I bought this book on study from a secondhand bookshop in my hometown. It’s one of those wonderful shops where the walls are lined from floor to ceiling with books, and the owner, while actively encouraging you to go upstairs, implores you to “mind your head/where you step/the mess”.
Upstairs, naturally, was where I found this book, first published in 1932. I’m always interested in new ways of approaching study/research and almost as interested in exploring how theories of study have changed over time. The Psychology of Study cost me $6.50 and I don’t believe for a second that someone would pay the $559 a new version is going for on Amazon right now. Nor should they.
Nonetheless, this was an interesting and quite complex take on study. Below are some of the things I got from the text — and these are neither endorsements nor repudiations, but rather observations of what the author, CA Mace, is trying to get across. As you can see, there’s much focus on routine and constant questioning, and it certainly is consistent with the notion that study is more about perspiration than inspiration:
Mantras
- A good student has reverence for books; a better student is critical of them
- The awakening of curiosity is the beginning of individuality in intellectual life
- The best results are never secured by feverish energy born of the fear of failure
- The scholarly mind requires a retentive memory; a sense for accuracy of detail; an infinite capacity for taking pains, continuous persevering and unspectacular work
- A certain emotional temperance is needed for the pursuit of intellectual ends
- Moderate ability methodically employed is more productive than greater ability employed in an unmethodical way
Ideas
- If we seek to improve memory, it should be focused on tasks and topics relevant to us
- Try active repetition: try to recall details of items studied rather than just read back a list
- Information is more readily retained when it comes to answer a question
- Active repetition is much better than passive repetition – talk about what you learn; use what you learn
- What is talked about is more firmly impressed upon the mind. Give attention to the expressive not just receptive functions – talk about what you have learned
- Lecture notes should be amplified through thought, notes, critical comments – they should evolve after the lecture itself
Methods
- Plan your study day and reduce it to routine
- Devote a few hours to a single subject
- Much study must be routine – with a certain optimum emotional temperature. Intellectual energy must be maintained throughout the working day and year
- Let your questions come, try to make them clear, then follow their lead as far as they will go. And then ask yourself another question