The highlighter was never made for learning

In 1963 it was made as a design tool — to make the words in advertisements catch the eye.

In one large meta-analysis, the effect of wakeful rest — that is, simply sitting and staring at a wall for 10 minutes after learning something new — was found to be small to moderate, and positive.

And the effect of merely highlighting while learning? Practically zero.

The brain does not know how much it has actually learned — it guesses by looking at how easy it feels. This is called the illusion of fluency.

The marked line stands out on the page, catches the eye, feels easy — and we wrongly take that ease for learning.

People wrongly think — “If it feels hard, it surely isn't working.” This is called misinterpreted effort.

But working out how ideas fit together — that is, real learning — is by its very nature confusing and demanding of effort.

1. Thinking on paper — make mistakes, make it shorter, do it again
2. The GRIND checklist — six steps for making notes and mind maps
3. 16 rules for note-taking — the 24-hour rule, network notes, writing your own questions
4. The PACER method — how to remember which kind of information
5. The only way to make the highlighter useful

Part 1 — Studying (the modern science of learning) Part 2 — Knowledge, dua and ruqyah

Source: Raqi Faisal Ahmed Sabit Al-Qur'an Ruqyah Healing Center

Translation and compilation: Raqi Faisal Ahmed Sabit — Al-Qur'an Ruqyah Healing Center