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hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fv9mbhp
|
fv9ry45
| 1,592,511,605 | 1,592,514,378 | 1 | 117 |
I’m the same. I got to the point where I asked myself ‘what exactly just happened? Did I fully get every detail?’ every few pages or scene or so within fiction, and when I realised I was skimming again, I’d force myself to pay attention to every word, and kept doing it until I eventually read normally again. It actually happened to improve my overall normal reading speed, since I have the quickness from academic reading, along with the details of fictional reading.
|
Exact same boat. Didn't ever read your post tbh.
| 0 | 2,773 | 117 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fv9jtoe
|
fv9tdbt
| 1,592,510,376 | 1,592,515,094 | 31 | 33 |
I feel the same, I still find myself skimming novels to this day. I think it's important to designate some time to yourself, think of reading kind of like pampering. Make sure you've got a relaxing space, you're not likely to be interrupted and you're reading something you know you want to read, especially as you're getting back into it. Maybe something you've read before or if you don't like re-reading then a favourite author or comfortable genre. If you're starting to feel yourself skim, start reading aloud, like you're telling the story/text to someone else. This may seem strange but it's the best way to slow yourself down and it makes you pay attention to the words and the image they're painting.
|
I still work in research 11 years after grad school and find that I can't read anymore. I do too much of it for work. Instead, I've had to switch to audiobooks. Hopefully it will get better for you, but for me it has only gotten worse with time...
| 0 | 4,718 | 1.064516 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fv9t9nm
|
fv9tdbt
| 1,592,515,042 | 1,592,515,094 | 9 | 33 |
Audiobooks!!! They are, for some reason different. Until I get out of this mess, and my brain has dome time to recover, I'm sticking to the . Podcasts and audiobooks work very well, both for my often tired eyes, and for what I can only describe as attention deficit. It gives me the opportunity to walk or fiddle with something in my hands, which makes me calmer and more focused. Hope that this helps!
|
I still work in research 11 years after grad school and find that I can't read anymore. I do too much of it for work. Instead, I've had to switch to audiobooks. Hopefully it will get better for you, but for me it has only gotten worse with time...
| 0 | 52 | 3.666667 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fv9e2gq
|
fv9tdbt
| 1,592,507,526 | 1,592,515,094 | 7 | 33 |
I don’t know if this would help but my postdoc creates PowerPoint documents (themed by topic) of papers with important notes/figures relevant to the claims in the paper. Alternatively, I make sure to write notes on each figure of a paper. It helps me think critically and slow down. Or you could try to read some really fun/unique (not necessarily relevant) papers. Might pique your interest in reading again :).
|
I still work in research 11 years after grad school and find that I can't read anymore. I do too much of it for work. Instead, I've had to switch to audiobooks. Hopefully it will get better for you, but for me it has only gotten worse with time...
| 0 | 7,568 | 4.714286 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fv9s160
|
fv9tdbt
| 1,592,514,420 | 1,592,515,094 | 3 | 33 |
Grad school brought my childhood/adolescent ADHD back in full force after (at least I thought) I had squashed it during early undergrad. The pace of research is just so unrelenting that if I relied on all my concentration tricks, I'd end up failing. Turns out I mastered out anyway, and now I still can't concentrate
|
I still work in research 11 years after grad school and find that I can't read anymore. I do too much of it for work. Instead, I've had to switch to audiobooks. Hopefully it will get better for you, but for me it has only gotten worse with time...
| 0 | 674 | 11 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fv9mbhp
|
fv9tdbt
| 1,592,511,605 | 1,592,515,094 | 1 | 33 |
I’m the same. I got to the point where I asked myself ‘what exactly just happened? Did I fully get every detail?’ every few pages or scene or so within fiction, and when I realised I was skimming again, I’d force myself to pay attention to every word, and kept doing it until I eventually read normally again. It actually happened to improve my overall normal reading speed, since I have the quickness from academic reading, along with the details of fictional reading.
|
I still work in research 11 years after grad school and find that I can't read anymore. I do too much of it for work. Instead, I've had to switch to audiobooks. Hopefully it will get better for you, but for me it has only gotten worse with time...
