22/12/19
Lot's of people have written about the importance of reading a lot. Elon Musk read 10 hours a day when he was a child. Warren Buffett estimates that he spends 80% of his time reading. Charlie Munger says that he's 'known no wise people who didn't read all the time'.
I can't help but feel a slight sense of pride. I'm no Munger/Warren/Buffett, but I've tried to average at least a book a week since I was a child. But when I look back and try and recall the contents of some of these books, I draw a blank. This isn't surprising- you can't expect someone to remember the contents of hundreds of books.
Paul Graham doesn't think this is a problem. He talks about how reading books updates your mental model of the world. While reading a book, you're training your mind to think a certain way. When you finish reading, you may not remember the exact details of the book, but you've changed the way you think to incorporate a lot of its teachings.
Reading and experience train your model of the world. And even if you forget the experience or what you read, its effect on your model of the world persists. Your mind is like a compiled program you've lost the source of. It works, but you don't know why. — Paul Graham
I agree with this point, but I find it unsatisfactory. I think we can do better. There must be a way to retain the knowledge of books better.
Over the years, I've come up with a solution. All you need is some sticky notes and a pencil.
Every time I come across something that seems worth bookmarking for later, I add a sticky in the book. Sticky-worthy content seems to fall into these large categories: