Lately I have been thinking about thinking. More specifically, I have been thinking about what it means to take in information and think about it critically. One can read a book and retain some trivial information (character names, basic plot, etc.) without actually thinking about what the information means or what the author is trying to convey in a deeper sense to his audience. Taking in a play, a movie, a work of art, a textbook, a lecture, or even just a conversation and regurgitating disparate, soon-forgotten facts is not the same as internalizing that information, synthesizing opinions, and drawing one’s own conclusions.
This insight into the human mind is not anything new, and I have acknowledged it myself for a long time, but only recently have I honestly reflected on my own learning patterns and discovered that it is very hard for me to think critically about something unless one of the following is true: a) I need to teach, write about, or otherwise explain the information to other people, b) I am keenly interested in the subject, c) I exert greater than normal willpower in my reading/thinking. In other words, I can’t just read a book that I am only somewhat interested in and immediately grasp all its ramifications and ideas. Sometimes I will finish a book and tell myself that I need to think about it so as not to waste the information…but it just does not work like that. This somewhat explains why I had a hard time in college; I stink at cramming (I have a terrible short term memory) and I hardly ever took the time to read and internalize my assigned texts.
So it is with my latest endeavor…the White Oak Book Club selection of Einstein: His Life and Universe (a link will appear in the left sidebar for the duration of this selection). Clay has already finished the book (stinking student lame-o…go get a job…and stop robbing us of our taxes!) and Johnny G is well ahead of me. I am trying to catch up by reading over the long weekend, but blazing through the whole book will not get me any closer to understanding Einstein and his various theories or help me in the eventual discussion. So in an effort to hone my thinking on this book, I am going to pontificate in posts to follow.