Thread by @kjxymzy

My method for tackling GRE reading passages was basically a hyper temporally compressed version of @fortelabs progressive summarization.

praxis.fortelabs.co/progressive-su…

My GRE reading method:
1. First read for comprehension while noting important ideas/arguments/passages (highlighting)
2. Quick skim from the start jumping from section to section, picking up key words and phrases (bolding)
3. Make quick mental summary (summary/notes)

After doing this mental highlighting, bolding, and summarizing you have a accurate map of the passage.

This makes it easy to answer most questions, as you can quickly find any relevant passages in the text with you map.

And after summarizing the passage right after two passes (reading + skimming) the main idea/purpose of the passage becomes clear.

I tried applying my GRE method to general reading, but it is too tiring to apply to long, dense readings that you are unsure are valuable or not.

Prog summarization allowed me to recognize I could spread out the steps over time and come back to items and improve comprehensibility when something I read 2 months ago was suddenly relevant. I didn't need to do all the heavy upfront mental work at once that my GRE method req..

Another valuable insight of PS was using highlighting and bolding to mark the mental steps I was taking in my GRE method. Basically a way to *save* all the mental work I was doing when reading.

Another similarity between the steps in my GRE method and PS was the focus on resonance.

Why trying to develop a method for tackling the GRE, many articles tell you to track arguments, evidence, counter-evidence etc which is taxing. Plus, you never knew which things you were formally tracking would actually help you answer q's.

Eventually I just ignored what I was should have been formally tracking and focused on sentences that screamed 'Wow! This seems important!'. This a painless, natural way to put a few trail markers on the passage, which aids in searching for text relevant to a question.

Another thing I learned from my GRE is that the first pass is expensive and unavoidable. But all the work afterwards is cheap. A 20 minute passage will take 20 minutes the first time. No way of getting around this. And you usually end up with meh comprehension.

But the second, third time w/ skimming take 90%+ less time to get new insights + improved comprehension. During skimming on the GRE I often ran into missed key words or phrase turns when skimming. This often saved my butt when answering ?s.

Progressive summarization even gets you further. A 20 min passage takes a min or two to re-upload after highlighting. A min after bolding. 30 secs after summarizing.

Each step improves comprehension. And since the steps are spread temporally, versus a tight time period like on the GRE. the text can simmer in your subconscious. which often leads to deeper insights

I'm still amazed how similar my method for the GRE and progressive summarization are. And how powerful both are for comprehending text. My (pseudo) PS GRE reading method helped land me a 170/170 on the GRE V section and PS in general has improved my 'second brain'.

I mainly wanted to offer proof of PS being viable for rapid comprehension/deep compression in a short time frame. I'm not sure if there are many use cases for this outside of standardized testing environments, but if there are, PS is an option.

I can see it being useful for comprehending a lot of articles relevant to a paper in a short time frame. But don't grind through a stack applying PS steps in rapid succession. You'll burn out quick. Interleave instead.

Read and highlight a few articles first. Once you are The bold them. And then highlight new batch. Then summarize the first batch. Next bold the second batch. Interleave!