如何成为更高效的学习者How to Become A Better Learner
Everybody hates that feeling when you spend three weeks reading a book, and a month later somebody asks you about it and you can’t remember a damn thing you read.
人人都讨厌这样一种感受：花三周读完一本书，一个月后别人提起，你却完全想不起书中内容。
Not only does it make you feel stupid, but it also makes you wonder why the hell you wasted a couple dozen hours of your life on a bunch of words that didn’t stick.
这不仅会让你自我怀疑，还会让人疑惑，为何要耗费数十小时，去阅读一堆无法留存记忆的文字。
There are better and worse ways to learn. And interestingly, despite all of the babbling that goes on in school when you’re a kid about what you need to learn, not much is said about how to learn effectively.
学习方法有优劣之分。有趣的是，年少求学时，学校总在强调要学什么，却极少传授高效学习的方法。
And when I say “to learn effectively” what I mean is A) to not just accumulate knowledge but B) to be able to apply that knowledge effectively at some point in the future.
而我所说的“高效学习”，指的是A）不仅积累知识，B）还能在未来某个时刻有效运用这些知识。
By this definition, much of what you did in school was not learning. It was temporary exercises in memorization.
按照这个定义，我们在校园里的大部分学习都不算真正的学习，只是短时记忆训练。
By this definition, most of the seminars and courses and books and conferences people spend money on is not learning either.
同理，人们付费参与的多数研讨会、课程、书籍阅读与行业会议，也并非有效学习。
Something is not truly learned until it changes you in some way, no matter how subtle or simple.
但凡无法给人带来任何改变的知识，无论多么浅显细微，都不算真正被掌握。
- Memory Is Based on Relevance
- 记忆依托关联性生成
That’s because memory works based on relevance. We’re selfish creatures by nature and we only remember what our brain has deemed important to our own lives.
究其本质，记忆的核心逻辑是关联性。人类天生具有利己属性，大脑只会留存与自身生活息息相关的信息。
You can learn the coolest thing in the world, but if you don’t find a way to make it relevant to you and your well-being in some way, your brain will conveniently forget it.
哪怕是最具价值的知识，倘若无法与自身建立联系、无法服务于自我成长，大脑便会快速将其遗忘。
If you want to remember information, then you need to stop and take a second to ask yourself, “How is this relevant to me?” or “How can I apply this in my life?”
想要长效记忆知识，就要时常反问自己：这段内容和我有什么关联？我该如何学以致用？
You basically have to get personal with it. And if you’re not willing to get personal or think about your own life critically in that way, then most of the information you consume will just wash away.
我们必须建立知识与自我的联结。如果拒绝主动思考、拒绝结合现实反思，你接收的绝大部分信息都会转瞬即逝。
Mentor Box is a great tool, but you can do this on your own when you’re reading at home.
即便没有这类读书平台，我们日常阅读时也可以自主做到这一点。
You can go out and buy a notebook (or keep a folder on your computer) and every time you come across something interesting in a book, write down its application or relevance to something in your life — how you can use the concept, how it explains something in your past, how it can help with your problems, etc.
可以准备纸质笔记本或电子文档，每当读到有价值的内容，就记录下它的现实用途与个人关联：理论的应用方式、过往经历的解读、现实问题的解决思路等。
Basically, you need to approach whatever material you’re studying with a clear purpose in your mind.
总而言之，学习任何内容都需要带有明确目标。
It’s empty and pointless and soon you’ll forget it ever happened.
空洞且无意义，最终只会全然遗忘。
Go into everything you read with a clear purpose of what you want to get out of it, then do the extra mental steps to make sure that happens.
带着明确的收获目标去阅读，主动深度思考，才能实现有效吸收。
- Memory Functions by Association, Not by Blind Recall 2.记忆依靠联想，而非机械背诵
Understanding that memory works in this way is useful though because it means you can become more economical in what you choose to remember and what you don’t.
理解记忆的联想机制十分重要，这能帮助我们合理筛选信息，选择性记忆，减少无用消耗。
In this day and age, where we can Google and Wiki everything, sometimes just remembering the core idea or general principle behind a book or article is useful enough in and of itself.
