacts a lot in your presentation, and it's one of those things that people generally take for granted. And it's not just your speak pattern and filler words that I'm referring to, but also intonation, fluency and so on. I would maybe risk saying that it can be as important as your appearance, or even more. (If you stumble every five or ten words, you can't really convey your ideas, can you?)

In this vein, is there a viable alternative for someone who wants to improve his own voice? I already thought about a voice acting tutor, but I generally prefer ways in which I could improve without having to pay a tutor.