3 ms·

Maybe we're using different words for the same thing. But I've found that when I get "stuck" like that, it's because I'm trying to fit too much into my working

by cle 6y ago

Maybe we're using different words for the same thing. But I've found that when I get "stuck" like that, it's because I'm trying to fit too much into my working memory, and I start losing track of it and am unable to recall parts of it, leading to confusion. So I do what you say, except it's much more deliberate than just "slow down" and "re-read". I try to break the concepts down into chunks, and focus on being able to recall specific things about each chunk. First I convince myself that each chunk makes sense in isolation, and then what its "contract" is (how it interacts with related concepts and fits into the bigger picture). When I can easily recall both of those in a coherent way, I'm ready to move on. I use a variety of ways to practice recall, depending on whatever's most ergonomic (Anki, study sheet, deliberate practice, etc.). Sometimes I find that I lack enough understanding of other concepts to really understand a chunk, so I have to go recursively do the same thing for other concepts. So I see it as more of a memory problem and not "understanding". I don't really know what "understanding" means, to me it's all just memory--memorizing why something is true/makes sense (by relating it to stuff I already know/memorized), and then memorizing how that thing fits into other contexts. If I can't load that stuff quickly into my working memory, then I don't "understand" it.

rablackburn 6y ago
It's a different phenomena. I experience the running out of RAM problem that you describe as well and take basically the same approach to you. That's much closer to how I read code. My issue really is just a tendency to keep reading even if I didn't actually parse the sentence properly. It seems to be a complexity threshold rather than a volume one. I think it's just what happens when I try to read a text at the top of, or beyond, my reading level. I imagine that anyone who struggled in school with reading comprehension may have a similar experience, or perhaps its like that feeling when you read a garden path sentence[1]. I struggled to even recognize that I was facing this issue because I found reading very easy during school. Facing a text that was too difficult to instantly parse and understand was rare enough that I never had to develop the mental tools to deal with it. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garden-path_sentence https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garden-path_sentence

by cle 6y ago

rablackburn 6y ago

It's a different phenomena. I experience the running out of RAM problem that you describe as well and take basically the same approach to you. That's much closer to how I read code. My issue really is just a tendency to keep reading even if I didn't actually parse the sentence properly. It seems to be a complexity threshold rather than a volume one. I think it's just what happens when I try to read a text at the top of, or beyond, my reading level. I imagine that anyone who struggled in school with reading comprehension may have a similar experience, or perhaps its like that feeling when you read a garden path sentence[1]. I struggled to even recognize that I was facing this issue because I found reading very easy during school. Facing a text that was too difficult to instantly parse and understand was rare enough that I never had to develop the mental tools to deal with it. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garden-path_sentence https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garden-path_sentence