(Dumb Question Alert) What's the point of reading books If I forget them anyway?

[Manusia]

I almost never try to remember things, It integrate in me with my act. Changing my thinking. Remembering is for what? if it doesn't applied?

Its feel off hearing your learning style. Its like on school. Thats not even learning. Learning is different from remembering. Learning is changing something in your own self. 

I think its very shallow.

Edited January 6, 2023 by Manusia

[Manusia]

5 hours ago, Razard86 said:

Now you should pair reading with CONTEMPLATION as well. Otherwise...you become a parrot lol.

hahaha 

[vishnusavestheday]

If you've ever taken a psychedelic, you'd know that you can recall the most gristlingly random details out of books you almost forgot about in innocuous conversations just because you're feeling it. Microdosing or lightdosing is especially good for this.

 

If you are prodded on an intellectual level by ANY sort of focuses stimulus, your collective processing data will be able to recall enough to help you get by. 

 

The clip is exaggerated, but you get the gist.

https://youtu.be/zN8mm_7wj7g?t=126

[Eyowey]

You will effortlessly remember the things that have value. Most books only have one or two valuable sentences in them.

[JosephKnecht]

What is the point of eating if you are going to shit it all out? 

 

[LordFall]

20 hours ago, Rasheed said:

Yeah but that is if reading practical books. Now I am reading more intellectual books such as for example Ernest Becker's 'Birth and Death of Meaning' or now I am reading Freud's "A General Introduction to Psychoanalysis". What then? 

Truth be told I asked this question because as a psychologist, I wanna go ahead and read 500 great psychology books but what then? What is the benefit if I go ahead and forgot the shit I read anyway...I read 500 page book about Gestalt Therapy read by F. Perls couple months ago, it was hard read, I don't remember exact stuff but I have a general idea. I mean, come on...

Do you understand the stuff that you're reading? There is a difference between information and understanding, you'll definitely forget information and knowledge as it's just trivia basically but if you understand the core concepts of what someone is talking about and how to apply them practically, I feel like you wouldn't forget that. 

[Rasheed]

On 1/6/2023 at 4:49 PM, LordFall said:

Do you understand the stuff that you're reading? There is a difference between information and understanding, you'll definitely forget information and knowledge as it's just trivia basically but if you understand the core concepts of what someone is talking about and how to apply them practically, I feel like you wouldn't forget that. 

Yeah, I am doing the best I can to understand but when someone reading is intellectual stuff like I am for example, just taking that and applying it practically is not really an option. I feel like, thinking about, contemplating after reading is important in order to make insights stick. Writing can be helpful as well...

[Ayham]

Read the book "how to read a book" by Mortimer J. Adler. 

[Eternal Unity]

On 5.1.2023 at 4:35 PM, Rasheed said:

What's the point of reading books If I forget them anyway?

1. For the experience of reading.

2. The information merges into your consciousness. The consciousness is risen in quality. 

3. The information later pops into your memory and there is an "A-ha" moment accompanied with peace.

[vindicated erudite]

1. You're meant to read the book multiple times.

2. A book is a tool which you can use to inquiry deeper into topics if you read the book in a non linear way. The use of the contents page and sticky notes or highlighters can help you with this.

If you combine these two points together then you're going to get a lot out of reading books. 

Edited February 4, 2023 by vindicated erudite
Addition of text.

[Nilsi]

Why do you read?

It should be because you have some kind of problem or question and youre looking for answers. You will not forget something that youre directly seeking out. 

When reading becomes just another habit and youre working through a big list of books, is when it becomes a liability.

[Basman]

You'll forget most information that isn't grounded in your experience. Books help give you ideas and understand certain things though.

Some books are going to resonate more with you because of how they are written. For example, a dry academic tomes that go on for ever bore me to tears, even if the information is valuable in some way. To me, its important that I like the book for what its worth on its own. 

You should ideally enjoy reading books if you want to use that as a personal development front. But it isn't strictly necessary. There are other ways of learning that doesn't involve reading book. Although I do recommend books if you can muster the interest. They are positively coralleted with success, broadly speaking. The prospect of personal development can be enjoyable in its own right though.

In my experience however, its more valuable to learn from personal experience and to contemplate and journal with my self. Help myself instead of relying on others.

 

[supremeyingyang]

On 1/5/2023 at 6:32 PM, thepixelmonk said:

 

Perfect example of 'going for the gimmick'.

Get this software and you are world class in no time! Yeah, you give over your precious notes to us, strangers, for money but who cares about this anyway. Besides we are trustworthy (tm) What our Software does? In principle the same like Office Suite. It's revolutionary^^

It's not the Software, it is the discipline.

PS.

OMG that's literally a advertisement for Notion - see what I mean?

[supremeyingyang]

@thepixelmonk

thanks you for the inspiration anyway, I was taking a break from brainstorming for the topics for my next videos and I should do something about free knowledge management. love!

 

@Rasheed

That reasoning is like to say why should one live if one forgets most of what one does. If one only thinks of books as a means to an end one misses the point I'd argue. Same goes for thinking you need to remember everything. Maybe it's from school? Ain't nobody comes in real life and demands a 3 page essay, which has all essential points covered, by the end of next week. For example I read 'Eat to Live 1' from Elijah Muhammad and all I gathered from it was 1. Eat no swine (I'm a vegetarian anyway) and 2. Eat at best one meal a day or ever other day. Why should I remember the not relevant stuff?

Edited February 4, 2023 by supremeyingyang

[hyruga]

Reading novels is easier to remember. For example, who can forget the story of Cinderella or The Lord of the Ring?

[Nilsi]

6 minutes ago, hyruga said:

Reading novels is easier to remember. For example, who can forget the story of Cinderella or The Lord of the Ring?

That's because there is one and the same story underneath every story (The Monomyth/Hero's Journey). 

You interpret your life through story (whether you know it or not) - forgetting this story is the definition of insanity lol.

Edited February 4, 2023 by Nilsi

[supremeyingyang]

@hyruga  Without looking it up, who is Ghân-buri-Ghân?

[mmKay]

@Rasheed your view on how the mind works is very linear and simplistic. You don't need to keep everything in you conscious mind as if it were math fórmulas or memorized facts. 

As you read / think / contemplate your mind learns new concepts / paradigms and ideas.

That's what you're fishing for. You can take notes and outline books if you'd like, but you will remember what's relevant to you when you need it. 

And if you don't, it wasn't important to you anyways. 

Your mind is a very holistic system and therefore as you read you will feed your subconscious mind, evolving your web of beliefs. You may not remember what idea you got from where but that's okay. 

 

 

Also engage with the text and ideas. If you don't understand what you're reading, it obviously won't stick with  you. 

Remember, the more relevant to your life the ideas are, the more you wilm absorb it effortlessly. 

Edited February 5, 2023 by mmKay

[Rasheed]

Thanks everyone for answers, I found them really helpful. 

[RedLine]

You remember what interests you. If you are not interested in that matters, maybye you don´t have to read the book in the first place.