Use your head

[drippingwet]

I've just got a great book by Tony Buzan caled Use Your Head. This could seriously help you with a lot of stuff. I've just finished a chapter on faster/more efficient reading, and about to move on to a chapter on memory. It's a really famous book. For instance, the reading chapter talks about the mechanism of reading and problems that people encounter. You might get bored with reading, you might lose concentration, you might skip back over words for greater apprehension.

This stuff is particularly useful for me as a student, having to traul through masses and masses of stuff. In my country, A-Levels, which are one of the main type of exams that you generally take before getting into uni, seem to provoke a 'getting easier' opinion by some people. Maybe they are, I don't know, but whatever, they are still a @#$% load of work! And you often need to take at least 3 of them. Imagine having to remember the essentials from six 250 page books, get it all over with and then go to uni for 3-6 years (or more). Will it ever end???

The point is, those who aren't in education and don't always have to remember lot's of stuff, may not appreciate that the power of the human mind to store all of this information is phenominal. And this is pretty much what this book explains - the fantastic capabilities of the brain, that we are not taught how to use it, and how to use it. When we are taught how to read, we are only taught certain things, we aren't tought how to use our brains. We often aren't taught how to learn, as if it's a natural thing e.g. "this is how the lungs work, go away and learn and I'll test you on it next week," with no "this is how to learn" included.

Anyway, take the reading chapter. Basically, back skipping can be reduced because a lot of it is due to apprehension and isn't necessary for understanding. When we read words, many of us may fixate on each word before moving onto the next, without contemplating that we can take in several words with each fixation - as you read this, try to continue by taking in about 5 words at a time rather than one. The time of each fixation can also be speeded up. If you can move quick through text, then you're less likely to get bored/lose concentration/meaning, etc. If your'e a student, who gets fed up with reading masses of text, then try this book.

Would be interested to hear any problems that you guys have with reading/studying.