I have recently seen a smorgasbord of articles, blogs, videos, opinions and the like discussing a seemingly benign topic: how to read a book. At first, glance, I thought the topic was dumb; “uh, you open the page, read left to right, top to bottom, and turn the page when you get to the end.” I couldn’t fathom what the individuals were trying to convey; however, after continuous bombardment of the idea followed by a lengthy personal perusing, I reified the following four Q’s to help from everything from reading to working out to vacationing.
Let me preface this post by stating that the following four ideas are not unique only to books; on the contrary, as alluded to at the end of the previous paragraph, I believe we should attempt to apply these methods to all instances in life.
First, we must Consume in Quantity. For example, what does it take to become “strong?” In the literal sense, hitting the gym once every other week will probably lead to unrealized goals. Pivoting to habitually strong, there is evidence habits and mentalities take weeks, months, and even years to develop. It is through this lengthy process, that quantity is important. In the gym, people must lift consistently. In the library, people must read in quantity; a book a year just won’t do. Quantity is the first step in the process.
Yet, quantity is not the sole goal. Second, we must Choose for Quality. Picture walking into your kitchen and opening your pantry cupboard; you see the Oreos, pretzels, Reese’s Puffs, and Hershey bars. However, turning around is the heaping fruit bowl. Not only is the fruit bowl analogous of quality, but it is also represents being filled with something that decays. Our mental toughness to endure the hardships of deep learning, the effort of intense workouts, and the stress of day to day acts like a muscle. We must have the quantity from the first paragraph, but like any muscle, we must work it the correct way through quality practice. For example, books of quality can be internalized only if the required mental training has been undertaken to allow the messages to permeate the mind.
Third, we must Constantly Question. Have you ever met someone that repeats everything they hear? This concept can be interpreted as chauffer knowledge. Chauffer knowledge comes from Max Planck, the astute physicist and 1918 Nobel Prize Winner. Planck went on a lecture tour shortly after receiving the prize. After many weeks on the road, his chauffer asked if he could deliver the lecture instead of Planck (pre-internet precluded the obvious recognition of fraud). At the end of the lecture, an audience member raised a question that the chauffer had no idea how to answer; thus, in a stroke of witty-brilliance he said something to the effect of “that question is so infantile, I will bring my chauffer up here to answer it,” and motioned for the real Planck to take the stage. By repeating the idea of Planck, we do not become Planck and we certainly don’t understand physics like Planck; thus, we must not just repeat what we learn, but have to question the ideas, internalize the ideas, and make them our own.
Finally, we must Consciously Quote. I do not mean to imply we need to memorize perfect lines, but rather, we must make reference to the learnings we have. This referencing will reify the knowledge we have acquired via memory recall, while simultaneously, helping us to apply the knowledge in multiple situations.
It is through these four Q’s that we can read books more intelligently, have arguments more thoroughly, make sounder decisions, and live life in a more informed manner.
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