This was an excellent article, Paul! It is subject that many consider too silly to elaborate. A guided demonstration of a particular hard text was a good call. I hope you can press this topic further, especially for those of us interested in learning philosophy.
I couldn't agree more Vivek. There is a HUGE problem where people don't state the obvious because it seems silly. But unfortunately many people get stuck on simple misunderstandings or silly problems. I want to eliminate that.
Definitely interested in reading more of this. I already enjoy reading or I probably wouldn't have started this article, but from what you have written I think this can increase my enjoyment and depth.
I’d love to learn more about your approach. I believe it could help me as I struggle to read a couple of very hard books I truly want to understand in my own way rather than having them explained to me.
This is a really helpful reminder to slow down and invest in researching terms early - It's amazing how a book that feels impossible at first becomes a breeze in the last three quarters. This approach also adapts to authors who use a particular vocabulary (historical dialects, self-defined terms, etc.).
Exactly. Its so hard nowadays but the longer route is faster. I really felt this with Heidegger’s being and time. I had to learn a lot of new terms, but now I can read it without much difficulty.
Incredible article Paul, I have been doing something similar to this for two to three-years now, I write down words I don’t understand (every word) and it helps to ease the way through at a gradual pace. It also helps because I am a slow reader.
I like this approach. I often read books that I man enthused by intially, but find them a bit difficult and then "skim read " them without really understanding what I man reading. I will use the approach you have outlined in Level One, and see if it helps. I would like to see the next step please
Hi Dr. Musso, I've been following your work for some time now and thought that this was a nice article. I liked the Heidegger example - a guided demonstration is really helpful when learning.
The structure you have laid out, progressing from words up through larger sections of text, makes sense to me, so I think difficult sentences is the next logical topic. I really appreciate your including an example, so I can see how your analytical structure works in practice.
I would like to hear more about your reading system. I typically just read and reread and get what I can out of a text and move on. I get impatient. There's so many ideas to explore and so little time! I need to stop thinking that way.
In the past few months I've used LLMs to help me make sense of text I don't understand, but I realize I do give up the skill of learning to read hard texts that will pay off later.
Thanks for letting me know Kent. I do think patience is required to access those deeper layers of meaning and understanding -- but not as much as people think. A lot can change in 6-12 months!
Really enjoyed this. I've read other "how to read better-isms", but I've always found them a tad silly. They tell you to skim the chapter first, read section headings, etc. I do understand the value in that, but you're getting at something much deeper and, I feel, much more beneficial. I would absolutely read everything you have to say on this topic, please keep writing!
I appreciate that Fatima. I think that some writers assume people don’t want to get into the nitty-gritty. I am trying to lay out the literally thoughts that go through my head while I read (or used to, since I have internalized these processes by now). Cheers!
حقاااا وجدت نفسي في الاونة الاخيرة ابحث عن الكتب الكلاسيكية علما انني لم احبهم و غير ذلك شكراااااا لك عن المقالة احببت تصوراتك و نصائحك للحث عن القراءة التاملية الصعبة ووجدت نفسي فجاة افهم ما وراء السطور ة ةجدت انها احجية و لعبة ممتعة حقاااا
TLDR; Difficult words can throw you off reading good books. Don’t worry, look them up. Over time you build a better vocabulary, and reading becomes easier and more enjoyable.
This was an excellent article, Paul! It is subject that many consider too silly to elaborate. A guided demonstration of a particular hard text was a good call. I hope you can press this topic further, especially for those of us interested in learning philosophy.
I couldn't agree more Vivek. There is a HUGE problem where people don't state the obvious because it seems silly. But unfortunately many people get stuck on simple misunderstandings or silly problems. I want to eliminate that.
Definitely interested in reading more of this. I already enjoy reading or I probably wouldn't have started this article, but from what you have written I think this can increase my enjoyment and depth.
Wonderful John, thanks for letting me know.
I’d love to learn more about your approach. I believe it could help me as I struggle to read a couple of very hard books I truly want to understand in my own way rather than having them explained to me.
Wonderful Dirk, thanks for letting me know. Just curious, what are you reading?
