Andyʼs working notes

About these notes

Most people read ineffectively

  • Knowledge work should accrete, but most reading does not
    • People seem to forget most of what they read, and they mostly don’t notice
    • People often struggle to remember details of prose text because they never processed them in the first place
    • Evergreen note-writing helps reading efforts accumulate, but most people don’t write about what they read
    • Of those that do, Note-writing practices are generally ineffective
    • However! The most effective readers and thinkers I know don’t take notes when reading
  • Skillful reading is often non-linear, but most people read linearly

References

Matuschak, A. (2019 0). Why books don’t work. https://andymatuschak.org/books

Last updated 2024-04-25.