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Some books are bad. However, some of the best books shouldn't be easy to read. I think there is a lot of value in struggling through hard books. At times I thin
by gersh 16y ago
Some books are bad. However, some of the best books shouldn't be easy to read. I think there is a lot of value in struggling through hard books. At times I think the internet has made things too easy.
Look at any great math book. Large leaps of logic are declared 'obvious', and left as exercises for the reader. While such exercises often aren't easy, struggling with such exercises helps you learn. Before the internet provided tutorials for everything, you had to really struggle when you couldn't figure something out. Yet, I think I really learned to program from that struggle.
You learn to find information that isn't spoonfed to you. When you do, you will better be able to dig beneath hype and propoganda, and make up your own mind. Look for clues, and try thinking for yourself instead of getting all the answers from someone else.
- billswift 16y agoIt depends on why the book is hard. Sometimes it's just sloppy thinking and writing; sometimes it is an inherently hard subject. It isn't always clear when starting which it is so it is useful, if you start having trouble to compare the one you are reading with another on the same subject. For reading that is inherently difficult, Mortimer Adler and Charles Van Doren give some very helpful information in How to Read a Book. Unfortunately it is not an easy read itself. Another book I found helpful was A Time to Learn by Phillip Bandt, Naomi Meara, and Lyle Schmidt. It has some really good ideas on diagramming complex work to help you understand them, especially how their ideas fit together.