3 ms·

Thanks for that excellent write-up. I’m curious if you also read less rigorously if, e.g., you’re breaking into a new sub area and need to rapidly get up to spe

Thanks for that excellent write-up. I’m curious if you also read less rigorously if, e.g., you’re breaking into a new sub area and need to rapidly get up to speed on prior work. (I’m curious because since I’ve transitioned from academia to industry I’ve found it very difficult to give an extremely thorough treatment to anything but the very most relevant papers. But I still think I’d benefit from keeping up with research, especially as my engineering work takes me further afield from my academic background.)

mad44 8y ago
I sometimes read less rigorously to determine whether the paper deserves a rigorous reading. However, I don't get much out of a casual reading. This may be a quirk of my brain: maybe ADHD tendencies at play, or maybe I really need to go slow and internalize the content. I see some people can read quickly and get some benefit, but I don't really envy them. I think going slow and struggling with the material teaches me more. I am reminded of Haruki Murakami. On his book "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running", he says roughly the following. Gifted writers write without effort; everywhere they touch in the ground the water pours. Other writers have to strive (he gives himself as an example); they have to learn to dig wells to get to the water. But when the water dries (inspiration leaves) for the gifted writer (which happens sooner or later), he becomes stuck and clueless because he has not trained for this. On the other hand, under the same situation, the other type of writer knows how to keep going and succeed. http://muratbuffalo.blogspot.com/2012/01/tell-me-about-your-thought-process-not.html http://muratbuffalo.blogspot.com/2012/01/tell-me-about-your-... So I am not too worried about my slowness :-)

3 ms·

Thanks for that excellent write-up. I’m curious if you also read less rigorously if, e.g., you’re breaking into a new sub area and need to rapidly get up to spe

by bertr4nd 8y ago

mad44 8y ago
I sometimes read less rigorously to determine whether the paper deserves a rigorous reading. However, I don't get much out of a casual reading. This may be a quirk of my brain: maybe ADHD tendencies at play, or maybe I really need to go slow and internalize the content. I see some people can read quickly and get some benefit, but I don't really envy them. I think going slow and struggling with the material teaches me more. I am reminded of Haruki Murakami. On his book "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running", he says roughly the following. Gifted writers write without effort; everywhere they touch in the ground the water pours. Other writers have to strive (he gives himself as an example); they have to learn to dig wells to get to the water. But when the water dries (inspiration leaves) for the gifted writer (which happens sooner or later), he becomes stuck and clueless because he has not trained for this. On the other hand, under the same situation, the other type of writer knows how to keep going and succeed. http://muratbuffalo.blogspot.com/2012/01/tell-me-about-your-thought-process-not.html http://muratbuffalo.blogspot.com/2012/01/tell-me-about-your-... So I am not too worried about my slowness :-)