Tag: mind

How to Read a Book

The Importance of Reading

Reading is the most efficient way of learning and transferring elaborate information to the mind. A lot has been written and said on the benefits of reading so I will just refer to a couple examples that highlight reading.

One of the most interesting aspects of the Holy Quran is that, after the Basmala, the first Surah revealed starts with the word read (“إقرأ”).

Imam Ali (as) said “A person who keeps himself occupied with books, will never lose his peace of mind”.

The following is one of my favorite graduation commencement speeches. In this speech, David McCullough tells high school students “And read… read all the time… read as a matter of principle, as a matter of self-respect. Read as a nourishing staple of life”. You can watch the entire speech here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lfxYhtf8o4

“I shall die reading”, said John Donne.

Reading and the Brain

Research has shown that reading is one of the best ways to build cognitive reserve and slow down cognitive decline. Cognitive reserve is the level of immunity of the brain to mental disorders due to aging or other causes. “Read more books, write more, and do activities that keep your brain busy, irrespective of your age” is the advise of a Neurology editorial on how cognitively stimulating activities can keep dementia under control.

Interestingly, not just reading but how you read determines how your brain is affected. In a study, Natalie Phillips, a Stanford researcher, showed that critical reading stimulates different regions of the brain than pleasure reading.
In close attentive reading, there’s a dramatic increase of blood flow to regions in the brain beyond those “executive function” areas which are expected to be activated. Phillips says “it’s not only what we read – but thinking rigorously about it that’s of value”. According to Phillips, reading can help in building up concentration. “Teaching close reading could serve – quite literally – as a kind of cognitive training, teaching us to modulate our concentration”.

In an unusual study, researchers found that reading can build cognitive reserve to fend off the harmful effects of lead exposure on cognitive function. Canadian smelter workers were divided into two groups, a group of avid readers and a group of workers with low scores on reading tests. Even though both groups had identical levels of lead in their blood, the “effects of lead were 2.5 times greater in workers with low reading ability”.

Is Reading Anything Good?

To balance out the previous section, I have to say that your mind is not being elevated every time you read something nor is your knowledge growing. Reading without any reflection yields no benefit, “Much reading is like much eating, wholly useless without digestion”, said Robert South. In fact there are many things that are at best a waste of time to read. Your mind and soul should be protected by only reading quality content the same way you should only eat clean and healthy food.

How do you know your mind is elevated by what you’re reading? If you can read several pages without having to stop to think or without any struggle then you probably don’t need to read that writing. You should read things that are a little above your mind so that it pulls you up to a higher level of understanding.

There is substantial research now that shows that reading something has a physical effect on the brain and can literally rewire your neurons. This should be a reason for everyone to watch what he/she is reading.

Levels of Reading

One of the biggest mistakes people make when reading is that they treat all types of materials the same in how they read them. Francis Bacon says “Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested: that is, some books are to be read only in parts, others to be read, but not curiously, and some few to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention.”

Mortimer Adler divides reading into four levels: Elementary, Superficial, Analytical, and Syntopical reading.

Elementary Reading

If you can read this article, then you already know the elementary level of reading. I will not go further into it than saying elementary reading is the reading level that is usually taught in primary schools.

Superficial Reading

Superficial reading typically has a negative connotation but that’s not what we mean here. Superficial reading is actually very useful and sometimes essential. Superficial reading is the practice of carefully skimming content to get the gist. Superficial reading or skimming in this context is useful when you want to decide whether you should read something or not. It’s also useful and should be used when there’s a time limit on when you need to go through a piece of content. In superficial reading you should at least read the table of contents, headings, and conclusion of what you’re reading. You should try your best to understand the theme of each part or chapter of what you’re reading.

Syntopical Reading

Syntopical reading is reading for research purposes. You read syntopically when you have a specific subject that you need to read multiple sources on. This involves coming up with specific questions on your subject of interest and trying to gather answers to those questions from multiple sources.

Analytical Reading

Analytical reading is the level I want to focus on in this post. In analytical reading, you must be an active reader. Analytical reading is reading for understanding not just learning. Analytical reading involves the following:

  • Having a goal for reading. What questions are you trying to find answers to?
  • Figuring out the type of book and what it is about. Is it fiction or non-fiction? If non-fiction, is it theoretical or practical?
  • Understanding the author’s purpose for writing. What problems did the author set out to solve?
  • Understanding the core concepts of the book and seeing how they connect to other ideas.
  • Evaluating the book after reading.

    • Read Actively

    The most important element in analytical reading is to be a demanding reader. A demanding reader asks questions and thus gets answers. A non-demanding reader asks no questions and therefore achieves nothing from the book. As you go through pages there should be a problem that you want to solve or a question bothering you that you are looking for an answer to. An active reader reads with a goal in mind.

    Word vs. Term

    To read analytically, we need to differentiate terms from words. A word is a single element of speech that can have multiple meanings. A term is an important word matched with a single specific meaning. A term has a specific context. There is no ambiguity about what a term means once you fix the context.

    In order to understand a book, you must “come to terms” with the author. You need to make sure you and the author are using the same terms. A good author will not switch the meaning of terms without alerting the reader. Flip-flopping of terms is a sign of an ineptly written book. The important terms in a book will usually be recurring. Some authors will take time to define their terms. This is a hint to the reader that the author cares about those words. In some cases terms will be distinguished using font style variations.

    Systems of Information

    Information in a well written book is not a list of distinct facts but a group of related ideas that extend from the core concepts of the book. Being a demanding reader entails that we understand the core concepts of the book and see how other ideas relate to them. In a system of information, core ideas form the skeleton which other related ideas depend on. The next step is to connect ideas from one system to another book or topic.

    To understand the core ideas, we must understand the author’s main arguments. To find the main arguments in a book, we must find the important sentences. Important sentences in a book usually contain the notable terms. Knowing the problems the author set out to solve by writing the book leads us to the author’s main arguments. You can gain a lot of insight into the purpose of the author from the preface and introduction of a book. Some authors will hint towards the main arguments by using a differentiating style or font.

    Questions Readers Should Answer

    Adler lists four questions which are the minimum a reader should be able to answer about any book read. Use these question to test your understanding of books you read. To be more serious about answering these questions, one should write the answers down. Adler recommends making the book truly yours by writing notes in it.

    1. What is the book about as a whole?
      Find the leading theme of the book and how does the author develop this theme in an orderly way by subdividing it into parts or topics.

    2. What is being said in detail, and how?
      You must try to discover the main ideas, assertions, and arguments that constitute the author’s particular message.

    3. Is the book true, in whole or part?
      When you understand a book, you are obligated, if you are reading seriously, to make up your own mind. Knowing the author’s mind is not enough.

    4. What of it?
      If the book has given you information, you must ask about its significance. Why does the author think it’s important to know these things? Is it important for you to know them? What else follows? What is further implied or suggested?

    Conclusion

    Reading is essential to having a mature mind. In 1940, Mortimer Adler wrote the first edition of his how-to on reading due to the deficiency he observed in students. This article focuses on the third level of reading using Adler’s ordering. Not every book deserves an analytical reading. If the book doesn’t deserve an analytical reading, you should question whether you need to read it. Reading for understanding requires that we read actively. Reading actively means that we ask questions and answer them in the course of reading. Knowing the problems the author set out to solve leads us to find the main arguments in a book. The best way a reader can pay respect to an author is by understanding the author’s book then fairly providing judgement on the author’s arguments and solutions.

    References