当下网络搜索与百科资源十分便捷，很多时候，我们只需牢记书籍、文章的核心主旨与底层逻辑即可。
I couldn’t tell you the studies or statistics about men’s job prospects and college graduation rates, but I do know they’re declining and I do remember there’s a famous article from The Atlantic (and book) that I could easily look up if I wanted to know all of that stuff.
我无法精准复述男性就业前景、毕业率的具体调研数据，但我清楚整体下滑的趋势，也记得《大西洋月刊》的经典文章可供查阅。
I remember the principle point is that new technologies are creating an economy where the skills that men excel at are no longer as useful as those that women excel at.
我只需记住核心观点:新技术重塑经济结构,传统男性优势技能的价值逐渐弱化,女性擅长的能力愈发重要。
I couldn’t tell you anything else about the article, but I know enough to find it, pull it up and grab whatever facts I may need and then move on.
无需熟记全部细节,掌握线索、按需查阅,就是最高效的学习方式。
- Reading Does Not Have to Be Linear 3.阅读无需拘泥线性顺序
Another mistake a lot of people make is assuming that they have to read everything, line by line, one after another. This is not only not true, but it’s often a waste of time and energy.
很多人存在一个阅读误区：认为必须逐字逐句、从头到尾按顺序阅读。这种方式不仅毫无必要，还会浪费大量时间与精力。
If you’re reading a nonfiction book and you already understand the main idea of a paragraph, skip to the next one.
阅读非虚构类书籍时，若已掌握段落主旨，便可直接跳转；
If you’re reading a study or story that you’ve heard before, skip it.
重复看过的案例与故事，可以直接略过；
If a book is kind of bad and there’s really only one chapter that sounds appealing, just read that chapter and put the rest away.
倘若全书质量一般，仅有单个章节有价值，只读精华部分即可。
When you buy a book, you’re not buying the words, you’re buying the useful ideas.
买书的本质，是购买书中有价值的思想，而非纸张与文字。
The job of the writer is simply to convey those ideas as efficiently as possible. If the writer is doing a poor job of that, then take it upon yourself and act accordingly.
作者的使命是高效传递核心观点，若是内容冗余啰嗦，读者完全可以自主调整阅读方式。
Everything you read should be questioned.
对待所有阅读内容都应保持质疑态度。
- Thinking Critically and Asking the Right Questions 4.坚持批判性思维，学会精准提问
You should question the author’s biases, whether they’re interpreting information correctly, whether they’re overlooking something.
审视作者的立场偏见、信息解读的客观性，以及内容中遗漏的关键信息。
One thing I try to force myself to do, especially when I’m reading something I agree with, is ask, “How could this potentially be wrong?”
我一直刻意训练自己：即便阅读认同的观点，也会反问自己：这个观点存在哪些漏洞与不合理之处？
You’ll be surprised how often you come up with stuff. Other useful questions to ask after everything you read include:
你会发现，绝大多数观点都并非完美无缺。读完内容后，可以尝试自问这几个关键问题：
◆ “How does the author benefit from writing this?”
◆ 作者创作本篇内容的立场与利益诉求是什么？
◆ “Is this something relevant to my own life and happiness? Is it worth remembering?”
◆ 内容是否贴合我的生活、能否助力自我成长？是否值得留存记忆？
◆ “What’s the underlying principle here? How could it be applied to other areas of life?”
◆ 内容的底层逻辑是什么？还能迁移运用到哪些场景？
Everything should be taken with a grain of salt (including what I’m writing right here), for the simple reason that almost everything is largely uncertain.
所有观点都应理性辩证看待（包括本文内容），万事皆存在不确定性。
And it’s the ability to navigate those uncertainties effectively that will determine the depth of your knowledge and understanding, not the simple ability to memorize a bunch of facts and numbers.
决定一个人认知深度的，从来不是死记硬背的碎片化知识，而是在不确定的世界中独立思考、辨别判断的能力。
