Whole brain super learning ability

Chapter 19 Strong Reading Ability (3)
How much of this information can you get from the cover (or back cover) of the book you're reading right now?If you haven't done this work, please be sure to pay attention to the front and back before reading.

Now that you know this information, you've presumably seen the front and back of this book, and if you can't see why, you'll lose most of your interest in the book.Obviously you can notice that this book is about learning, and you may feel that the way it is written may be novel.You'll also notice the author's name (you may or may not know some of his other books, which you may or may not know, from the back cover) and how his expertise relates to writing the book.

Sometimes, the information you get from a book's cover is enough to make you understand that the book is not suitable for your needs, so you can cross it off the reading list and use your precious reading time Go browse other candidate varieties.

The title page is the next object of attention.It can tell you something about the author that isn't mentioned on the cover, and on the back of the title page may provide some information that may or may not be useful to you:

· When was the first edition of the book;
whether it is a translation or a domestic work;

How long it has been in circulation;
· how many times it was reprinted;
when it was last revised or republished;
the time of the edition you read;

whether it is the latest version;

· Publisher's name and address.

The front of the book's title page gives you some information you couldn't have gleaned from the cover, while the back of the title page gives you the full history of the book's publication and distribution—enabling you to determine whether it meets the timeliness you require .It also shows you the name and address of the publisher.

The table of contents is the part you should never ignore while browsing.The table of contents will tell you which topics the authors have covered.In addition, it will sometimes give you information on how the author has organized the topics—topics, subtopics, and so on.

Please go back and look at the table of contents of this book:

• How many topics does the book raise?
• Are there any topics that you think should be covered in a book on reading like this one, but the author has not devoted a chapter to them?
·Is there a subtopic in each chapter?

• Are there any topics that you found missing in item [-] that are covered in the subtopics?

After you read the table of contents of this book, you should know that there are 10 main topics in this book and there are some subtopics in each chapter.If you're looking for certain topics in your book, such as "ten lines at a glance" or "memory with a photographic memory," and this book has neither a chapter nor a separate section devoted to them, you may decide that this is a A book you don't want to spend more time delving into.

So, your browsing of the table of contents should give you an idea of ​​the topics covered in the book.And can give you some clues to make you understand how the various topics are related.And when you've read a chapter or more, you might come back and browse the table of contents again.

Maybe you picked up this book just to find some references that could help you answer a specific question?If so, it might be a good idea to stop your browsing here.Because you can already know whether this book contains the content you care about.On the other hand, sometimes you may find that the table of contents is not helpful to you in figuring out whether the book is suitable for your purposes.In that case, you might just have to take a look.

Preface (Foreword/Introduction) For most book authors, the first 1-2 pages are used to introduce the content of the book.Yet students often ignore it.That's a shame, because these introductory comments can often tell you:

· The subject of the book;
· How is the book structured?

· How the book relates to other books in the same field;

· How it differs from other books;

· Do you like the author's style?

· Scope of application of the book;

What the author envisions the reader will gain from the book;
·What do you expect to get from this book.

In short, the introduction helps you decide whether the book is worth reading, and even how you can get the most out of it.What kind of information did you get from the preface of this book?
An important theme - the development of the reflective self - is stated along with some key questions for the reader to ponder.It also describes the intended audience and defines some important terms.Finally, it offers some suggestions on how to read the book.

References are mainly listed at the end of the book.The various books you study will often refer to other books and articles.They may be found in the footnotes on every page of the book, or they may be mentioned in the endnotes of each chapter, and more often they are appended to the book.The author may refer to material that he or she has referenced or cited.He or she may suggest that you read them further.These books are generally at the same level or at a more specialized level.A quick glance at the titles of the books mentioned may give you an idea of ​​their applicability.Check out one of the forms they take.Do you think they help you?Do they help you understand the book and serve your purpose in learning?
One more important part that can be overviewed: the text itself.As part of your browsing, the text itself is worth going over from cover to cover.When you are reading, you can pay attention to the headings and subheadings; read the summary at the end of each chapter (if there is one); note how the text is arranged on the layout; look at graphs, charts, tables, etc.;

Obviously, most of what you read at this stage will be quickly forgotten, but that doesn't matter.Your goal is simply to get a feel for the book—its style and structure.Is it exactly what you need?Or is a section worth reading more carefully?
If you haven't done such work yet, read this book cover to cover and follow the advice above.The information gained from such browsing may influence your decision whether to read this book further or not.

There is no way to tell you how reading this book might affect your decision.For example, some people may be encouraged to see that the content of this book is all about training activities, while others may throw this book away because of this feature!And you'll also find that some chapters are closer to your requirements than others.

Therefore, it is recommended that you browse several aspects of a book.Books in your specific subject area do not necessarily have these characteristics.On the other hand, they may have their own sections worth browsing, such as appendices.

The point of browsing or previewing a book is to decide: What does this book have for me?There are many other questions you can ask along the way.

How many minutes do you think it usually takes to browse through the books you usually have to read?
How much time you should spend browsing or previewing a book will depend on the size (thickness) of the book and how much you have to read it whether you want to or not.Our opinion is that it takes at least 5 or 10 minutes for a small book to be worth browsing, and even the most important book in your course doesn't have to be more than half an hour.