| 0 | 3,489 | 33 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fv9tdbt
|
fv9siap
| 1,592,515,094 | 1,592,514,659 | 33 | 1 |
I still work in research 11 years after grad school and find that I can't read anymore. I do too much of it for work. Instead, I've had to switch to audiobooks. Hopefully it will get better for you, but for me it has only gotten worse with time...
|
I have this same problem! What helps me is that I will download the pdf and make sure I can hi light things. I set small goals for myself. I will go through the paper and skim to hi light every time a figure is referenced in the paper in green. Then I will skim again to hi light every method/ technique used in in blue. Then I will hilight every sentence with a conclusion about the data in purple. Once I skim through all that, I start from the beginning and underline important things and hi light the hypothesis in yellow. This is kind of time consuming but it really helps me actually read the paper and grasp the concepts presented.
| 1 | 435 | 33 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fv9e2gq
|
fv9jtoe
| 1,592,507,526 | 1,592,510,376 | 7 | 31 |
I don’t know if this would help but my postdoc creates PowerPoint documents (themed by topic) of papers with important notes/figures relevant to the claims in the paper. Alternatively, I make sure to write notes on each figure of a paper. It helps me think critically and slow down. Or you could try to read some really fun/unique (not necessarily relevant) papers. Might pique your interest in reading again :).
|
I feel the same, I still find myself skimming novels to this day. I think it's important to designate some time to yourself, think of reading kind of like pampering. Make sure you've got a relaxing space, you're not likely to be interrupted and you're reading something you know you want to read, especially as you're getting back into it. Maybe something you've read before or if you don't like re-reading then a favourite author or comfortable genre. If you're starting to feel yourself skim, start reading aloud, like you're telling the story/text to someone else. This may seem strange but it's the best way to slow yourself down and it makes you pay attention to the words and the image they're painting.
| 0 | 2,850 | 4.428571 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fvakclb
|
fv9t9nm
| 1,592,530,083 | 1,592,515,042 | 11 | 9 |
It's incredible how Academia can ruin our abilities to do things. I'm still in process of learning how to relax. The dissertation made me feel guilty over every "unproductive" minute. Even weekends and evenings. That feeling is still there hanging on. I know I shouldn't feel guilty doing things I enjoy, but even if my rational mind knows this, my affective mind can't shake it.
|
Audiobooks!!! They are, for some reason different. Until I get out of this mess, and my brain has dome time to recover, I'm sticking to the . Podcasts and audiobooks work very well, both for my often tired eyes, and for what I can only describe as attention deficit. It gives me the opportunity to walk or fiddle with something in my hands, which makes me calmer and more focused. Hope that this helps!
| 1 | 15,041 | 1.222222 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fv9yz4m
|
fvakclb
| 1,592,517,942 | 1,592,530,083 | 7 | 11 |
This is addressed in Nicholas Carr’s book “The Shallows: what the internet is doing to our brains”. As I recall, he says that deep reading came with the invention of the printing press, and was unnatural for us at the time. We had to learn to read large amounts of material in depth. Now we have material presented to us in small portions, so we have to relearn deep reading. In short, it’s practice. Skim reading comes to us more naturally, but you can recover deep reading skills through practice and persistence. I also find it difficult and am working on improving.
|
It's incredible how Academia can ruin our abilities to do things. I'm still in process of learning how to relax. The dissertation made me feel guilty over every "unproductive" minute. Even weekends and evenings. That feeling is still there hanging on. I know I shouldn't feel guilty doing things I enjoy, but even if my rational mind knows this, my affective mind can't shake it.
| 0 | 12,141 | 1.571429 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fv9e2gq
|
fvakclb
| 1,592,507,526 | 1,592,530,083 | 7 | 11 |
I don’t know if this would help but my postdoc creates PowerPoint documents (themed by topic) of papers with important notes/figures relevant to the claims in the paper. Alternatively, I make sure to write notes on each figure of a paper. It helps me think critically and slow down. Or you could try to read some really fun/unique (not necessarily relevant) papers. Might pique your interest in reading again :).
