In order to read a book with his mind, instead of merely with his eyes, it is advisable for the reader to rtm over the table of contents and then read the author's preface, trying in advance to get some idea, of what the book is about, of what in general the author wishes to explain or demonstrate. In other words, before you read, you should make your own mind do some work. It would be well if you try to do some thinking yourself on the subject of the book. You might ask yourself, "What do I know about this subject anyway? What would I like to know about it? If I had to write a book on this subject, of what topics would I treat and on which would I place spe cial emphasis?" The value of this preparatory work, which may oc cupy ten minutes or an hour, perhaps longer, is that it will tend to get your mind into working harness. It will also stir somewhat your curiosity or interest in the subject.
5. "Gist" sentences and paragraphs.—Next the reader should attack the first chapter, resolved to master its contents as quickly as possible. In every chapter the author has tried to put some truth which the reader ought to Imow and understand. Possibly the reader may know it already; if so, he will quickly discover the fact and pass on to the second chapter ; but if the content of the chapter is new to him, the reader must search for it as his eyes travel over the pages. The gist of the chapter may possibly be found in a single paragraph's being illustrative, ex planatory or descriptive. The "gist" paragraph or "gist" sentence may be at the end or at the beginning or in the middle of the chapter.- The reader's mind must be on the alert to discover it ; unless he finds it the chapter will contain many sentences that mean noth ing at all to him.
To help my memory I have the habit of using a lead pencil freely in reading books whose contents I wish to absorb quick-ly. On my first reading I underscore in pencil, or mark in the margin, sentences which at first strike me as important. Having finished read ing a chapter, I can review it in a few minutes, and I usually find that my pencil has marked the "key" or "gist" sentence or sentences which unlock and dis close all the author's thought.
6. Reading by the reading with the mind it is often possible to read by the page, or by the paragraph, instead of groping along thru sentence after sentence. This method of reading is advisable when you already have some knowledge of the sub ject, and is adopted by most of us when we read news papers and are looking for important things, not car ing about details. It must not be confused with slip shod reading; the latter, which is the bane of many students, is hasty and careless reading, the mind not being alert and attentive.
To read a paragraph rapidly your mind must be wide-awak-e to discover almost at a glance whether it contains something new to you. Take, for exam ple, the paragraphs I have just written on reading. Perhaps you have already learned to read and you may have felt pretty sure that you hiew what I was going to say when you saw the side-head "Read with the mind." If so you could very quickly find out if the paragraphs following that side-head contained any information you did not already possess. It might not have been necessary for you to read eveiy sen tence and paragraph carefully. But if what I have said about reading has come to you as a surprise, you should go over it all carefully and thoughtfully; that is, you should read it with your mind.
It may interest 3,-ou to know, by the way, that the German philosopher, Immanuel Kant, once said that he could get the heart out of any book he ever saw in an hour. You are not expected to get the heart out of this, or of any other of the Institute's books, in an hour, for it is not to be presumed that you have had the intellectual training of a Kant, but I do advise that you try to find out just what Kant meant by his re mark-, and do some thinking on how he would go about it to get the heart out of a book. in an hour.
If you attack this little problem resolutely and do not give it up because you cannot reach a solution immediately, or even after six months of thinking and experimenting, you will achieve results that will sur prise you. There is no short-cut method of learn ing the art. You must learn it by diligent practice, and you should practise it while reading the literature of the Institute by seeing how quickly you can get "the heart" out of a given chapter or lecture.
7. Concentration.—What I have said about read ing with the mind rather than with the eyes alone, could have been said with equal pertinence under the head of "Concentration." This word comes from the Latin and means bringing things to a common cen ter. We mentally concentrate when we focus our powers of mind upon any one thought or problem. The man who has a very retentive memory sometimes relies upon it too much, failing to make use of his judgment or imagination. When be faces an emer gency, he remembers what he has read about the best procedure under such circumstances and acts without giving his judgment a chance to advise or his imagina tion a chance to invent a new and better method. He fails to concentrate and so fails to become an origina tor. Such a man in business is likely to be a mere imitator, and may never become a great success be cause of his failure to take advantage of new condi tions.