Methods to Acquire Knowledge Effectively
Written by Joanna Zuno, 10/1/2021
As one gets older, obtaining more knowledge and skill can get much more stressful and complicated. We no longer have that simple flexibility of just attending school and going home to study. Now we have to insert our time between work, family, and other commitments. If you are especially keen on absorbing information or topics you’ve just read and want to retain, here are some simple tricks that can help.
Try Both Audio and Visual Literacy
Sometimes how something is written or arranged in wording can easily throw off the understanding of the material altogether. Typically it’s simplistic to re-read again and again to understand the wording or content further, but if there is a learning gap, I’d advise listening to the audiobook version. Having another person, especially the author, reading that specific content or wording can help make understanding better.
Narrations and Discussion Videos Can Also Be Insightful
Sometimes I find myself going to YouTube when I have no actual people to discuss a book I have just read. For further insights or to see the same reflections. For example, I am quite fond of Stephen J. Dubner and Steven Levitt’s book Freakanomics. Although the book doesn’t have any empirical evidence and it’s all discussed theory, I’ll turn to economists and social researchers and see their take. Remember, if you can’t find a collective of your peers with the same book interests, there’s bound to be discussion somewhere, especially on YouTube.
Discussing With Yourself: Making Hypothetical Scenarios
Sometimes, when we encounter topics that make us question and reflect, we can also imagine it in a hypothetical scenario. Freakonomics, for example, is how economics is formed based on beliefs, rituals, livelihoods in different cultural aspects. In each chapter, I would not only reflect on the decisions affecting the society, but I’d imagine myself as a citizen, leader, or even economist. When it comes to reading, sometimes knowledge is best obtained by imagining “a mile in their shoes.”
Research, and Not Just by “Googling” It
I cannot stress this enough: if you want to be more knowledgeable, you have to do more than just punching in a topic in a search engine and browsing the first few pages of results. If you want to engage beyond the book, you can look further into the author’s bibliography or see discussions in the media. The authors of the book I have mentioned have their podcast, as well as published another book. Going to entrusted sites that specialize on a topic can also have a list of further recommended reading and mention similar authors and their bibliographies.
We at Vialchemy hope you found these tips helpful and hopefully apply them when looking further into a topic or subject you’re interested in! Please browse more through our archives from our other writers for more tips if you found this article insightful!