“One glance at a book and you're inside the mind of another person, maybe somebody dead for thousands of years. Across the millennia, an author is speaking clearly and silently inside your head, directly to you.” ~ Carl Sagan
Reading for an hour on a Saturday morning with a strong coffee has become the mental highlight of my week. Now I want to work on building it into my evening routine a few nights a week. Thx for the inspo!
Cal - One thing to consider additionally about screens is that the light emission from the screen comes in wave lengths that is imperceptible to our eye but strains our eye as we try to read -- therefore prompting us to skim. Also, Words on a screen are literally a finite number of pixels that make up the word but are not 100% solid like on paper, also making it difficult for our eyes. So its not just screens/phones have apps and distractions on them, but the medium itself is a 'less natural' reading experience. Would love for you to dive into this.
Read a book for 15 minutes a day for 2 weeks at a particular time at a specific yet interesting place and then start increasing the time and gradually at 40 min start increasing the difficulty level.
Very interesting podcast and I enjoyed reading the article from Maryanne Wolf. For me reading out loud is really helpful to keep focused and concentrated. Learned this by reading out loud when the kids were little.
While you present book reading as a necessary way to build cognitive muscle, I think reading books was much easier when the internet was not yet born. In the early 90s, I could read "Gone with the Wind" in three days while recovering from a bad flu. Since the internet came along, I have never been able to read with that total immersion. I have not been able to do that for the past 10-15 years. I still read regularly, but it has become a bit of struggle. One interesting question is this - when you were sick, you could probably have read magazines, and not books. I think magazine reading is still an imersive thing for most people. I was recently recovering from a surgery, and I also found that I needed something easily distracting, and not a full-fledged book. I ended up just browsing the internet. This question, about how different a magazine reading could be from social media scrolling, is not addressed in the article you mention. If you read 10 blogs in the phone; and you read an entire Sunday feature magazine in a newspaper - are these activities really different?
That's a great point, Ramiah, I've also thought about it at some point. I'm not Cal, but my thought is magazines can indeed be compared to "scrolling through Reddit" for example, but in a way it's still probably closer to physical books than social media scrolling. When you're browsing through a physical magazine, you can't really click on hyperlinks that would take you somewhere else and you don't really have a search engine to answer any itching questions while reading. You don't fall into the trap of rabbit holes or infinite scrolls; a magazine still has finite pages and finite information. Finishing an entire magazine might already tire my brain out though, if it's especially thick. Of course, it's an entirely different thing if you have your phone with you WHILE reading a magazine... What are others' thoughts on this?
Totally true. I am very rigid with my internet usage. Yet still, I always struggle to start reading and stay in the flow. In the evening I have most webpages blocked. Still before reading, I google stuff etc. before I actually sit down to read. 30 minutes at a time is currently very hard for me.
The trick here is that I found this video thanks to those bloody algorithms 😅 Otherwise, I’d never come across Cal and his work, which I really appreciate.
The ideas on using Scrivener as the primary content organization for research topics is really interesting! Maybe you could give us a tour of the scrivener folder organization from a published book or article?
I've been a big fan since your first book when I was a teenager. I used to live in TP and only recently found out you live there. I might just have to travel back to say hi at the new book store 😂
The reason the guy can't read for more than 10 mins is because he is trying to read a book he doesn't like for 10 mins. 1st rule of reading if the 1st page is boring to you go find another book. 2nd rule go to a library and take the time to read a book for 20 to 30 mins before taking it home.
is the tactile action of touching and turning physical pages of paper or the mere act of holding a physical book somehow subliminally helping the reader have a more grounded sense of focus? i find reading on any screen to be much less enjoyable and more difficult for full immersion, like i constantly have to make a conscious effort to care about what i'm reading, in contrast to the almost instantaneous hook of picking up a book and just reading page after page.
So, basically I’m a super human for being capable of reading entire books on my tablet without getting interrupted. No, I’m just a blind person who relies on accessibility features and “Focus Modes” because my eyes can’t see printed books.
Your talk of regression to a primitive state seems rather facile, given that one of the primary characteristics of pre-literate cultures is their *extraordinary* powers of memory - something digital engagement is also degrading, in a society where everyone expects all information to be available on demand, whenever they want.
I know this is a matter of semantics, but reading on kindle is reading on screen. So technically, shes not right. Another term should be used (ugh, hate to be the annoying nerd right now lol)
I would love transcripts of the episodes! Many times I want to come back to a specific topic but can’t recall which episode it was in. I was going to email to ask if there were transcripts. Still missing increasingly….
You can't learn nothing about life from any other human because every souls journey is different so really your full of it ,when it comes to life humans learn by experience not copying someone else's journey
“One glance at a book and you're inside the mind of another person, maybe somebody dead for thousands of years. Across the millennia, an author is speaking clearly and silently inside your head, directly to you.” ~ Carl Sagan
Reading for an hour on a Saturday morning with a strong coffee has become the mental highlight of my week. Now I want to work on building it into my evening routine a few nights a week. Thx for the inspo!
@TheRadetzkyMarch haha true, your comment also reminded me that I have made zero progress on this goal! time to re-evaluate :-D
Cal - One thing to consider additionally about screens is that the light emission from the screen comes in wave lengths that is imperceptible to our eye but strains our eye as we try to read -- therefore prompting us to skim. Also, Words on a screen are literally a finite number of pixels that make up the word but are not 100% solid like on paper, also making it difficult for our eyes.
So its not just screens/phones have apps and distractions on them, but the medium itself is a 'less natural' reading experience. Would love for you to dive into this.
