A system to help you remember more of what you read

Re:A system to help you remember more of what you read by allworknoplay on Sunday July 01, 2018 @09:38AM (#17435555)

I find that simply sitting and thinking while -- and after -- reading nonfiction (or fiction, if it's got good ideas) burns the facts and ideas in as well as anything. I don't think most people allow as much time for reflection and mind-wandering as they ought to; expecting yourself to remember fact after fact without taking time to really absorb, reflect, and expand on them doesn't seem realistic.

It's not unlike a memory palace -- rather than just read the fact, think on it, expand on it and give it context and a place to live in your brain.

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Re:A system to help you remember more of what you read by BeetleB on Sunday July 01, 2018 @12:36PM (#17436257)

I've tried this and failed - I don't retain much a few months down the road with this method. And as with false memories, what I do retain is often not quite right.

My process is not as involved. I take notes in a notebook while reading. Then I make blog posts out of them. This way I can review/consult any time, any where.

This really does slow down my process, though. I used to read several books in the time it now takes to read one. Writing blog posts is time consuming (and my notes are very rough).

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Re:A system to help you remember more of what you read by 2020-3030 on Sunday July 01, 2018 @07:11PM (#17438231)

I like your method because it shares what you learn with others while helping you repeat and process the material.

And what good is it to plow through book after book if we remember little or nothing? Quite a few universities also don't give people any time to reflect between courses so modern schooling and many people's reading habits are geared more to the initial stimulation of reading and less to memory.

I'm a firm believer in taking notes, reflecting, and explaining the ideas to others for anything we really want to remember or master.

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Re:A system to help you remember more of what you read by kapad on Monday July 02, 2018 @05:16PM (#17445386)

Completely agree. I generally take an awful lot of time completing a book. And it's not that I'm a very slow reader. It's just that when reading non fiction, I often Google something from the book, or think about something a bit more and sometimes just flip back to reread a few pages and improve my understanding.

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Re:A system to help you remember more of what you read by everdev on Sunday July 01, 2018 @04:17PM (#17437340)

It's also about applying what you learned and creating those neural pathways. I love reading about space and physics but without applying it in my life or having in person conversations about it I don't retain the information as well as other subjects that I practice and discuss regularly.

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Re:A system to help you remember more of what you read by spraak on Sunday July 01, 2018 @11:28AM (#17435950)

So true! For that I like taking quick notes of what I'm reading or at least highlighting points that stand out and then later go over the notes alongside the book. The highlighted bits can even be somewhat arbitrary, as it still helps to make different parts more distinguishable and aids recall.

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Re:A system to help you remember more of what you read by copperx on Sunday July 01, 2018 @12:33PM (#17436243)

This is exactly what I do, however, it makes reading really slow. I could never match Alan Kay's 20,000 books in my lifetime in this way.

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