I just finished reading 'A Thousand Brains' by Jeff Hawkins and in the suggested readings he includes a bit on how to approach scientific papers that might be h

I just finished reading 'A Thousand Brains' by Jeff Hawkins and in the suggested readings he includes a bit on how to approach scientific papers that might be helpful to you: "Only after you have learned the nomenclature, history, and concepts of a topic would I recommend reading individual scientific papers. The title and abstract of a paper are rarely sufficient to know if it has the information you are looking for. I typically read the abstract. Then I scan the images, which in a well-written paper should tell the same story as the text. Then I jump to the discussion section at the end. This section is often the only place where the authors plainly describe what the paper is about. Only after these preliminary steps will I consider reading the paper from beginning to end." I think your intentions are a bit different though. You want to understand the complete text and all its nuances, while Jeff is interested in specific information.