21 Lessons for the 21st Century - Part 1

I just finished reading the book - 21 Lessons for the 21stCentury by Yuval Noah Harari. Yuval is my favorite author, he has written three books: Sapiens, Homo Deus, 21 Lessons for the 21st Century. The writing style of Yuval is very descriptive, scientific and information. He does a lot of research on each topic, he writes. Everyone must read his books, to learn how the humankind and other species evolved, how the future will be and how the present is going on.

In this post, i am going to share the learning from the book: 21 Lessons for the 21st Century. There are 21 lessons shared y Yuval in this book, and i am going to cover all the lessons in one series of the lessons from the books, in this post, i am going to share the first five lessons from the books.

1: Disillusionment - The end of history has been postponed

"Humans think in stories rather than in fact, numbers or equations, and the simpler the story, the better."

We all just the believer of the stories, whatever we heard from our birth via our friends, family and other people, we start believing on that and we think that is the only truth in the world but, it’s not. it's just a story that is told by many from a very long time. We don't think about the relevance of the story, we just don't want to go against the mob, who believe in the story. We try to play a safe game. Why, it is best explained by Yuval as:

"It is much harder to struggle against irrelevance than against exploitation."

In old time, we hear the story by the people but in today's time, the stories are conveyed via media, social media, movies etc. What is the real purpose and how much truth, we don't know. Everything is business in today's world, don't blindly believe.

We are surrounded by imaginary stories, you can check in all your surroundings, whether in politics, entertainment, religion, education, friends, family, technology, media, social media etc. So, what to do - 

 "instead of directly believing on everything that come s to in front of you, find the truth, find your own truth out of it and then believe."

2: Work - When you grow up, you might not have a job

We are living in a too competitive world, everyday modern technology invented, new machines are replacing the human hands, new software’s are replacing the human minds. The Internet of Things, Artificial intelligence, Robotics, Big data, is continuously changing your world. There are new algorithms in development, that may read your mind before you now, this algorithm knows you better then you know yourself. There is continuous follow-up of your daily routines, daily buying/selling habits, daily eating habits. In short, whatever you do, they know it all. And you are the one who is giving this all information to them via social media, online shopping, online bookings, whatever you do on a computer or mobile, it’s all tracked and stored in their servers. And they can use it in whatever way they want to use it.

In Yuval words - 

"Human have two types of abilities - Physical and Cognitive. In the past machines competed with humans mainly in raw physical abilities, while humans retained an immense edge over machines in cognition. Hence as manual jobs in agriculture and industry were automated, new service jobs emerged that require the kind of cognitive skills only humans possessed: learning, analyzing, communicating and above all understanding human emotions."

But now AI (Artificial intelligence) is outperforming the human on the cognitive skills and we don't know of any third field of activity- beyond the physical and cognitive - where humans will always retain a secure edge.

We are in the problem of jobs in near future, there will be no job or very less jobs for the human in the coming future. The new jobs require a lot of intelligence and specific skills that everyone cannot learn. So i am not sure where the human society is going without any job. We will be living in a world without job soon.

The main reason the threat of the job losses does not result merely from the rise of info tech. It results from the confluence of info tech with biotech.

So, what are the new questions coming in front of us - 

What to do to prevent jobs from being lost; what to do to create enough new jobs; and what to do if, despite our best efforts, job losses significantly outstrip job creation.

Yuval suggest on the job threat for the future:

"If we manage to combine a universal economic safety net with strong community’s ad meaningful pursuits, losing our job to the algorithms might actually turn out to be a blessing. Losing control over our lives, however, is a much scarier scenario. Notwithstanding the danger of mass unemployment, what we should worry about even more is the shift in authority from humans to algorithms, which might destroy any remaining faith in the liberal story and open the way to the rise of digital dictatorships."

