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by thfuran 460 days ago
>One reason I like reading is that, if I don't understand I cannot move on to next step

Yes, you can. You can even skim—or entirely skip—whole sections.

3 comments

But with reading it's more of an active or deliberate choice. With listening or watching it "just happens" naturally as the medium progresses.

I'm also a slow learner (and reader) so I think reading also suits me better because I allows me to control the pace better.

You've never gotten distracted while reading and then found that you've scanned over a bunch of text while thinking about something else?
It happened for sure! But it usually happens for a few words, maybe one or two sentences max.

I think mind wandering briefly is a different thing to what's being discussed here though.

Like, let's say I'm watching a video about a complex subject, in my case it's easier to accidentally gloss over knowledge gaps than it is when when reading about it.

It's also feels more practical to take notes or annotate stuff I'm reading about rather than stuff, and it's easier to "revisit" it once recall fails.

It's also generally more convenient to consume (ie I can consume it while commuting/traveling), etc.

However, as a counter point (since I've been doing lots of technical art recently) watching videos on some subjects can be useful, but I still pair it with reading to get a more in-depth understanding on the subjects involved

I've never read anything _without_ realizing I had skipped most of the text while thinking of something else.
Edit: Made my points subjective

Harder for me. I thought I can while reading fiction. "Gravity's rainbow" proved that wrong too.

What I mean is, I am more aware of information flow particularly because it is not the natural way of consuming knowledge. Speaking language is in a way part of our evolution. But, written language is a skill you learnt, like driving a bicycle.

This unnatural way, makes me much more aware of my own thinking. While I am reading, even if I understand I stop and muse and breathe in and bask on thoughts it cultivated in me. It has not happened, for me, in other medium.

As mentioned elsewhere, I should have been more careful with my phrasing. What I meant is I am much more aware of my own understanding, gaps and shortcomings and more actively involved in learning and processing information when I am reading.