Chapter 2
Learning
The “Learning” chapter bridges the “Memory” and “Information Processing” chapters, because it's related to both. Learning is the skill and activity that brings memory and information together, synthesizing them into knowledge and, if you're diligent and lucky, eventually wisdom. Our learning hacks range from understanding the learning process at its most basic (Hack 10, “Play the Learning Game”), to expanding how you use your written resources (Hack 7, “Write in Your Books”), to finding new resources you might not have thought were available (Hack 11, “Pretend You're a Grad Student”).
Whether you're officially enrolled in school or a free-range academic, this collection of techniques aims to help you learn as much as you can. Learning is growth for the mind, growth is life, and like it or not, learning never really ends. Why not go for the A?
Hack 6: Establish Your Canon
“Great books” are the books that teach you more every time you read them. “Sacred books” are the books that made you who you are. What are your personal great books and sacred books, and what can you still learn from them?
Whether they know it or not, all literate people have a canon of books that they treasure, learn from, and return to over and over. You can choose your own canon in many ways, from picking books because they're fun, to picking them because they're difficult, to picking them because they always offer something new.
Besides examining how to establish a canon of great books and ...