3: Liberty - Big data is watching you

 As i mentioned above that, our privacy is going to become public with time. The big data is watching everything that you are doing on line and storing it in their servers and making your life decisions without your knowing it. if you don't believe, just start analyzing about your buying habits, your eating habits, your travel habits.... this all is decided by the online algorithms based on your previous buying or selling or routines stored in their system.

In a famous interview in 1987, Thatcher said that - 

"There is no such thing as society. There is a living tapestry of men and women... and the quality of our lives will depend upon how much each of us is prepared to take responsibility for ourselves."

With the big data, the control of our life is given to algorithms and big data systems. Now the feelings aren't based on intuition, inspiration or freedom -  they are based on calculation. Based on your previous actions stored in big data systems and via this we are losing our liberty to the big data and algorithms.

We normally think that no outside system can understand my emotions and feelings better than me but now it is a myth. The big data and AI is watching you 24 hours and they are closely analyzing all your emotions, all your decisions, all your actions. So, now they know more about you then yourself.

We are now just playing the drama of decision making. We are just the actors now; the writer of the decision script is the big data and AI systems.

Winston Churchill famously said that -

"Democracy is the worst political system in the world. except for all the others."

Rightly or wrongly, people might reach the same conclusion about big data algorithms, they have lots of hitches, but we have no better alternative. Already, today, the truth is defined by the top results of the google search. For everything, we depend on google now, going somewhere, take help from google map, for eating outside, take help from google, for booking anything first take help from google. Whatever in the world, you want to know, just take help from the google.

With time, we are just going to live in a digital dictatorship world. The real problem with the technology is not the technology but the inventor and the user of those technologies. As with the robots, the problem is not their own artificial intelligence, but rather the natural stupidity and cruelty of their human masters. For example -  I July 1995 Bosnian Serb troops massacred more than 8000 Muslim Bosniaks around the town of Srebrenica.

So, what Yuval have for us in terms of Liberty - 

"Digital dictatorship are not the only danger awaiting us. Alongside liberty, the liberal order has also set great store by the value of equality. Liberalism always cherished political equality, and it gradually came to realize that economic equality is almost as important. For without a society safety net and a modicum of economic equality, liberty is meaningless. But just as big data algorithms might extinguish liberty, they might simultaneously create the most unequal societies that ever existed. All wealth and power might be concentrated in the hands of a tiny elite, while most people will suffer not from exploitation, but from something far worse- irrelevance."

4: Equality - Those who own the data own the future

In the last few decades, people all over the world were told that humankind is on the path to equality, and the globalization and modern technologies will help us get there sooner. The 21st century might create the most unequal societies in history.

As mentioned above the rise of AI might eliminate the economic value and political power of most humans. people will depend on AI and big data for everything soon. In the book, Yuval have warned us as - 

By 2100 the rich might really be more talented, more creative and more intelligent than the slum-dwellers. Once a real gap in ability opens between the rich and the poor, it will become almost impossible to close it. If the rich use their superior abilities to enrich themselves further, and if more money can buy them enhanced bodies and brain, with time the gap will only widen. By 2100, the richest 1% might own not merely most of the world's wealth, but also most of the world's beauty, creativity and health.

So, now the question arises, who owns the data? - Yuval, explained it as: 

"The data is owned by attention merchants. They capture our attention by providing us with free information, services and entertainment, and they then resell our attention to advertisers. Yet the data giants probably aim far higher than any previous attention merchant. Their true business isn’t to sell advertisements at all. Rather, by capturing our attention they manage to accumulate immense amount of data about us, which is worth more than any advertising revenue. We aren't their customers- we are their product."

"In the longer term, by bringing together enough data and enough computing power, the data-giants could hack the deepest secrets of life, and then use this knowledge not just to make choices for us or manipulate us, but also to re-engineer organic life and to create inorganic life forms."

"A popular app may lack a business model and may ever lose money in the short term, but as long as it sucks data, it could be worth billions."

"As more and more data flows from your body and brain to the smart machines via the bio metric sensors, it will become easy for corporations and government agencies to know you, manipulate you, and make decisions on your behalf."

