Reading Better: Unleashing the Power of Knowledge

Reading Better: Unleashing the Power of Knowledge

Reading is a timeless activity that has the power to transform our lives. As the wise Bismarck once said, "Only a fool learns from his own mistakes. The wise man learns from the mistakes of others." Great minds understand the importance of reading, and as Charlie Munger aptly remarked, "In my whole life, I have known no wise people (over a broad subject matter area) who didn’t read all the time – none, zero." Reading allows us to tap into the vast pool of knowledge that others have already figured out, helping us to gain insights and wisdom. But how can we make the most of our reading experience?

One common misconception is that the number of books we read determines our level of knowledge. However, it is not about the quantity but the quality of our reading that truly matters. Rather than rushing through books to boast about how many we have read, it is more beneficial to focus on truly understanding and absorbing the content. Start books quickly, but don't hesitate to give them up easily. Sometimes, our desire to finish what we start works against us. Good books have a way of finishing themselves, captivating us and making it impossible to put them down. On the other hand, forcing ourselves to finish a bad book feels like trudging through mud with a wheelbarrow full of bricks. Life is too short to waste time on books that don't resonate with us. Skim through a lot of books, but dedicate your complete attention to a select few. Some books only deserve a skim, while others deserve to be read and re-read multiple times. The effort we put into reading should align with our purpose and the significance of the content.

Understanding the different levels of reading can also guide our approach to reading. From reading to entertain to reading to master, we can choose the level that suits our needs and goals. Most of our time will likely be spent between levels 2 and 3 - reading to inform and reading to understand. It's essential to recognize that reading speed is merely a vanity metric. No one cares how fast you read or how many books you read last year. What truly matters is what you absorb and how deeply you understand the material. The opportunity cost of reading something new is potentially missing out on re-reading the best book you've ever read. Sometimes, revisiting a book that had a profound impact on us can provide new insights and help solidify our understanding.

Writing is a powerful tool that complements reading. It is through the process of writing that we discover gaps in our understanding and realize that we may not know as much as we thought. The blank sheet serves as a canvas for our thoughts, priming our brain for new knowledge and allowing us to connect it with what we already know. Writing about what we read is an excellent way to evaluate our learning and see how well we have absorbed the information. It helps us synthesize and internalize the ideas, making them a part of our own knowledge and perspective.