
How to retain more of what you read - xtraclass
http://www.farnamstreetblog.com//2013/05/how-to-retain-more-of-what-you-read/
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npalli
Summarization is one of the least effective methods of retaining what you have
learnt. According to an extensive study [1], the two most effective methods of
retaining what you have learnt are

Practice testing --- Self-testing or taking practice tests over to-be-learned
material

Distributed practice --- Implementing a schedule of practice that spreads out
study activities over time

<http://psi.sagepub.com/content/14/1/4.full.pdf>

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m_ke
From the paper:

3.5 Summarization: Overall assessment. On the basis of the available evidence,
we rate summarization as low utility. It can be an effective learning strategy
for learners who are already skilled at summarizing; however, many learners
(including children, high school students, and even some undergraduates) will
require extensive training, which makes this strategy less feasible. Our
enthusiasm is further dampened by mixed find-ings regarding which tasks
summarization actually helps. Although summarization has been examined with a
wide range of text materials, many researchers have pointed to fac-tors of
these texts that seem likely to moderate the effects of summarization (e.g.,
length), and future research should be aimed at investigating such factors.
Finally, although many studies have examined summarization training in the
class-room, what are lacking are classroom studies examining the effectiveness
of summarization as a technique that boosts stu-dents’ learning,
comprehension, and retention of course content.

I read through a good portion of it and they are mainly focused on k-12. The
research they cite consists of remembering facts, not understanding technical
content such as physics and math.

Getting through an advanced math textbook is nearly impossible without taking
notes and summarizing the main ideas.

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mercuryrising
It's still sitting in a vacuum by taking notes. I think a very effective way
of remembering is by constantly linking what you're reading to what you know,
trying to fit it in your current web of knowledge. The more you read, the
bigger web you get, the more places you have where what you're currently
reading can fit.

The point of reading something isn't to memorize what you read, it's to
enhance your life. After every chapter, put the book down, and see where that
chapter fits in your mind, and go on tangents for how it would affect what
you're thinking.

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crntaylor
Gwern wrote a lengthy blog post on improving recall[0] that is worth at least
a cursory read. As usual, it is deeply researched and well referenced. The two
main takeaways seem to be

1\. Spaced repetition works, and

2\. Intermittent testing works.

I don't think he says anything about summarization, but I'd be interested to
read a study.

[0] <http://www.gwern.net/Spaced%20repetition>

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npsimons
I try to do this with any technical book I read, and summarize things in an
org-mode outline in Emacs while I read. It helps to have a bookstand (the
BookGem is nice). Combine this with advice from "How to Read a Book" and
follow the guidelines from "Pragmatic Programmer" of at least one technical
book every three months, and it makes for a wealth of handy notes and better
retention.

Another big helper (which works well when you're already in Emacs), is to type
in and test code examples, and force yourself to solve/work all the
exercises/problems given.

A couple of last things to look up: the PQ4R strategy and SQ3R strategy. I've
heard these are taught in England; I really wish they would teach it here in
the states early in public school.

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Homer63132
I wrestle with this problem constantly. I love to read books, but I forget
what I read. I keep lists in google docs of what I've read, and a thought on
each book.

I've always wanted to have nested summaries of the books I've read, for review
after reading - a way to let me quickly review what I've read, or preview
books before I read them. And, there's no reason these shouldn't be sharable
among other readers.

This is my first cut at a tool to do this: www.thebooknotes.com

Some key changes and updates coming but wanted to share it with you guys now.
Thoughts and feedback always welcome

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dmak
I found that when reading my textbooks for class, it helped a lot to take
notes and try to apply when I was learning. It helped me get a deeper meaning
and retain the material much better.

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alokv28
For books that have an appropriate stucture [1], I like making a mind map that
I can quickly refer to later on.

[1] A lot of business books work well for this

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jakerocheleau
I've never thought to do this but the methodology does make sense. I've been
studying Japanese for about a month and while reading through various
textbooks I'll run into so many examples of miscellaneous grammar notes which
I never thought to write down. Partially because of apathy while also
convincing myself that I'll remember it all and don't need to bother taking
notes.

But I wonder if results would differ between taking notes digitally vs
physically hand-writing with pen and paper.