|
It's incredible how Academia can ruin our abilities to do things. I'm still in process of learning how to relax. The dissertation made me feel guilty over every "unproductive" minute. Even weekends and evenings. That feeling is still there hanging on. I know I shouldn't feel guilty doing things I enjoy, but even if my rational mind knows this, my affective mind can't shake it.
| 0 | 22,557 | 1.571429 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fvafzaq
|
fvakclb
| 1,592,527,438 | 1,592,530,083 | 7 | 11 |
Read out loud to your SO or dog or even the wall.
|
It's incredible how Academia can ruin our abilities to do things. I'm still in process of learning how to relax. The dissertation made me feel guilty over every "unproductive" minute. Even weekends and evenings. That feeling is still there hanging on. I know I shouldn't feel guilty doing things I enjoy, but even if my rational mind knows this, my affective mind can't shake it.
| 0 | 2,645 | 1.571429 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fvakclb
|
fvac2lf
| 1,592,530,083 | 1,592,525,151 | 11 | 4 |
It's incredible how Academia can ruin our abilities to do things. I'm still in process of learning how to relax. The dissertation made me feel guilty over every "unproductive" minute. Even weekends and evenings. That feeling is still there hanging on. I know I shouldn't feel guilty doing things I enjoy, but even if my rational mind knows this, my affective mind can't shake it.
|
This was me during grad school. I found listening to audio books while I went for long walks were a good way to easy back into it. A couple years out of academia and I’m reading like I used to!
| 1 | 4,932 | 2.75 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fv9s160
|
fvakclb
| 1,592,514,420 | 1,592,530,083 | 3 | 11 |
Grad school brought my childhood/adolescent ADHD back in full force after (at least I thought) I had squashed it during early undergrad. The pace of research is just so unrelenting that if I relied on all my concentration tricks, I'd end up failing. Turns out I mastered out anyway, and now I still can't concentrate
|
It's incredible how Academia can ruin our abilities to do things. I'm still in process of learning how to relax. The dissertation made me feel guilty over every "unproductive" minute. Even weekends and evenings. That feeling is still there hanging on. I know I shouldn't feel guilty doing things I enjoy, but even if my rational mind knows this, my affective mind can't shake it.
| 0 | 15,663 | 3.666667 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fvakclb
|
fv9v1hc
| 1,592,530,083 | 1,592,515,932 | 11 | 2 |
It's incredible how Academia can ruin our abilities to do things. I'm still in process of learning how to relax. The dissertation made me feel guilty over every "unproductive" minute. Even weekends and evenings. That feeling is still there hanging on. I know I shouldn't feel guilty doing things I enjoy, but even if my rational mind knows this, my affective mind can't shake it.
|
Losing the ability to concentrate and feel pleasure with things you used to find enjoyable are signs of depression, and goodness knows, academia is often like a depression/anxiety factory. You may want to look into more signs of depression or anxiety and see if they match up.
| 1 | 14,151 | 5.5 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fvaclpn
|
fvakclb
| 1,592,525,457 | 1,592,530,083 | 2 | 11 |
I know how it feels. Wanting to read as many papers as possible and then reading becomes a chore. I now go outside or when inside disable my phone so I don't have internet access. I then try to read uninterrupted and try to read slowly to grasp the whole text and not skim. It is really hard work and I think form our FOMO. who knows what the next papers or social media post will bring for the next job? I feel that if I would have stability in my life jobwise, I will be able to refocus my thoughts.
|
It's incredible how Academia can ruin our abilities to do things. I'm still in process of learning how to relax. The dissertation made me feel guilty over every "unproductive" minute. Even weekends and evenings. That feeling is still there hanging on. I know I shouldn't feel guilty doing things I enjoy, but even if my rational mind knows this, my affective mind can't shake it.
| 0 | 4,626 | 5.5 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fvakclb
|
fv9mbhp
| 1,592,530,083 | 1,592,511,605 | 11 | 1 |
It's incredible how Academia can ruin our abilities to do things. I'm still in process of learning how to relax. The dissertation made me feel guilty over every "unproductive" minute. Even weekends and evenings. That feeling is still there hanging on. I know I shouldn't feel guilty doing things I enjoy, but even if my rational mind knows this, my affective mind can't shake it.
