Become a Better Reader by Forgetting More

[@19eugen94]

I always have seen forgetting as a positive ability. All the nerd stuff during adolescence was basically just training the brain, creating memory capacity for real world information.

[@justinloke]

That is like a short story by Jorge Luis Borges’s ‘Fune…’ but I forgot the title

[@odysseas__]

Interesting.. curious how that would go

[@susannahdijkstra3260]

Listening to your anecdotes is always so nice!

[@GiorgiMelqadze-o6i]

Yes, we should not remember everything we read. We have to remember truly important points only. The reason why I am not quite comfortable with history in its conventional form is that one should remember everything about the events: names, dates, and all the other curious details, not addressing seriously truly important points: WHY did that kind of events happen and why do they still happen? Or, what are the laws of history? It seems to me that there exist the laws of history, too. But don't tell politicians this because they would discover those laws and destroy the world in a much more impressive way.

[@franw5802]

Just my guess, the law is that human will make the same mistakes again and again

[@odysseas__]

This seems especially true in the context of school, since their systems often emphasise the memorising of details rather than linking and elaborating upon big ideas

[@GiorgiMelqadze-o6i]

@@odysseas__ Yes

[@expeditioner9322]

Two points catch my curiosity: 1. How to decide what is important and what's not important? Seems tricky to me if you go into nuances of decision making. 2. What laws of history? Hope you don't mind.

[@expeditioner9322]

@@franw5802 That is just a truism about human behaviour. Can we call it a law of history? Hope you don't mind.

[@rohanbidi]

A very insightful video. I guess it feels counter-intuitive to make "don't remembering everything" a mindset because of the education system where you have to cram into your brain as much information as you possibly can. Perhaps the admins of the education system can give this idea a thought. It will be so much easier if you can develop this skill at a younger age.

[@odysseas__]

Thanks, and I agree. The goals that school prepares us for (tests usually) are not usually in line with the goals we have as readers afterwards. A lot of our success comes from unlearning the weird habits we were taught

[@expeditioner9322]

It is for this sort of reason that some social thinkers have questioned the motives and priorities of the education system. What really is it for? And who does it really benefit?

[@hassan07e]

very informative indeed

[@odysseas__]

Thank you

[@expeditioner9322]

One of the biggest lies of today is the idea that if you don't understand a book then the problem is with the book. The writer is bad. I disagree. The problem is with you. You need to level up your brain to understand that book.

[@odysseas__]

Depends on the book -it's a mutual effort from both writer and reader

[@expeditioner9322]

@@odysseas__ This had become a trend now. PPL blaming the writing right away if it's effortful for them. And I think this attitude is also being encouraged by the media. What's Dummy's guide to _____? What is the connotation there? After reading it do you still remain a dummy? How many would venture to read Kant or Hegel today? How many relish the mental challenge there lies in reading these kinds of works? You cannot simplify everything. Simplification has its own burden.

[@odysseas__]

@@expeditioner9322 I agree -its a case by case situation. We have the duty to put effort in, but at the same time, some writers are just shit at getting their points across. Even if it's a tricky one, there's no reason to force your readers to struggle with the passages

[@expeditioner9322]

@@odysseas__ Judging writers is tricky. Is the writing shitty, or am I not there yet? How to know? There is no easy answer. Also I might use the excuse to shy away from the effort, hide my ignorance, and preserve my ego. It requires a degree of self honesty, which, again, is a scarce trait.