Everywhere, everything is consuming your personal data and feeding in their systems to manipulate you as per their convenience and indirectly use you as their product and sell you to other organizations. So indirectly you become the product instead the consumer and the funny thing is that you don't know about it.

5: Community - Humans have bodies

The new trend of mobile, TV, computers, people started forgetting themselves. Observe, while eating, travelling, spending time with family and friends. Most of the people now, spends most of the time with their mobiles. They are too busy with their mobile, that even don’t notice, what's going on in their surroundings. On the misuse of mobiles, i have written in another post, you can read it here.

Yuval also mention this in his book as - 

"Humans have bodies. During the last century technology has been distancing us from our bodies. We have been losing our ability to pay attention to what we smell and taste. Instead we are absorbed in our smartphones and computers. We are more interested in what is happening in cyberspace then in what is happening down the street, It is easier than ever to talk to my cousin in Switzerland, but it is hard to talk to my husband/wife over breakfast, because he/she constantly look at his smartphone instead of at me."

"If you don't feel at home in your body, you will never feel at home in the world."

Instead of knowing people from other countries over the glob better to know your neighbors, better to know your close friends and spend time with them. Everything has a meaning, while eating if you keep looking in your mobiles, your attention is busy with the mobile instead of the food that you are consuming. It will impact bad on your body, because you are the product of what you consume. And the way you consume your food, decides how your body reacts out of it.

Take care of your energy your body and your time. It’s not everlasting. It is getting old and weak day by day.

We will discuss the remaining lessons learned from the book in other posts of this series. The other lessons will be on the topics from Civilization, Nationalism, Religion, Immigration, Terrorism, War, Humility, God, Secularism, Ignorance, Justice, Post-truth, Science fiction, Education, Meaning and Meditation.

I recommend the book 21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari to everyone, it’s a very good and knowledgeable book and while reading the books, it challenges you to think on many topics covered in the books.

The learning from the book will be continues in other posts, stay tunes and subscribe and follow the blog.

Thanks

-Mahesh

Predicting rain doesn't count; building arks does

The idea to write this post Predicting rain doesn't count; building arks does comes from the book (My favorite) Seeking wisdom fromDarwin to Munger by Peter Bevelin.

The title of the post comes from the well-known investor and one of the richest person in the world: Mr. Warren Buffet. This is Buffett's Noah principle: 

"Predicting rain doesn't count; building arks does."

What does it mean? 

It means that telling us about market problems isn't as important as how you act on them.

In stock market, the fluctuations are the part of the market, it works on crowd mentality and all the participant in the market don't think in the same way. The same information is viewed by different people in diverse ways and the meaning also withdrawn in diverse ways. So, the reactions also different. That’s why the market go up and down. And what buffet says here is don't worry about this fluctuation. What Buffett suggests is "Building arcs", meaning use this fluctuations in your favor for the long term wealth creation. If all fundamental is right than invest more in your portfolio on reasonable price levels and this fluctuations (Rain) will help you to get the reasonable price to invest (Help you to create your arc for the long term wealth).

The Noah principle is applied to all unpredictable scenarios (Black Swans in terms of Nassim Nicholas Taleb) whether in market or in life or in business.

What peter Bevelin says in his book is: 

"Why invest resources in something today since we don't get any credit for preventing something we don't even know will happen. "

The world is a complex adaptive system and we cannot predict for sure anything in short term. So how can we predict the market direction in short term. So, the advice is always bet on long term investments.

The book 365 Days With Self-Discipline: 365 Life-Altering Thoughts on Self-Control, Mental Resilience, and Success by Meadows provides the below lessons for us-

We often ignore distant problems and we are reluctant to prevent future threats. Your decision should have a margin of safety, always have some buffer for to go wrong in your decision. You are just a human being and mistakes are part of the decision-making process and can go wrong as well. So, for taking decisions, always keep achecklist of all possible errors or threats, that may impact your long-term decision and direct you in the wrong or right directions. So, the advice is, always keep a margin of safety and always keep a checklist while taking major decisions. One more thing, always keep learning and keep reading, there is nothing called failure or success, it is just learning.