That's it, if you have invested a considerable amount of time in browsing through the book.You expect this to be helpful when you start reading it formally.You can at least decide whether it's worth reading word-for-word from Chapter 1 onwards (or which chapter you think deserves your focus).You can do this.However, this is not the best way.Maybe you can consider spending twice as much time on the browsing stage...

Before you start reading each chapter, do you consider skimming it again?After you have an overall impression of the whole book, you should browse more carefully this time than the first time.This time, special attention should be paid mainly to the title aspect:
Many writers take great care in subheading their titles so that the titles they use convey the integrity of their thought—the unity of their argument structure.Unfortunately, many people more or less ignore the role of the title.They just want to read textbooks that are as perfectly structured as novels.

Obviously, the title should tell the reader what each section or subtitle is about, and it's not limited to that.E.g:
How do readers perceive the font size, prominence, or font of the title (for example, if you look at the titles of the following pages)?

The headings are also graded to show you how the topics relate to each other - some large topics have many subtopics within them.

Find out the level of the "five-step repetition method" or the title of an article.Since they tell you which issues are addressed in which headings, they are crucial to expressing the structure of the author's thought.They are the embodiment of the author's thinking.

Most articles have two or three levels of headings, from chapter headings to section headings to section headings and so on.Its level is gradually reduced in font size and eye-catching degree.If the writer divides his thoughts into levels, each heading of a certain level will refer to everything that immediately follows until you see another heading of the same level.A lower-level heading is always a part of the preceding higher-level heading.

Step Two: Ask Questions
Whenever you start to read the text carefully, you should try to ask yourself as many questions as possible. Asking questions can greatly promote reading.They can give your reading more purpose and can prompt you to read more critically and alertly, making you an active seeker of deep meaning rather than a passive absorber of sentences.

your own problem.In fact, the problem is already in your head when you start your initial browsing.Not just big general questions like "what do I learn from this", but also a variety of other more specific questions.As you go through the book, your questions may be more general.For example, after skimming the title page, preface and table of contents, you might ask yourself: What do I already know about this subject?Is this book recently published?Does it help me like the preamble says?Why does the author feel that a lengthy treatise on this or that topic is necessary?
Even general questions like these can be helpful in deciding how or whether to read this book.However, as you move from browsing the entire book to the chapters you're about to read, your questions will naturally become a little more specific.

A headline always raises some questions in your head, even if it's just "what does it mean".

The source of helpful questions isn't just yourself.Sometimes your friends will ask you questions as you read a chapter or a specific article.Friends also ask questions or comment on their chapters.These comments are also easily turned into questions.For example, someone might say, "This article seems to explain in broad daylight five ways to free criminal behavior, however, I'm sure only three of them are really distinguishable." And you can ask yourself something like question?
Sometimes the most beneficial outside source for a problem is the book or article itself.Often the author asks three or four questions at the beginning of a chapter as a way to indicate where he or she is leading you.And you'll seek answers as you read.Likewise, it is a common technique for writers to start a narrative with a question, which they then seek to answer.

Unfortunately, readers often ignore the questions that authors raise.So their reading won't get as much benefit as it should.

The problem of open learning.Many studious people are currently taking material-based courses such as distance learning, open teaching, flexible teaching, etc.Some students are often self-study based.In his briefcase, there are printed teaching texts, and sometimes audio and video tapes are added.If you've studied open learning textbooks like these, you know that they have many of the same problems as the books you're reading now.

The most common problems are projects often called practical activities or exercises, which are an important part of open learning materials.If the author has planned them well, it will help you understand them when you read them.Therefore, the author will ask you to apply the ideas presented by the authors by understanding the paradigm, and coming up with your own examples, solving practical problems, combining the theory with your own specific situation, and so on.As in this book, the author's comments often follow to give you a feedback message.

The main purpose of the questions and feedback messages is to help you learn and understand.However, if you think about it, an open learning material can teach you a lot more than just its specific subject.For example, it can help you develop the habit of constantly asking questions while reading.

No matter what material you read—textbook, article, or whatever—you should ask yourself, "What are the most important ideas in this material? What questions would I insert if I wanted readers to apply these ideas?" Moreover, if you keep asking yourself questions as you read, one problem solved creates another.

Generally speaking, it is easy to find the answer to the question after you have read through the text.If you can't find a satisfactory answer to an important question in the text, what else would you do?
If this is an important question (such as "where can I get some open learning materials for my subject"), you may write it down and ask other sources, such as from instructors, classmates, library management, etc. Find the answer in the staff, other books, etc.

Therefore, one of the most important reasons for doing a preview is that it gives you the opportunity to ask questions.This will add to the purpose of your reading.At the beginning, you may feel that the generation of the problem is not so easy or a bit far-fetched, but after you practice for a period of time, you will be more comfortable.Read inquiringly, and questions arise naturally.

Step Three: Read
After browsing and asking questions, we can consider the third aspect of the SQ3R (Scan-Question-Read-Retell-Review) method.If after your initial skim you find that what you've read is exactly what you need, you'll want to read it in more detail.

(End of this chapter)