Good point
Read a book for 15 minutes a day for 2 weeks at a particular time at a specific yet interesting place and then start increasing the time and gradually at 40 min start increasing the difficulty level.
Very interesting podcast and I enjoyed reading the article from Maryanne Wolf. For me reading out loud is really helpful to keep focused and concentrated. Learned this by reading out loud when the kids were little.
While you present book reading as a necessary way to build cognitive muscle, I think reading books was much easier when the internet was not yet born. In the early 90s, I could read "Gone with the Wind" in three days while recovering from a bad flu. Since the internet came along, I have never been able to read with that total immersion. I have not been able to do that for the past 10-15 years. I still read regularly, but it has become a bit of struggle.
One interesting question is this - when you were sick, you could probably have read magazines, and not books. I think magazine reading is still an imersive thing for most people. I was recently recovering from a surgery, and I also found that I needed something easily distracting, and not a full-fledged book. I ended up just browsing the internet.
This question, about how different a magazine reading could be from social media scrolling, is not addressed in the article you mention. If you read 10 blogs in the phone; and you read an entire Sunday feature magazine in a newspaper - are these activities really different?
That's a great point, Ramiah, I've also thought about it at some point. I'm not Cal, but my thought is magazines can indeed be compared to "scrolling through Reddit" for example, but in a way it's still probably closer to physical books than social media scrolling. When you're browsing through a physical magazine, you can't really click on hyperlinks that would take you somewhere else and you don't really have a search engine to answer any itching questions while reading. You don't fall into the trap of rabbit holes or infinite scrolls; a magazine still has finite pages and finite information. Finishing an entire magazine might already tire my brain out though, if it's especially thick. Of course, it's an entirely different thing if you have your phone with you WHILE reading a magazine... What are others' thoughts on this?
Totally true. I am very rigid with my internet usage. Yet still, I always struggle to start reading and stay in the flow.
In the evening I have most webpages blocked. Still before reading, I google stuff etc. before I actually sit down to read.
30 minutes at a time is currently very hard for me.
Incredible deep dive. Great episode!
Bought your book "Deep Work' while listening to this! Very excited
The trick here is that I found this video thanks to those bloody algorithms 😅
Otherwise, I’d never come across Cal and his work, which I really appreciate.
Thank you. Great episode as always.
It would be interesting if you could share a little bit about your favorite children's books.
Thank you for this captivating episode about reading.
Thanks, Cal! Keep it up :)
This channel is a fountain of wisdom! love it
Fire hose, I would say.
The ideas on using Scrivener as the primary content organization for research topics is really interesting! Maybe you could give us a tour of the scrivener folder organization from a published book or article?
And what was the exception to Scrivener use?
A great video to look at is - Why Reading Matters by Rita Carter
I've been a big fan since your first book when I was a teenager. I used to live in TP and only recently found out you live there. I might just have to travel back to say hi at the new book store 😂
The reason the guy can't read for more than 10 mins is because he is trying to read a book he doesn't like for 10 mins.
1st rule of reading if the 1st page is boring to you go find another book.
2nd rule go to a library and take the time to read a book for 20 to 30 mins before taking it home.
19:17 Cal's tip for integrating reading books to life
Thank you for your amazing content!
great topic! thank you!
Really love this show/podcast. Curious if it will come to Audible one day ?
is the tactile action of touching and turning physical pages of paper or the mere act of holding a physical book somehow subliminally helping the reader have a more grounded sense of focus? i find reading on any screen to be much less enjoyable and more difficult for full immersion, like i constantly have to make a conscious effort to care about what i'm reading, in contrast to the almost instantaneous hook of picking up a book and just reading page after page.
I remember I had a boss who wouldn’t let’s us use paper in favor of screens. She was the archetype of the mid wit.
Amazing that God gave us a book!
Hot medium and cold medium (TV and books) as Marshall McLuhan puts it
Hi Cal. What do you think of speed reading? Do you think its worth it?
Link for the website?
So, basically I’m a super human for being capable of reading entire books on my tablet without getting interrupted.
No, I’m just a blind person who relies on accessibility features and “Focus Modes” because my eyes can’t see printed books.
I presume Cal would disaprove of me listening to this podcast while working.....
What about kindle?
Scissors > Paper
40:30
👍🏾✨
Kindle is o.k, physical books o.k
Blinkist. 😅
This is the best audio/podcast I have read/listened to so attachedly in a long time. Well done James Wedmore.
Never trust someone who only read one book.😂
5 mins in ..nothing useful so far. I like your work ...but its a contradiction -
Your talk of regression to a primitive state seems rather facile, given that one of the primary characteristics of pre-literate cultures is their *extraordinary* powers of memory - something digital engagement is also degrading, in a society where everyone expects all information to be available on demand, whenever they want.
When you have ADHD💀
Absolute nonsense. No proof being provided, just cherry picked facts that are wielded to make you feel better about your analogue superiority.
I know this is a matter of semantics, but reading on kindle is reading on screen. So technically, shes not right. Another term should be used (ugh, hate to be the annoying nerd right now lol)
I'm still waiting for you to say: with me here today is as always my producer AND FRIEND Jesse 🫂
I feel like he almost said it today.
I would love transcripts of the episodes! Many times I want to come back to a specific topic but can’t recall which episode it was in. I was going to email to ask if there were transcripts.
Still missing increasingly….
When your new book comes out would you consider selling signed copies to your podcast audience?
You can't learn nothing about life from any other human because every souls journey is different so really your full of it ,when it comes to life humans learn by experience not copying someone else's journey