One way to dream up post-book media to make reading more effective and meaningful is to systematize "expert" practices (e.g. How to Read a Book), so more people can do them, more reliably and more cheaply. But… the most erudite people I know don't actually do those things!
Conversation
There's a funny response curve: folks who are super-diligent about note-taking practices or building simulations seem to generally end up with less insight than their somewhat-less-diligent neighbors.
Maybe it's a explore/exploit thing? Or maybe just a wonk/gestalt thing?
7
11
85
The best theory I have is something like: it takes so much effort to do these "expert" reading practices now that such readers burn their willpower and mental energy on running those processes, rather than on the ideas themselves.
But I don't know! Gives me pause!
Replying to
IMO, the only way forward is to use these tools ourselves and iterate on them without self deception or hype. My greatest fear is that the best hypertext system will become just another click-hole to disappear down.
1
5
I suspect the fundamental problem is passive vs. active participation. Note paper or word processors may trump knowledge bases because they force you to be active, to paraphrase, summarise, and analyse: grow neural connexions.
1
1
Show replies
This Tweet is from a suspended account. Learn more
I could see this as an issue with fiction, but not non-fiction.
Replying to
I suspect there's a phenomenon where you have to go through intense structure in order to build the "feel" to not need it.
This hunch comes from my experience with exercise and nutrition - I can get away without tracking macros or an exercise program *because* of past structure.
1
4
So there may still be value in making that structure lower overhead.
Ooo another example is Headspace: I would not have built a meditation habit without it but now I no longer need it.
1
2
Show replies
Replying to
The simplest explanation I can think of is that these marginal boosts aren’t needed by top performers, who naturally organize their thoughts well and have great memories. So in practice these practices are negatively correlated with top performance.
1
1
3
Replying to
I've noticed this too! Maybe explicit practices are good scaffolding up to intermediate, but experts can break the rules after mastering them? Or, certain people have natural tendencies (eg habits from childhood) so they don't need the practices?
1
3
I think "what's helpful for the average person to improve by 2x" and "what are the top 1% doing" have different answers in many fields
(also FWIW, I credit "how to read a book" with improving my reading ability by 2x!)
1
7
Show replies