5/3/2023 0 Comments Does 7 speed reading work![]() Instead, we should learn to become better at selective reading. For example, if the text is broadly artificial intelligence and your focus is on machine learning, use the index of the book to focus on your comprehension goal, and read faster.Īs Dartmouth College’s Academic Skills Center writes, reading a text fully, word for word, to gain an understanding of the key points is an outdated notion that has been drilled into us at school. ![]() We recommend setting out a few notes before you actually start reading to outline the goal you are aiming to achieve when reading your technical books. Technical books can be so crammed with information and concepts that it can be counterintuitive to read every section if you don't actually have to. This way, you will have a framework for where the text is heading, and your reading will be filling in the dots. It might be useful to read the introduction and conclusion to the text at the beginning. We recommend scanning over the entire text before reading it and paying special attention to subheadings, and anything that is highlighted. What is important is getting a strong contextual understanding of what you are about to read. Reading technical books isn't like reading fiction, there's no need to worry about spoilers. Find a quiet room, and if possible, keep your smartphone turned off or out of sight. ![]() Perhaps the most important of all is finding a quiet space, distraction-free space where you know you most likely won't be called on for the time you've set aside to read. These include drinking enough water, breathing deeply, and getting rid of distractions. ![]() Thankfully, there are many small things you can do to increase concentration. Reading technical books or texts with very technical language can be a grueling task at times. While this study was carried out using fiction rather than technical books, the main takeaway likely carries over. The ones that read on paper were shown to be more likely to remember the plot points in the correct order. A controlled study carried out in Norway, meanwhile, saw several people read a short story either on a Kindle or in paperback. While it can be important to be selective about what we read (see point 6), research shows that our brains often subconsciously switch to this less focused style of reading when we read from a screen, whether we want it to or not.Ī PRI neuroscientific research paper, for example, revealed that human beings use different parts of their brains when they are reading off of a piece of paper or from a screen. When we read online, we tend to shift towards a style of "non-linear" reading where we skim over a text and look mainly to read around keywords. As several studies have shown, online reading habits have led to many people losing practice when it comes to bi-literate reading - the act of deep absorption in texts or technical books that leads to higher comprehension. Your paper brain and ebook brain are not the same. If you have a choice, read a physical copy Oppenheimer of the University of California, Los Angeles, published in Psychological Science suggests, handwriting notes down on a notepad is likely better for memory retention than typing notes into your computer. Mueller of Princeton University and Daniel M. Just by writing out the concepts, you are reading, and you are also testing your own comprehension of these concepts.Īs a study by Pam A. Notetaking is incredibly important for the comprehension of technical texts. Half an hour can be set aside for approximately fifteen pages of reading, depending on the technicality of the text - given that the average reading speed for an individual is 250 words per minute or about a page of text in most technical books. It's important to set aside a proper amount of time for reading, including time for notetaking, and rereading of important points. This attitude towards reading means that people are often rushing, and feeling distracted, the moment they open their book. In our modern age of distraction, people often don't treat reading as an important part of their day - it's something that will be done if there's time or something that is all too often crammed into spare time. RELATED: 30+ MUST READ ENGINEERING BOOKS 1. Here are nine fast reading techniques and tips that will help you to get through those technical books in no time while retaining a high level of comprehension. Just as reading great books can help to further a person's career, so will reading faster and more efficiently make an engineer better at their job. Whether it's technical books, case studies, white papers, or manuals, reading is part and parcel of the job.
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