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A comment on The Art of Reading More Effectively and Efficiently. Parent comment

Re:The Art of Reading More Effectively and Efficiently by jk7tarYZAQNpTQa on Friday February 26, 2021 @11:14AM (#26276317)
Setting a goal, even if arbitrary, is positive if an increased in the measured activity is positive. I think we'll all agree that, in most cases, reading more is a positive outcome. Instead of "read X books" think "run Y miles", do you still feel it's "the worst"?

> That clearly optimises for short, easy to read books (eg New York Times Best Sellers) and avoids more technical and difficult books (eg Art of Computer Programming)

Some will "cheat", but most won't. Even if you cheat, is reading 15 short, bad books better or worse than reading 0?

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Re:The Art of Reading More Effectively and Efficiently by dawg- on Friday February 26, 2021 @11:30AM (#26276511)
>Even if you cheat, is reading 15 short, bad books better or worse than reading 0?

If it's done as a chore to hit a certain number, or in a performative spirit to show others how much one has read, I think that person would get more value spending those hours doing something in which they have an authentic interest.

Also, it's not an all-or-nothing prospect. A better question might be, "Is it better to read 15 short, bad books or 3 longer, more challenging books that one may not even fully understand on the first reading?"

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