Lecture #9: How to Read so that you *Retain* Information
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Published 2021-08-17
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This is the ninth in a series of lectures, intended for first-year college students, tentatively titled "How to Do Well in College." This lecture, however, applies to anyone who reads anything. In it, I recommend a specific version of marginalia, whereby one summarizes information in the margins of texts. This forces the reader to engage with the meaning or content of what they are reading and therefore absorb the material. I also tell a story about an economics course that I took in college, and there is a bonus rant about how speed reading is a scam.
All Comments (21)
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As a Law Student I read 5 to 6 hours a day, I somehow use this method without knowing that this is a thing and I can assure you that this is very effective.
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Skimming has value, but only as a primer. When you start a new chapter of a book, you skim all the major sections, read some key points, then when you finish, you go back to the beginning and the vine of knowledge has a convenient trellis to rest on. When I was getting my engineering degree, I spent way too much time getting lost in the weeds of details I didn't understand, repeatedly re-read sections to no effect, even taking notes didn't help me understand. Blasting through to get the main ideas and some context of each section was what made me able to slot ideas into a framework. I needed the context of the whole to grasp the information.
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More university professors should be like this guy – he talks with a real enthusiasm and in an entertaining way, he has really deep knowledge and most importantly...he can actually pass his knowledge on!
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🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation: 00:00 🧠 To retain and understand what you read, you need an interactive procedure with the content. 00:28 📖 Engage with the meanings and ideas in the text, not just passively read. 00:42 📝 Use marginalia, or notes in the margins, but in a specific way. 01:11 ✍️ This isn't about just scribbling in the margins, but following a structured procedure. 02:05 🚗 Just like zoning out while driving, you don't want to passively read without engaging. 03:26 📕 After reading each paragraph, write a one-sentence summary in the margin. 04:22 🔁 Summarizing helps you understand the core idea of a paragraph. 05:05 🔄 For each subsequent paragraph, summarize all the previous ones in one sentence. 06:41 ⌛ Summarizing might be time-consuming, but it's efficient for retention. 07:35 💡 Summarizing a text ensures you think through the material, understand, and retain it. 08:05 ⏳ By investing more time in this method, you'll have a higher understanding and retention level. 09:04 📈 This method saves time in the long run and boosts understanding and grades. 09:59 📖 Continuous practice of the reading technique mentioned results in faster comprehension, saving time and reducing the need to cram. 10:14 🎓 The speaker's educational background shows high achievement and dedication to retaining information. 10:55 📚 Emphasizes the importance of taking margin notes during high school and college to aid in comprehension. 11:39 🤔 An anecdote underscores the benefit of active reading: the speaker remembered the definition of economics during a class. 13:02 💡 Thinking deeply about read material, like the concept of "scarce resources," aids long-term retention. 14:39 👁️ Many students passively read, simply moving their eyes over text, which doesn't promote retention. 15:07 🌟 The speaker's active reading method led to remembering a definition from 15 years prior. 16:47 ⏩ Speed reading is criticized as ineffective, and an anecdote of a misguided speed reading technique is shared. 18:22 ❓ Questions the credibility of some speed reading techniques. 18:50 📈 The order of words in sentences is crucial for comprehension, contrary to some speed reading claims. 19:03 🧪 Scientific studies have consistently debunked various speed reading methods as ineffective. 19:58 📖 Researchers tested popular speed reading techniques by teaching them to a group of people. 20:27 🚫 Test results showed that speed reading is equivalent to skimming, meaning it's not effective for retention. 20:54 🚀 A prominent study on speed reading was funded and published by NASA in 1999. 21:08 📸 The NASA study tested a method called "photo reading" and found no benefits from the technique. 21:34 📚 A comprehensive review in 2016 analyzed multiple studies and found similar results to NASA's findings on speed reading. 21:47 ✏️ At the end of the video lecture, there's a pop quiz about the definition of economics. 22:02 💼 Economics is defined as the study of the allocation of scarce resources. 22:16 ❓ The lecturer questions how viewers remembered the definition since it wasn't written down, highlighting the importance
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I am almost 68 years old. This is the first time in my entire life that anyone has ever taught me a good way of how to study and retain info. I’ve gotten through a Masters program, and have 68 PhD credits (never finished) and the amount of time I spent reading the same thing over and over without comprehension was staggering. I may never take a formal course again, but I guarantee you the things that I am learning I will start learning differently. Thank you for taking the time to make these videos. I have found them incredibly enlightening. Perhaps I can pass this knowledge on to my grandchildren!
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This should be taught in middle and high school. Absolutely vital information.
