Point-by-point reading method is the first stage of reading. According to the needs of learning, determine a general study direction, and on this premise, read books related to it extensively. The purpose is to accumulate knowledge, in order to have a general and rough impression of the object of study.
the reading method of "face" is a further sweeping and expanding stage with the goal of "point" reading. It is to fully understand a subject and grasp its general context, and then learn the knowledge of adjacent disciplines closely related to it.
It can be seen that extensive reading and exposition can form the "face" of knowledge, and professional in-depth exploration and reading can form the "point" of discipline. The organic combination of the two can achieve the goal of "taking points and covering areas, winning more with less".
broadness and profundity are two important cornerstones of the knowledge building, with knowledge flowing in the "miscellaneous" and knowledge flowing in the "humble".
There is a kind of flying squirrel in legend, which can fly, meet fate, swim, burrow and walk. However, it flies but can't fly over the roof, climbs but can't climb the treetops, swims but can't swim across the river, burrows and can't hide; Running is not as fast as running. The flying squirrel knows five skills, but none of them is skillful enough to protect its body and life. Therefore, it is not surprising that it finally died at the mouth of the weasel in the predatory biological chain.
After opening the modern history books, in such a bad academic environment of foreign aggression and domestic troubles and national turmoil, he has made a great scholar who is a master academically and is knowledgeable and expert in both Chinese and Western learning: Sun Yat-sen, who has gained both revolutionary and academic achievements; There is a generation of academic "entrusted" people, especially Chen Yinque who specializes in history; There are scholars who are quiet lions and literary gardens who represent Wang Guowei; There are great writers such as Lin Yutang, who "set foot on eastern and western cultures and write a chapter of the universe". They are not only knowledgeable in "face", but also have reached unprecedented depth in their respective fields.
People's life is limited, but the ocean of knowledge is boundless. Therefore, no matter who is, the breadth of knowledge is relative, and the "face" of knowledge can be expanded to "infinity" according to individual circumstances. When Qian Zhongshu was studying in Tsinghua, he was determined to "sweep the Tsinghua Library". He is versatile, has a good command of foreign languages, is proficient in both Chinese and Western languages, and has made outstanding achievements in both literary creation and academic research. His erudition is achieved through his extensive exposition with literature as the direction, which provides the most effective foundation for his literary creation and endows his works (such as Fortress Besieged and Guan Cone Compilation) with unparalleled charm.
knowledge is by analogy. In short, broadness is the foundation of profundity, and profundity is the direction of broadness.
beginners should be broad and beginners should be deep; Knowledge should be broad and research points should be deep.
2. Three-step learning method-storing, comparing and criticizing
Rousseau, a famous French bourgeois enlightenment thinker, writer, philosopher and educator in the 18th century, wrote immortal works such as The Civil Contract, On the Origin and Basis of Human Inequality, Confessions and Emile all his life. He summed up his reading process as three steps: storage-comparison-criticism. After these three steps, Rousseau can not only fully grasp the ideas of each book, but also stand up and give correct comments, which makes him active, critical and creative in acquiring knowledge.
storage means extensive reading. First, you completely accept the opinions of every book you read, without mixing your own opinions or arguing with the author. The main purpose is to accumulate knowledge.
Wu Han, a well-known historian, is knowledgeable and well-versed in Chinese and Western studies, leaving a variety of historical works for later generations. He has an important academic experience: making reading cards by himself. Tens of thousands of cards accumulated by hands in one's life.
Edison, a famous scientist, has been engaged in scientific research for more than 6 years, with more than 1, inventions. One of the secrets of his success is to carry a small notebook with him to record the materials of life and his own insights. He said: "This is equivalent to saving. Over time, if you have more savings in your mind, you can cope with it."
Comparison means comparing the knowledge learned from books, and carefully weighing the different viewpoints of various books with rational scales. Find out all the books that discuss the same problem and see which one is novel, original, accurate, comprehensive, profound, vivid and convincing. Through comparison, we can learn from the strengths of many families and integrate them into one, so as to obtain real talent and practical learning.