Peter Bevelin shares the words of Warren Buffett in his book as:  

"It took Noah 20 years to build an ark. And people said he was being silly because the skies were beautiful. And of course, the whole time, he looked stupid - until it started raining. You can spend a long time building an ark while everybody else is out there enjoying the sun."

What is the lesson learned here?

Your efforts to improve will draw criticism or ridicule from people who don't care about self-improvement. It's possible you will spend a long time doing things without a reward and starts wondering whether your goal makes sense. Like I am writing this blog and I know it may take a very long time to make sense for me as well as for my readers. But I think it’s a journey for a lifelong learning and as Lord Krishna suggests in Bhagvad-Gita, focus on your Karma, don’t think about the outcome. So, just keep reading, writing and learning, one day you may acquire the worldly wisdom.

"Karmanye Vadhikaraste, Ma phaleshou kada chana, Ma Karma Phala Hetur Bhurmatey Sangostva Akarmani"

 Meaning:  

"You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of action. Never consider yourself to be the cause of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty."

Let’s experience in our day to day life, what is the meaning of the teachings from Krishna and teachings from Mr. Buffet –

Is it worth it to spend several years working so hard to get a degree, build the business or move up the ladder in your company or invest for long time, reading books and writing this blog while others are partying and enjoying their lives on credit?

I think for me, it is a big YES. I am not writing this blog for anyone else, I am not reading the books for anyone else, I don't invest for others. I do this all for myself, I enjoy doing this activity. this is one reason for me to worth this all. The second is, I believe in Karma. Just keep doing the work.....

I know this is a very long process, and during the process you might face doubts and even feel tempted to give up. However, five or ten years from now, the once who were wasting time will get the short end of the stick when they realize that they wasted their time on ultimately meaningless pleasures (Tools of mass destruction), borrowed money on credit cards to enjoy the temporary pleasures, they don't know the benefit of delaying the gratification. Now, they are in debt, worrying about how to pay their bills, and doubting that they will never have a successful career, while you are enjoying the fruits of your labor.

check the analogy: 

Predicting rain doesn't count is enjoying (wasting) the precious time on meaningless things and building arks does meaning investing the same time in meaningful things.

Whenever you are in doubt, remind yourself that you are building an ark and that rain will come. May be now you aren't enjoying yourself as much as others are, but in the grand scheme of things or life, it's better to be prepared and suffer a little now to prosper in the future that live in sweet denial and one day when you realize it, then it's too late.

Most of my friends ask me, why I read books, why I spend less, why I invest the remaining, whatever left or reverse, why I invest first and manage my expenses in the remaining? 

My answer to them is, I am building an ARC for myself, it may, the rain (Any tragedy) come in future.

Now, we all understand, what the ARC building and what is the rain. Let’s explore some more, how we can build our own arc in life, so we get very less damage while it will rain.

Deciding to do nothing is also a decision. And the cost of doing nothing could be greater than the cost of taking an action.

We are the product of our past decisions, that we have taken at some point in past in our life. Whether decision you take consciously or not, but the decision is always taken, because deciding to do nothing is also a decision. And if all the time, we are doing some action as per the decision we make or not make, then it’s better that we should act on our conscious decisions instead of unconscious random life decisions that life through up on us, because the cost of doing nothing could be greater than the cost of taking an action. 

Remember what you want to achieve.

In the process of building your own arc, you should be having a pre-planned blue print or architecture structure of the arc in your mind. else you make something that is of no use. So always know what you want (Your Arc). then act accordingly.

Once we know what to do, we should do it. 

If we identified our arc and we have our blueprint ready clearly in our mind, then why we are not building the arc. Once you know what to do, just do it.

