馃搫 Rendered from the archive database (the original static capture of this page wasn't kept). Content is complete; styling is simplified.
Any of you boys take notes on the gems you find in this forum?
I used to forget a lot of stuff when reading books, and still do. But I've found a few techniques that help to maximize information retention.
One is to not be afraid of taking notes in pencil in the margins of books you own. Michel de Montaigne did this, and a lot of other famous men. Underline things you like. Make a note in the margin, in a language that you're studying. You'll remember it better. Keep a pencil handy by your night-table if you like to read in bed at night, like I do. Or keep it at your desk.
Write little lists to yourself at the end of the book or on Post-it notes about the main ideas in the book.
Talk about the ideas you encounter in the book with someone else. It will help cement them in your head.
Read commentaries on the book in question (if it's famous), or synopses of it, to help you heard the same things over and over again.
Frost 路 2013-09-11 14:55:00 路 #28
I've recently started moving back to physical books and leaving my Kindle to collect dust. Something about marking, underlining, jotting questions, and dog-earing a book really makes it stick. To answer Roosh's question, I almost never review the notes that I make, but it makes reading a more interactive and engaging process.
Like Quintus says, trying to explain is a good way. I have a few friends who know I read a lot, and are usually patient with me trying to explain the ideas I come across to them. It also helps me see where my understanding falls short.
A key thing to do is to try to recall what you read as often as possible. So if you are taking notes periodically throughout your reading make sure when you are done with that chapter or you come to a stopping point, summarize what you read before you do something else. This forces you to remember and reinforce the major ideas that you came across. Do the same thing the next day before you read as well. Read the summary that you wrote from the night before you start your reading for that respective day, then summarize what the major concepts of the new reading for that day. Rinse and repeat until you are done with that book. This will lead to a way better understanding of the major concepts that you highlighting since you'll actively be thinking about them and synergizing with the later material in the book. The best part is that it takes only about 5 mins, but is very powerful is helping you remember what you read.