An American scholar has been studying Japanese society for a long time. He cut out the information about customs and people's feelings in Japanese newspapers and periodicals, accumulated them into cards, and made analysis and comparison. As a result, he published a book Chrysanthemum and Knife, which truly described Japanese social life and caused a sensation. This book once became one of the reference books of American government's policy towards Japan.
The advantage of comparison is that different authors have different views on the same issue, which will help us to deepen our understanding of this issue. At the same time, different authors can't discuss the same problem in exactly the same way. Through comparison, we can brainstorm and avoid one-sidedness and simplification. Due to the limitations of the author, some works inevitably have such negligence and mistakes; Through comparison, we can find problems, distinguish right from wrong, foster strengths and avoid weaknesses; There are advantages and disadvantages in the writing of all kinds of books, differences in details and conciseness in materials, and differences in levels. Through comparative reading, we can make the best use of our strengths, avoid shortcomings and avoid detours.
after identifying the knowledge stored by yourself by comparison, the third step is to criticize, that is, to find out the fallacies in the book and criticize them, so as to absorb only the essence of the book, absorb the useful and beneficial knowledge for yourself and discard those useless things. The birth of Marxism was founded by Marx and Engels on the basis of critical research on the theories of Hegel, Feuerbach, Ricardo, Irving, Fourier and Saint-Simon.
the way to master criticism is to integrate theory with practice. On the one hand, when reading, we should be good at analysis and synthesis, overcome blindness, advocate originality, read books alive and study with the spirit of exploration. On the other hand, it is the purpose of reading and learning to push knowledge to a new level through criticism.
after these three steps, we can not only fully grasp the ideas of each book, but also "adopt its essence" and "correct its fallacies" to make it "right and wrong", thus laying a solid foundation for future study and in-depth research.
storing a large amount of knowledge, being good at repeated comparison, and removing the false from the true criticism, this is the three-step reading method.
3. Choose the learning method-concentrate on one focus
You always have to study when you are alive. But reading should pay attention to methods. Zhuangzi once lamented: "My life is also limited, and knowledge is also limited." It profoundly reveals the contradiction between infinite knowledge and limited life.
especially in today's information-intensive era, information and carrier forms are becoming more and more diversified. The surge of knowledge has brought us a crisis in reading. Qian Xuesen said that when he was a graduate student, he engaged in supersonic aerodynamics, and all the papers in the world have been read, because there are not many * * *, and now he can't even move, let alone read it. This reflects the contradiction that Zhuangzi said two thousand years ago that life is limited and knowledge is boundless. To solve the contradiction between life and knowledge, we must study selectively.
There was a story called "Focus" in foreign countries. It is said that there was a young scholar who studied hard and worked hard at school. However, the results are always not great. One day, he went to Fabres, an entomologist, and said with great distress, "I tirelessly spent all my energy on my hobby, but the result was not very effective. What's the matter?" Fabres said approvingly: "It seems that you are an ambitious young man." The young man said, "Yes, I love science, but I also love literature, music and art, and I have devoted almost all my energy to them." Fabres suddenly understood. He humorously took out a magnifying glass from his pocket and pointed it at an insect and said, "Try focusing all your energy on one focus, just like this magnifying glass is aimed at an insect." Then, the young man suddenly realized.
It can be seen that when we choose to study, we must focus on the insects as Fabres did when he focused his magnifying glass. If you choose a certain main attack direction, you will concentrate your main energy on one or several disciplines in your limited life and realize your ambitions.
choosing the main direction of study should first be combined with one's own work. To achieve the unity of learning and application can save time and energy and achieve twice the result with half the effort. Secondly, we should also take into account our own interests, hobbies and specialties. Enthusiasm is a special cognitive tendency in the process of acquiring knowledge, studying knowledge and using knowledge.
after determining the main direction of reading, you should also choose a "primer". The "primer" is also a basic book. Read introductory books, lay a good foundation, and then you can choose valuable books. The so-called valuable books, first of all, are masterpieces, because these books are the essence of the author's wisdom and the summary of some spiritual wealth of human beings. The second is the first-class book. After reading the first-class book, you can draw inferences from others and broaden your horizons. If you choose second-and third-rate books instead of first-rate books, you can only get third-and fourth-rate results.