This is a really helpful reminder to slow down and invest in researching terms early - It's amazing how a book that feels impossible at first becomes a breeze in the last three quarters. This approach also adapts to authors who use a particular vocabulary (historical dialects, self-defined terms, etc.).
Exactly. Its so hard nowadays but the longer route is faster. I really felt this with Heidegger’s being and time. I had to learn a lot of new terms, but now I can read it without much difficulty.
Thank you for this really helpful
I will be waiting for the next step
Awesome, next up is level two!
The man did the impossible, made learning vocab words interesting.
Bravo good sir.
Haha thanks Brian. I used to learn vocab from a vocab book and that was a complete waste of time. Context is king.
Would love to read more on the framework.
Thanks for letting me know. I will definitely write a few more guides once I clear a few tasks off my list.
Incredible article Paul, I have been doing something similar to this for two to three-years now, I write down words I don’t understand (every word) and it helps to ease the way through at a gradual pace. It also helps because I am a slow reader.
I do this as well. It really adds up over time! I have been doing it for 15 years and it has made me feel way more confident when I read.
I have a definitions folder on my phone for words I’ve added over the years.
I wish I had started doing this! It would be so interesting to see where growth has taken place!
I’m going to do it today!!
Amazing. Let me know how it goes!
It’s never too late to start.
I like this approach. I often read books that I man enthused by intially, but find them a bit difficult and then "skim read " them without really understanding what I man reading. I will use the approach you have outlined in Level One, and see if it helps. I would like to see the next step please
Interesting, Jane. I think "man" here is a typo for "am". I had to read this carefully! Let me know if this helps when you go apply it.
Hi Dr. Musso, I've been following your work for some time now and thought that this was a nice article. I liked the Heidegger example - a guided demonstration is really helpful when learning.
Thanks so much Cheng. It really helps me to know what helps YOU! I plan to do more video demonstrations in the future once I am less busy.
Please share more.
Will do! Is there anything in particular that would be helpful? The next article would most likely be about how to read difficult sentences.
The structure you have laid out, progressing from words up through larger sections of text, makes sense to me, so I think difficult sentences is the next logical topic. I really appreciate your including an example, so I can see how your analytical structure works in practice.
Great! Much more to come…
Still waiting for more! :)
Thanks for the reminder Deborah. I should write parts 2-4 as part of my intro to philosophy course. I will try to work on that sometime next week.
Your intro course is for paid subscribers, though, isn't it? Any chance you could keep this series of posts in front of the paywall?
I like the way you broke things down. I just didn't realize it needed to be broken down. I think I learned that in school.
Thanks Lauren. If I was taught this in school, I certainly don't remember!
I'm older!
I would like to hear more about your reading system. I typically just read and reread and get what I can out of a text and move on. I get impatient. There's so many ideas to explore and so little time! I need to stop thinking that way.
In the past few months I've used LLMs to help me make sense of text I don't understand, but I realize I do give up the skill of learning to read hard texts that will pay off later.
Thanks for letting me know Kent. I do think patience is required to access those deeper layers of meaning and understanding -- but not as much as people think. A lot can change in 6-12 months!
Really enjoyed this. I've read other "how to read better-isms", but I've always found them a tad silly. They tell you to skim the chapter first, read section headings, etc. I do understand the value in that, but you're getting at something much deeper and, I feel, much more beneficial. I would absolutely read everything you have to say on this topic, please keep writing!
I appreciate that Fatima. I think that some writers assume people don’t want to get into the nitty-gritty. I am trying to lay out the literally thoughts that go through my head while I read (or used to, since I have internalized these processes by now). Cheers!
حقاااا وجدت نفسي في الاونة الاخيرة ابحث عن الكتب الكلاسيكية علما انني لم احبهم و غير ذلك شكراااااا لك عن المقالة احببت تصوراتك و نصائحك للحث عن القراءة التاملية الصعبة ووجدت نفسي فجاة افهم ما وراء السطور ة ةجدت انها احجية و لعبة ممتعة حقاااا
اكثر لنا من مقالات دميلة كهذه شكرااا
TLDR; Difficult words can throw you off reading good books. Don’t worry, look them up. Over time you build a better vocabulary, and reading becomes easier and more enjoyable.