alexpotato 21 hours ago

An "algorithm" that I used to great effect in business school was the following:

- Most well written books start each paragraph with a thesis statement

- The next couple sentences are usually in support of that thesis statement

- The final sentence of the paragraph is usually the thesis statement again

- Ergo, if you are in a hurry, just read the first sentence of each paragraph.

A friend had to read a book in only 3 hours and was lamenting that she didn't have time to read and I suggested the above.

She came back the next day and said:

"Everyone had only read the first 1/3 of the book but I had 'read' the whole thing and looked like a genius!"

PS I also made it through 3 out of the 4 semesters of business school without buying any of the books/pamphlets etc but that is a story for another time.

jackallis 20 hours ago

dont people just read for fun; grab a book and streach out in the lawn, deck or beach and just read? why does it have to optimized, algorithmized, systamized?

mbeavitt a day ago

You can't tease me with "Algorithm" in the title and then not actually define an algorithm... TL;DR: Read lots of widely acclaimed books that are close to the source of what you want to learn?

  • sunrunner a day ago

    It's a reading equivalent to the Feynman Problem Solving Algorithm (which I personally think is really just a variant of the universal Nike Algorithm applied specifically to problem solving).

    • mbeavitt a day ago

      Is it though? The algorithm you reference is meant to be a joke:

      1) Write down the problem.

      2) Think real hard.

      3) Write down the solution.

      This is not a useful algorithm in any sense, apart from that it might be thought provoking.

      What's the "universal nike algorithm"? I didn't find anything on google.

      • _Algernon_ a day ago

        I assume it's a play on Nike's tag-line: "Just do it"

        • mbeavitt a day ago

          Oh, I get it. Missed the joke.