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Ask HN: How do you become an active reader and deep thinker?

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Re: Ask HN: How do you become an active reader and deep thinker?

#31

Post by 100011_100001 »

bwh2 wrote: post #5

Heavy reader here. Some ideas that work for me: * Focus on active data consumption, eliminate passive consumption. For instance, when I read books I use a highlighter and I'm excited to find a section worth highlighting. I've gamified the consumption process. * Separate data collection from data processing. When highlighting I'm just collecting data, not really thinking deeply. I process the data later by reviewing m…

One of the challenges I have is I never go back to look at my highlights. I never have time to copy things over.

Probably having a blog helps with that since it has a desired output.

Re: Ask HN: How do you become an active reader and deep thinker?

#32

Post by snickersnee11 »

atomicMeccano wrote: post #18

I'm not great at this either, but have been getting better by -- * I have a separate virtual desktop with only my note taking tool (always open). Copy/paste or use a plug-in to feed anything interesting to note taking app / tag it. I use Roam Research (allows bidirectional linking, but you can use anything). * I often use the "5 whys" technique as a BS detector as I manage my team. I do that with myself too lately an…

Yep, speaking for thinking is way underrated

Re: Ask HN: How do you become an active reader and deep thinker?

#33

Post by snickersnee11 »

yesenadam wrote: post #25

> most of the time I do find some interesting nuggets of wisdom, though I never make notes on them Copy and paste them to a text file. (Think of not doing that as throwing your life away.) Arrange them by topic later, as the file size gets unwieldy. Read and reread them, which hopefully will be hard not to do, as they are your favourite quotes. Write little comments and commentaries on them as you wish – illustrative…

Thank you, that's great example and a marvelous advice.

Re: Ask HN: How do you become an active reader and deep thinker?

#34

Post by Thursday24 »

For books, something that has helped me in getting the best of the stuff in them has been this. For every new book, create a google doc with three sections:

1. Before 2. During 3. After

The first "Before" section is to list down your preconceptions about the topic you're going to read about. What do you think you already know about the topic? What do you feel about the topic? And so on.

Next, as you go through the book page by page, contrast whatever you encounter with your preconceptions. Is there anything new or interesting there? Actively seek interesting-ness or novelty. Or is there a fact that contradicts or supports your preconceptions? Note all of those down.

And once you're done with reading, spend some time listing down your thoughts in the "After" section. Have you become wiser due to the book? Do you feel better at knowing more? Have you clarified your understanding of the world or yourself? Or at least, do you have more questions on the topic with you for further study?

If you have additional time, restructure everything you store into a blog-post. I modified this idea originally from Farnam Street (https://fs.blog).

In the long run, this sort of delta-maximization framework can become powerful and addictive and a great addition to your life.

Re: Ask HN: How do you become an active reader and deep thinker?

#35

Post by Thursday24 »

SuboptimalEng wrote: post #15

1. Don't listen to music/podcasts when showering, going on walks/runs or exercising (unless you are doing to something intense and need some motivation). This will allow you to brew the ideas already in your head. 2. Don't speed through books/blog posts. I was always confused when people said they read 1 book a week (unless it was a fiction book). When I read a non-fiction book, I take weeks to read it - even if it i…

2 - Wonderful advice! It took me years to figure this out. The speedreading books/courses would instruct "Don't subvocalize" and so on. I tried doing all that, and never deeply internalized anything that way. These days when I read something worthwhile, I read it in a funny/crazy made-up voice in my head and take all the time in the world, and this helps me absorb the material and make it my own :)

Re: Ask HN: How do you become an active reader and deep thinker?

#36

Post by lcall »

yesenadam wrote: post #25

> most of the time I do find some interesting nuggets of wisdom, though I never make notes on them Copy and paste them to a text file. (Think of not doing that as throwing your life away.) Arrange them by topic later, as the file size gets unwieldy. Read and reread them, which hopefully will be hard not to do, as they are your favourite quotes. Write little comments and commentaries on them as you wish – illustrative…

In agreement: I think the coach John Wooden said ~ "The trouble with all the good new books, is that they keep us from reading all the good old books."

Edit: I have very many thoughts on this (at my web sites), and I use www.onemodel.org (AGPL, text-oriented, desktop) software to organize all those thoughts like you describe. But I need (sometime) to make it easier to install.

Edit2 (noted elsewhere but seems to apply here too): lately I have been thinking I have so many "actionable" ideas and things piled up in my notes, that I try (sometimes?) to read or note only those things that are >=85% likely to change my thoughts or actions for the better in the next 3-4 months; very questionable whether I am good at that, or whether it applies to other situations. YMMV.

Re: Ask HN: How do you become an active reader and deep thinker?

#37

Post by lcall »

HDMI_Cable wrote: post #24

I've always found that you can never go wrong by reading less . 90% of things we read are complete filler and don't really justify the other 10%. Books (IMO) tend to be better for than webpages for retaining information because they take much longer to read. Prefer books over webpages.

In agreement, there is a paragraph at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skimming_(reading)#Skimming_an...

...that if read (uh, slowly, for that first paragraph or 2 in that section on skimming) has ideas that help me a lot: reading the beginning/end, decide whether to read more, based on life purpose and priorities, and whether I am trying to focus on a task or just relax and enjoy. Also depending on the kind of material and how it is written.

ps: lately I have been thinking I have so many "actionable" ideas and things piled up in my notes, that I try (sometimes?) to read or note only those things that are >=85% likely to change my thoughts or actions for the better in the next 3-4 months; very questionable whether I am good at that. YMMV.

Re: Ask HN: How do you become an active reader and deep thinker?

#39

Post by telesilla »

100011_100001 wrote: post #31
bwh2 wrote: post #5

Heavy reader here. Some ideas that work for me: * Focus on active data consumption, eliminate passive consumption. For instance, when I read books I use a highlighter and I'm excited to find a section worth highlighting. I've gamified the consumption process. * Separate data collection from data processing. When highlighting I'm just collecting data, not really thinking deeply. I process the data later by reviewing m…

One of the challenges I have is I never go back to look at my highlights. I never have time to copy things over. Probably having a blog helps with that since it has a desired output.

I use https://readwise.io with my e-reader, it saves and manages my highlights and emails me daily updates what I find important. It's seriously good for retaining important information.

Re: Ask HN: How do you become an active reader and deep thinker?

#40

Post by srckinase123 »

throwaway_isms wrote: post #27

It may sound ridiculous but I always thought I was a good reader, a tad slow but really good with comprehensions/recollection. Then I went to law school and ever since I have said tongue-in-cheek I didn't know how to read until law school. I terms of recall, many classmates would highlight and write notes in the margins, but I would typically draw pictures of the case. Coincidentally law school (at least my 1st year…

Always been fascinated by the precision and logic of legal writing. Could you go into more detail on how you would take notes and process the information and encode it into long-term memory? And how someone can improve their reading comprehension and recall of dense texts.
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