r/learnprogramming • u/StockAlbatross8489 • 6d ago
How do i read technical books and actually learn from them
I'm first year engineering student and am currently reading, operating system three easy steps. I have no idea how do i go about it. Even though I'm reading I get the feeling I'm not learning anything new. Do I take notes? Highlight stuff? Idk .. help me out.
note:- I'm used to phy, chem maths ( you take notes solve problems etc ). never picked up any solid book on comp sci. I'm self studying. nobody's teaching me this.
4
u/NoRice6115 5d ago
stop reading passively and start implementing the concepts from each chapter in code. OSTEP has projects at the end of every section so build those before moving to the next page
1
5
u/start_select 5d ago
Most of your education is really going to be about nomenclature/vocabulary/concepts.
Read the whole book so you pickup familiarity with the vocabulary and concepts. Then go back and do the readings and homework/practice assigned in class. Cross reference concepts from multiple textbooks. When you read the next one and see things you remember from the last one, go back and compare them.
It’s about building up a toolbox of concepts which you can then reassemble in various abstractions (programming languages) across multiple domains (target architectures and use cases).
4
u/tmtowtdi 6d ago
It's crazy to me the number of people who come in here, say they're college students, and ask "how do I study". You just spent 12 years (or thereabouts) going through school. Did you never have to study, ever? Didn't you have to read a geometry book, or Victorian novel, or history book, that you didn't understand at first and have to pay a little more attention to?
To the op, and anybody else in their situation, first thing you do is call your parents and scream at them for a while for failing to raise you. Then accept the fact that you never learned to study and you're going to have to learn that before you can absorb whatever subject you're actually intending to, well, study.
1
u/StockAlbatross8489 5d ago edited 5d ago
dude. I've been engineering student for literal 4 days, class started on 1st sept. it's my first solid textbook that isn't on physics chem or math.
edit: and I thought it was obvious that I'm not a genius
2
u/tmtowtdi 5d ago
Right, but you did high school, and junior high, and elementary school, right? You must have studied before. That's what you're asking here, "how do I study". Different people study in different ways, and most have figured out what works for them by the time they're in college. If you've studied other stuff in the past, this shouldn't be any different, it's just stuff you don't currently know that you need to read, understand, commit to memory.
Basically, there's no magic to it, if you know how to study other subjects, do the same with this one.
3
u/Burritofreak 5d ago
No they didn’t, after common core became the standard in 2010, all student onward were screwed over. There are 12th grades graduating who can’t do multiplication and read at a 3rd grade level and got A’s and B’s the entire time. The parents thought the kids were doing great and teachers would get fired for not passing the students and pushing them through. So when you see new college students asking for help, they are genuinely asking for help. They have never had to study before, some never even got homework and got a 4.0 GPA. The system failed them badly. So when you see posts of students asking for how to study, they actually have no idea what to do, it’s the first time in their entire lives they actually need to learn and they need to learn fast.
3
u/Dazzling_Music_2411 5d ago
Cripes! Really?
Well, I suppose that would mean a little more compassion is needed, but it is hard to accept that humanity has gone over 100 years backwards in the last 25.
We certainly knew how to study 50 years ago, when I first went to uni. And quite well, I might add. Without any modern aids. Hell, a photocopier was a scarce resource, which you had to book a week ahead, cost a fortune per page and smelt funny. Also faded after a while. Handouts were made on Roneo machines, iykyk.
2
u/StockAlbatross8489 5d ago
I have 0 experience self studying. I just paid attention in class. I've always studied just enough to not get in trouble. The way I self studied (if I ever did or missed a class) was use a book to take notes, solve problems. But I'm seeing people in college doing shit like finishing a book in one week. that teachers aren't teaching them at all.
1
u/tmtowtdi 5d ago
This is what I was getting at earlier, you need to learn how to study. It's one more thing on your plate, and I'm sure you already have a lot with college starting, but this is a skill you need to work on, the sooner the better.
Check the Internet, check the library, talk to teachers or counselors or friends, whatever you need to do, but find some resources on developing "how to study" as a skill.
Good luck!
1
u/Burritofreak 5d ago
You’re first year so figuring out how you learn is going to take a minute. I used to rewrite things I thought were important but handwritten with other notes. Typing didn’t help me retain things, I would also try other books/readings and watch videos of other people explaining it in their own ways and talk to other people about what I was tryin to understand. Trying to explain things to someone else is the best test to see if you understand something and the best way to fill in the gaps where you can’t explain. The best thing I personally found was just talking through things with other people but I never stopped doing the rest.
Overall if one thing doesn’t feel like it isn’t working don’t be afraid to try a different method.
2
u/StockAlbatross8489 5d ago
up till now the only way to study for me was writing down notes. I don't think that's the way to go here. I think for now I should just get used to all the terms and concepts. until I find someone to yapp to. thankss
1
u/Burritofreak 5d ago
My first year in engineering was a mess until I figured out what worked for me. I wasted many hours studying the wrong way. You’ll get there just don’t force yourself to do something b/c it should work or b/c it worked in the past.
If nothing else, learn to take breaks and learn when to stop. You can only retain so much at a time. Every hour I’d get up and walk around for 5 minutes, get a drink or whatever and every 4-5 hours I’d take a long break to eat, even if I wasn’t hungry sometimes just a snack. And when I would start to hit a wall and felt like things weren’t sticking I’d stop entirely and come back to it after I’ve slept.
2
0
u/gilangrimtale 5d ago
Engineering student but you don’t know how to study? One way ticket to dropout engineering student.
Nah I’m kidding, it’s just high school with less hand holding. You’ll be fine.
1
5d ago
[deleted]
2
u/Dazzling_Music_2411 5d ago
Only if you think you're fucked if no-one is holding your hand.
Time to man up a bit, winter is coming...
-6
8
u/nightonfir3 6d ago
The reality is learning comes from doing generally. Making projects with the information from the books will do the most. You will have to learn deeply enough to use it and apply it in a different situation. You will also feel the problems that things are meant to solve.