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I do this in reverse. First blaze through reading with very little comprehension, then go back thoroughly. My reasoning is "I don't know what I don't know" on

I do this in reverse. First blaze through reading with very little comprehension, then go back thoroughly. My reasoning is "I don't know what I don't know" on the first pass and my first goal is to understand that all of the things "exist", then how things individually work.

TheEzEzz 7y ago
This is my philosophy as well. Start by touring the forest quickly, then go back to appreciate the trees. When learning technical material, the first pass means skipping any exercises.
764_OC 7y ago
Me as well. In one of my CS courses, I was recommended Keshav's How to Read a Paper (https://blizzard.cs.uwaterloo.ca/keshav/home/Papers/data/07/paper-reading.pdf https://blizzard.cs.uwaterloo.ca/keshav/home/Papers/data/07/...) which I have adapted to all kinds of technical material, not just papers.
arsome 7y ago
This is my exact approach - get familiar with the vague concepts and where you might use them, having lots and lots of these concepts to dig through in your head can be extremely helpful - then go back and learn in detail when it seems like one might be applicable to a given situation. In defense of the other people here - often doing this properly involves a bit of a dense pre-read to make sure you can at least understand where these might be applicable. With a totally new area to you there's a big learning curve there.
jononor 7y ago
I do the same. First pass is mostly getting a feel for what the extents and pieces in the system are, and getting familiar with the vocabulary. Then one can search targeted and efficiently afterwards when working on a task.
bdamm 7y ago
I also do this. A trick I've learned is to grab a PDF or Word or any editable copy of a document, then highlight sections with various pastel shades to indicated "don't care", "maybe care" or "get deep". Then on the second pass I can focus more intensely on the sections I need to get deep on. Another trick I've learned is to find an older copy of a specification and read that first. Usually the older copies have less bulk, are more directly addressing the core conceptual issues, and are easier to read. Sometimes if I want a rapid and superficial understanding I just go after the diffs or change notes for the last few versions of whatever it is. This can give a scattershot coverage of the contemporary state of the thing. It's not much but it's a place to start from.

TheEzEzz 7y ago

This is my philosophy as well. Start by touring the forest quickly, then go back to appreciate the trees. When learning technical material, the first pass means skipping any exercises.

764_OC 7y ago

Me as well. In one of my CS courses, I was recommended Keshav's How to Read a Paper (https://blizzard.cs.uwaterloo.ca/keshav/home/Papers/data/07/paper-reading.pdf https://blizzard.cs.uwaterloo.ca/keshav/home/Papers/data/07/...) which I have adapted to all kinds of technical material, not just papers.

arsome 7y ago

This is my exact approach - get familiar with the vague concepts and where you might use them, having lots and lots of these concepts to dig through in your head can be extremely helpful - then go back and learn in detail when it seems like one might be applicable to a given situation. In defense of the other people here - often doing this properly involves a bit of a dense pre-read to make sure you can at least understand where these might be applicable. With a totally new area to you there's a big learning curve there.

jononor 7y ago

I do the same. First pass is mostly getting a feel for what the extents and pieces in the system are, and getting familiar with the vocabulary. Then one can search targeted and efficiently afterwards when working on a task.

bdamm 7y ago

I also do this. A trick I've learned is to grab a PDF or Word or any editable copy of a document, then highlight sections with various pastel shades to indicated "don't care", "maybe care" or "get deep". Then on the second pass I can focus more intensely on the sections I need to get deep on. Another trick I've learned is to find an older copy of a specification and read that first. Usually the older copies have less bulk, are more directly addressing the core conceptual issues, and are easier to read. Sometimes if I want a rapid and superficial understanding I just go after the diffs or change notes for the last few versions of whatever it is. This can give a scattershot coverage of the contemporary state of the thing. It's not much but it's a place to start from.