Great question. Here is one thing I do, for math/ML related topics, when reading a paper or a textbook or blog. At various stages of your reading, act as if yo

Great question. Here is one thing I do, for math/ML related topics, when reading a paper or a textbook or blog. At various stages of your reading, act as if you’re inventing it — understand what problem is being solved, and before reading on, pause, and really think (with notebook and pen), how YOU would solve it. Try various different angles and really struggle with it for a few hours or a day or a few days. Only after this struggle, continue reading. This way you will have several AHA moments, these will be invaluable for your comprehension and retention. This applies even if your struggle did not get you anywhere (and ESPECIALLY if you failed to get anywhere). In particular if there is a lemma or theorem, first struggle try to prove it yourself, only then read the proof.