The 19th Century British biologist Thomas Henry Huxley said: 

"Perhaps the most valuable result of all education is the ability to make yourself do the thing you have to do when it ought to be done whether you like it or not. It is the first lesson that ought to be learned and however early a person's training begins, it is probably the last lesson a person learns thoroughly."

In simple words, if you want to travel from the city A to the city B in a car in night, then just start driving, you have car and you have light, the road will be visible to you in the night as well with the help of the car lights, and you will reach to the city B. The thing that is required is the courage to drive in the night.

The first step in solving a problem is to recognize that it does exist.

Start building your arc today, small steps make significant difference in long time. Who know when the rain will start.

Keep reading, keep learning.

-Mahesh

Brain food - Books to read part 1

Whenever you read a good book, somewhere in the world a door opens to allow in more light. –Vera Nazarian

I will share some books that I have read and found very interesting and knowledgeable to share on the blog.

Please read the books and the summary to understand what the book contains and what you can learn from the book.

1: The secret by Rhonda Byrne:

The secret by Rhonda Byrne is my best book on personal development and thought improvement. The book’s main lesson is "It’s all in the mind" i.e. you can get everything you truly desire.

The essence of the book is the power of our minds, which if identified and unleashed properly, can create waves of positive changes in our life. It deals with tuning our thought process which has the capability of making things happen. Everything that happens to us is directly or indirectly the doing of our own thoughts, which if modeled properly, can change everything in our lives. The book deals with the above-mentioned theory scientifically, saying that our thoughts are magnetic and a frequency is associated with each one of them and when they are sent out into the universe, they attract like objects which are reflected to us. In short, our thoughts become things.

2: The monk who Sold his Ferrari by Robin Sharma:

The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari: A Fable About Fulfilling Your Dreams & Reaching Your Destiny, by Robin Sharma, is an interesting book - it’s a fable, and it’s one that will certainly make you give some thought to your life, your goals, your dreams and how your daily habits help you reach those dreams. Yes, it’s a jumble of too many ideas, but you can pick and choose, and the ideas contained within are potentially very powerful.

3: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho:

The Alchemist is a story of a shepherd in search of true wealth, true love and meaning of life. The book talks about following your dreams, Love and Treasure of the present. The book teaches you that the true wealth is in present, in the place where you are.

We, normally in search of true wealth, love and life roam here and there but in reality, the true wealth is in the present moment only, neither in the past nor in the future. The book teaches us live the life to its fullest in the current moment.

Paulo Coelho's masterpiece tells the mystical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure. His quest will lead him to riches far different—and far more satisfying—than he ever imagined. Santiago's journey teaches us about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts, of recognizing opportunity and learning to read the omens strewn along life's path, and, most importantly, to follow our dreams.

4: The checklist manifesto by Atul Gawande:

We live in a world of great and increasing complexity, where even the most expert professionals struggle to master the tasks they face. Longer training, ever more advanced technologies ‘neither seems to prevent grievous errors, The Checklist Manifesto is essential reading for anyone working to get things right.

The book helps you to make the right decisions in business, life and at work.

5: Seeking wisdom: from Darwin to Munger by Peter Bevelin:

This is my favorite book, and I recommend everyone to read it. This book give the answer of so many question, so many WHYs.

"A man who has committed a mistake and doesn't correct it, is committing another mistake."-Confucius

What goodreads say about the book:

This book is for those who love the constant search for knowledge. It is in the spirit of Charles Munger, who says, "All I want to know is where I'm going to die so I'll never go there." There are roads that lead to unhappiness. An understanding of how and why we can "die" should help us avoid them. We can't eliminate mistakes, but we can prevent those that can really hurt us.
Using exemplars of clear thinking and attained wisdom, Bevelin focuses on how our thoughts are influenced, why we make misjudgments and tools to improve our thinking. Bevelin tackles such eternal questions as: Why do we behave like we do? What do we want out of life? What interferes with our goals?
Read and study this wonderful multidisciplinary exploration of wisdom. It may change the way you think and act in business and in life.