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Aside from being astute , articulate, and dedicated, Kaplan is deeply and intrinsically funny. I think this is why he connects at such a genuine level.
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Woody Allen : "I did a speed reading course then read 'War and Peace' in four hours. It's about Russia I think."
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Jeffery. I thought through this. No hyperbole here, you legit saved me from the depression that my studies were causing me. From the bottom of my heart. Thank you.
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*Main Insights from the Video*: The video introduces a procedure for effective reading and retention of material, emphasizing the importance of engaging with the semantic content or meaning of what you read. The procedure recommended in the video is a specific version of marginalia, which involves summarizing each paragraph in the margin of the text being read. To use this method, readers are instructed to read the first paragraph of the text, summarize it in one sentence in the margin, and then move on to the second paragraph, repeating the process. The procedure becomes more complex as you progress through the text. For the third paragraph, you write two sentences in the margin: one summarizing the first two paragraphs and one summarizing the third paragraph. This pattern continues for the rest of the text. The video argues that this method of summarizing paragraphs forces readers to think through the material, leading to better understanding and retention of the content. It suggests that while this method may take more time than simply skimming the text, it is a more efficient use of time because it leads to better comprehension and ultimately requires less time for review or cramming. The video also dismisses the idea of speed reading as a scam and highlights scientific studies that show such methods do not improve comprehension and retention of material. The video includes a personal anecdote about how the presenter used this method to remember the definition of economics from a college course over 15 years later.
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What you said about thinking thoroughly about the ideas is so true. When I was in 11th grade I had a history teacher who read historical letters to us aloud. However, she did this slowly and expanded on each idea to ensure that we would understand what the text was saying. To this day, she's one of the best teachers I had. I learned a lot about history from her
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I'm 51 and I REALLY wish I would have know about this 35+ years ago. Thank you for your insight, knowledge and willingness to educate. Amazing stuff!
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I'm in my min-late forties and failed high school pretty badly in the UK education system of the 1980s. We were never taught how to learn or given advice and we were just expected to work that out ourselves. People aren't stupid but many of us have been made to believe we are, simply because we went through the education system without being taught how to learn and ending up failing over and over again. Every child should be taught the methods of how to learn throughout. In fact, there could even be lessons specifically on this. Thank you for this video.
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The definition of economics will forever be seared into my brain. Making the connection and actually thinking critically about what you’re reading, works! Thank You for this video! Can’t wait to share it with kiddos who struggle with retention of text they aren’t really fond of.
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This is the first time in my life I've found a philosopher's talk actually useful
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This actually meshes with the first advice I heard when I entered graduate school - on a teaching assistantship: If you really want to learn a subject, teach it! Teaching forced me to really understand the subject, so I could explain it to the students without embarrassing myself. In other words, think through every piece of the subject at hand. It was a lot of work, but it not only made me a better teacher (explainer), but elevated me in the students’ eyes to “expert” in the subject. It also served me well in my career when I did presentations, presided at public meetings, taught classes, or testified as an expert witness at hearings and trials. (I am a geologist, so all the above were science-oriented.)
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As a kid in grammar school 60 years ago I remember being told some outrageous speed that president Kennedy could read. As a slow reader I always wanted to read faster and read about techniques like just focussing on the words in the middle of the sentence with the idea being your brain would catch the rest. Careful slow reading got me through engineering school. I'll try to and your technique to it. Thanks
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I have adhd and always thought my disability was to blame for my slow reading. I love writing but take forever to read. I was always off summarizing, making connections to other readings, taking notes on the way authors communicated their ideas, adding to my inventory of new words. I got straights As but it was painful. I thought something was seriously wrong with me for it to take me 3 hours to get through a 20 page article. I went to some study skills sessions for people with learning disabilities and they taught the EXACT same thing with the V, and a couple of other shapes for “skimming and scanning”. It was so unsatisfying that I just went back to my old ways and accepted my fate. There’s no point in reading if it’s not engaging and enjoyable - THAT is a waste of time. I now feel so validated by this video.
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Professor Kaplan: Despite your young age, you're definitely a TRUE professor! If there is something difficult to find in college is a GOOD PROFESSOR, which is the one that has the ability to transmit his/her knowledge to the alumni. Still, more scarce is the professor that is able to not only transmit his knowledge, but to do it in an interesting and engaging manner, which is exactly what you do! You should be the one heading the Department of Education, as we need someone with your knowledge and background to be in such position! Thank you for your channel; I will definitely look forward to learning from your upcoming videos; needless to say, my sincere appreciation and admiration go out to you! Thank you, Professor Kaplan!
