A discussion on how there are ways of learning that just feel right.
The other day, I saw this post on X.
新しいことを学ぶ時は
— 藤原華｜編集者 (@editor_hana) June 30, 2024
・小学生向けの解説本×3冊
・新書×3冊
・一般書×5冊
・論文や学術書×3本
の順番で学習進めると驚くほど身につくから社会人の人にめっちゃおすすめ。
投資とか生物学とか世界史とかプログラミングとか栄養学とか勉強してるけどマジではかどる。
This was quite a shock to me.
I've been constantly thinking about and trying various things to figure out how to truly internalize what I learn, but I haven't quite found a method that feels right.
Seeing this post suddenly caught my eye, and I became convinced that it would definitely give a major boost to my future learning.
To learn something new, the order in which you read things is extremely important.
The post says,
It's good to read in the order of: books for elementary school students → new books (shinsho) → general books → papers or academic books!
Doesn't it?
The first thing that came to my mind was,
New books? General books? Is there even such a classification? And what are their definitions?
That was it.
Books for elementary school students are somewhat understandable, right?
Books with lots of photos and diagrams.
Like the books published by Gakken.
They are positioned to help you quickly grasp the big picture by thoroughly covering the essentials without using difficult expressions. (Thinking about it, you really can't underestimate picture books...)
Coming next isnew books (shinsho).
I asked Chappy what a 'shinsho' (new book) is.
What is a shinsho?
It is a genre of 'educational books and introductory books' that explain specialized content in an easy-to-understand way for general readers.
They are often written by experts or researchers for the general public, and are frequently used by university students and working professionals for relearning.
That's what it said!!!!
Personally, I wish I had known sooner that
there is a publishing format called "Shinsho" (new books).
...!
The reason is that, through self-reflection, I discovered I suffer from a condition where I will endlessly generate questions unless I understand the underlying theory, logic, and structure when learning something.
That is why "Shinsho," which are like textbooks explained by experts, are essential for me.
By the way, what about
general books, you ask?
There is noclear definitionfor the term "general book" (ippansho).
However, in the publishing industry and bookstores, it is used to mean "books written for general readers that are neither specialized nor academic books."
📘 What is a general book?
A collective term for books written for a wide range of readers on non-specialized topics.
🧠 What kind of books are included?
Included items
Practical books (cooking, health, business)
Essays, non-fiction
How-to books
Self-help books
Reading materials (liberal arts, criticism)
→ "Can it be read without specialized knowledge?" is the criterion for judgment.
that is what it is.
It's quite broad.
"No, no, there are plenty of general books written by experts, right?"
I'm sure some might say that, but
personally, I think general books written by experts are books that explain things from angles that seem to have demand in the world.
In addition, I have reached the conclusion that books published by celebrities, essayists, professional athletes, and people from various industries who add their own experiences are what we call general books.
I'm not saying one type of book is better or worse than the other,
but since I have overwhelmingly started with general books until now, I feel that one of the reasons why the knowledge I read didn't really become part of me lies here.
Earlier, I mentioned that "I will endlessly generate questions unless I understand the theory, logic, and structure," didn't I?
That's why, if I read a Shinsho first, which contains basic knowledge like
"This is how it works based on this logic. Of course, there are exceptions."
then the content of general books, such as essays that incorporate personal experiences, becomes easier to input and organize as "one example."
If this is reversed, it becomes,
"Is that really true? What happens in this case? And wait, what even is XX in the first place??"
Since that happens veeeery often, I think efficiency ends up dropping.
Well, having said that, it's general interest books that are really the best at piquing curiosity.
There are so many books with interesting titles.
I bought this the other day.
Everything about it is just exquisite.
Please give it a read if you'd like.
Compared to that, new paperbacks often have titles like "Introduction to XX," so the excitement might be a little thinner ( ´艸｀)
Oh, but these two books have me so excited that I'm thinking of reading them soon.▼
As for the last one,academic papers and scholarly books I've probably never read them before so I don't know, but they seem like a high hurdle, so I'll try them if I don't get bored.
Summary
So, I've written all this out, but my conclusion is,
why not just change how you read books depending on your purpose?
That's how I feel.
When you're just wandering around a bookstore thinking, "I wonder if there are any interesting books," general interest books are fine,
and if you think, "I really want to internalize this knowledge!!" then I thought you should just tackle them in the order I mentioned at the beginning.
By the way, I've recently started wanting to understand things like world affairs, so I've started reading this.
I guess it counts as a "book for elementary school students" in the context of this discussion.
It's for 13-year-olds, so it's a little above that.
I am looking forward to being able to understand.