6: 48 laws of power by Robert Greene:

This is also one my favorite book and I have written a full post on this book and the lessons tough by the book. You can read it here.

This book is all about, to make you wiser. This amoral, cunning, ruthless, and instructive book synthesizes the philosophies of Machiavelli, Sun Tzu, and Carl Von Clausewitz with the historical legacies of statesmen, warriors, seducers, and con men throughout the ages.

7: Mastermind: How to think like Sherlock Holmes by Maria konnikova:

This book helps you to think like Sherlock Holmes. It teaches how to gather information and then how to discard the unnecessary information and work with the remaining true information to get to the truth.

We can, says psychologist and journalist Maria Konnikova, and in Mastermind she shows us how. Beginning with the "brain attic"--Holmes's metaphor for how we store information and organize knowledge--Konnikova unpacks the mental strategies that lead to clearer thinking and deeper insights. Drawing on twenty-first-century neuroscience and psychology, Mastermind explores Holmes's unique methods of ever-present mindfulness, astute observation, and logical deduction.

8: The intelligent investor by Benjamin Graham:

This is the best book on value investing, you can say father of value investing. It teaches you all about value investing but you should have patience while reading the book. Read this book slowly and grasp the wisdom. This is the bible of value investing. A must read if you are an investor.

9: One upon wall street By Peter Lynch:

This another investment book that you must read. This book teaches you how you can find best investment ideas around you like Jockey, we use it daily but never think about the stock.

In easy-to-follow terminology, Lynch offers directions for sorting out the long shots from the no shots by spending just a few minutes with a company's financial statements. His advice for producing "ten baggers" can turn a stock portfolio into a star performer!

10: The Dhandho investor: The Low-Risk Value Method to High Returns by Mohnish Pabrai

This book also teaches you the value investing.

A comprehensive value investing framework for the individual investor in a straightforward and accessible manner, The Dhandho Investor lays out the powerful framework of value investing. Written with the intelligent individual investor in mind, this comprehensive guide distills the Dhandho capital allocation framework of the business savvy Patels from India and presents how they can be applied successfully to the stock market. The Dhandho method expands on the groundbreaking principles of value investing expounded by Benjamin Graham, Warren Buffett, and Charlie Munger. Readers will be introduced to important value investing concepts such as "Heads, I win! Tails, I don't lose that much!" "Few Bets, Big Bets, Infrequent Bets," Abhimanyu's dilemma, and a detailed treatise on using the Kelly Formula to invest in undervalued stocks. Using a light, entertaining style, Pabrai lays out the Dhandho framework in an easy-to-use format. Any investor who adopts the framework is bound to improve on results and soundly beat the markets and most professionals.

Reading good books is a beautiful experience. Do read a lot of books from different streams.

I will end the post with the below picture:

Keep reading, Keep learning

-Mahesh

How to read a book?

“The person who says he knows what he thinks but cannot express it usually does not know what he thinks.”— Mortimer Adler

Knowing the name of something and knowing something is different and to know something you have to understand it to its fullest.

 “True freedom is impossible without a mind made free by discipline.”  - Mortimer J. Adler

Before reading any book asks the below questions: 

•          What is this book about?
•          What is being discussed in detail and how?
•          Is the book true in whole or in part?

What you can get from a books is well explained by the below quote:

“To agree without understanding is inane. To disagree without understanding is impudent.” ― Mortimer J. Adler

Everyday we provide our opinions on lot many issues around us, but do we really understand them to there fullest. You can get the help from books to make an opinion about the subjects of the issues.

If you completed reading a books and you tell someone that you just finished reading a wonderful book. Then, if the person will ask you a simple question, Can you please explain me what you learned from the book? When you start answering this question, you suddenly become a dumb, You just wonder that you don’t remember what you read, Think why? Because you didn’t read the book in a proper way. When we read a book, we are in a argument with the author why he write the way he has written and what other possibilities can be? in what environment the book is written?

When you make the book your own by reading and marking and commenting, means when you own the book not by money but by the knowledge then only you can learn the book to it's depth.

How you own the book?

The answer of this question, we will learn in this post. The answer will come from one book itself. The old classic book How to Read a Book: The Classic Guide to Intelligent reading by Mortimer J. Adler

What the book teaches us, we will see in  this post. Mortimer Adler suggests four level of reading: 

1. Elementary
2. Inspectional
3. Analytical
4. Syntopical

Elementary reading is taught in our school, we all know it. the way we read any book now.

Inspectional reading allows us to look at the author's blueprint and evaluate the merits of a deeper reading experience. there are two sub types of inspectional reading:

·         * Systematic skimming : This is a quick check of the book by (1) reading the preface (2) studying the table of contents (3) checking the index (4) reading the inside jacket. This should give you sufficient knowledge to understand the chapters in the book pivotal to the author's argument and help you to decide whether to read the book or not. it is first screening of the book.

·         * Superficial reading : This is when you just read. Don’t ponder the argument, don’t look things up, don’t write in the margins. If you don’t understand something, move on. What you gain from this quick read will help you later when you go back and put more effort into reading. You now come to another decision point. Now that you have a better understanding of the book's contents and its structure, do you want to understand it? Now once you finish the book and put it aside for some time and then later come back and start reading it again, at this time you understand the book to its fullest.

Analytical reading: 

Francis Bacon once remarked, 

“some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested.”

Analytical reading is a deep reading of the book. There are four rules to Analytical Reading

·    Classify the book according to kind and subject matter.

•          State what the whole book is about
•          Enumerate its major parts in their order and relation
•         Outline these parts
•          Identify the problem or problems the author is trying to solve

Syntopical Reading : It involves reading many books on the same subject and comparing and contrasting the ideas, vocabulary, and arguments.By reading like this, we identify the relevant passages, translating the terminology, framing and ordering the questions that need answering, defining the issues, and having a conversation with the responses.

The goal is not to achieve an overall understanding of any particular book, but rather to understand the subject and develop a deep fluency.

There are five steps to syntopical reading:

•       Finding the Relevant Passages - You need to find the right books and then the passages that are most relevant to filling your needs. So the first step is an inspectional reading of all the works that you have identified as relevant.
•       Bringing the Author to Terms - In analytical reading, you must identify the keywords and how they are used by the author. This is fairly straightforward. The process becomes more complicated now as each author has probably used different terms and concepts to frame their argument. 
•       Getting the Questions Clear - Rather than focus on the problems the author is trying to solve, you need to focus on the questions that you want answered. Just as we must establish our own terminology. It’s important to frame the questions in such a way that all or most of the authors can be interpreted as providing answers. Sometimes we might not get an answer to our questions because they might not have been seen as questions by the authors.
•       Defining the Issues - If you’ve asked a clear question to which there are multiple answers then an issue has been defined. Opposing answers, now translated into your terms, must be ordered in relation to one another.
•       Analyzing the Discussion - It’s presumptuous to expect we’ll find a single unchallenged truth to any of our questions. Our answer is the conflict of opposing answers. The value is the discussion you have with these authors. You can now have an informed opinion.

There is another technique to understand which book to read, how to identify a good book to read:

“The great authors were great readers, and one way to understand them is to read the books they read.”-  Mortimer J. Adler

Another technique to grasp the most from a books is: The Feynman Technique

There are four simple steps to the Feynman Technique, which I'll explain below:

1.       Choose a Concept
2.       Teach it to a Toddler
3.       Identify Gaps and Go Back to The Source Material
4.       Review and Simplify

We will cover Feynman technique in other post.

Disclosure : To write this post, i have borrowed the help from farnam street blog.

Keep reading, Keep learning

-Mahesh