|
I’m the same. I got to the point where I asked myself ‘what exactly just happened? Did I fully get every detail?’ every few pages or scene or so within fiction, and when I realised I was skimming again, I’d force myself to pay attention to every word, and kept doing it until I eventually read normally again. It actually happened to improve my overall normal reading speed, since I have the quickness from academic reading, along with the details of fictional reading.
| 1 | 18,478 | 11 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fvakclb
|
fv9siap
| 1,592,530,083 | 1,592,514,659 | 11 | 1 |
It's incredible how Academia can ruin our abilities to do things. I'm still in process of learning how to relax. The dissertation made me feel guilty over every "unproductive" minute. Even weekends and evenings. That feeling is still there hanging on. I know I shouldn't feel guilty doing things I enjoy, but even if my rational mind knows this, my affective mind can't shake it.
|
I have this same problem! What helps me is that I will download the pdf and make sure I can hi light things. I set small goals for myself. I will go through the paper and skim to hi light every time a figure is referenced in the paper in green. Then I will skim again to hi light every method/ technique used in in blue. Then I will hilight every sentence with a conclusion about the data in purple. Once I skim through all that, I start from the beginning and underline important things and hi light the hypothesis in yellow. This is kind of time consuming but it really helps me actually read the paper and grasp the concepts presented.
| 1 | 15,424 | 11 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fvakclb
|
fv9vmyv
| 1,592,530,083 | 1,592,516,237 | 11 | 1 |
It's incredible how Academia can ruin our abilities to do things. I'm still in process of learning how to relax. The dissertation made me feel guilty over every "unproductive" minute. Even weekends and evenings. That feeling is still there hanging on. I know I shouldn't feel guilty doing things I enjoy, but even if my rational mind knows this, my affective mind can't shake it.
|
Yeah, sadly is a common side effect of full academic life. Try reading non-scientific books just for fun, start with something fun and easy and you will find something that will trap your attention. Another way is try reading papers completely outside your field just for the kicks, you will likely need to read carefully for better comprehension and maybe you end up “training” yourself to read.
| 1 | 13,846 | 11 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fv9yf49
|
fvakclb
| 1,592,517,653 | 1,592,530,083 | 1 | 11 |
I think it's going to be hard to be able to do both, but not impossible. You can (relatively) easily get the ability back once you stop having to read so many papers at that rate (ie later in your career). But switching is hard. To the extend that I have been successful at this I advise two things. Firstly, when you go to read a novel or something, you have to make some special effort to get into a different mental zone. Try some sort of ritual like drinking a particular kind of tea, going to a particular place, maybe before you start reading, spend five to ten minutes just in silence letting your brain slow down a bit (a much bigger challenge than it sounds: try it!). Secondly, you could make a change in your research habits. What are you getting out of skimming these papers? Ticking a box basically. I doubt you can really be taking anything in this way. You should be skim reading something only to check if it's worth your time to read thoroughly, there's not much point skim reading everything. This might sound like hard to follow advice, but it has a neat double feature: if you decide not to do it then it means ultimately that you value getting your literature reviews "done" (on time or sufficiently "thoroughly" or whatever) or avoiding your PI's wrath more than you value reading novels. Admitting that to yourself (if it's true) could be a very useful way to deal with the problem.
|
It's incredible how Academia can ruin our abilities to do things. I'm still in process of learning how to relax. The dissertation made me feel guilty over every "unproductive" minute. Even weekends and evenings. That feeling is still there hanging on. I know I shouldn't feel guilty doing things I enjoy, but even if my rational mind knows this, my affective mind can't shake it.
| 0 | 12,430 | 11 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fvakclb
|
fva1io2
| 1,592,530,083 | 1,592,519,274 | 11 | 1 |
It's incredible how Academia can ruin our abilities to do things. I'm still in process of learning how to relax. The dissertation made me feel guilty over every "unproductive" minute. Even weekends and evenings. That feeling is still there hanging on. I know I shouldn't feel guilty doing things I enjoy, but even if my rational mind knows this, my affective mind can't shake it.
|
This is a question I once asked a neurologist about! His advice was to read short stories and feature articles (think New Yorker). The narrative and details are engaging but the structure is predictable enough that it doesn't overtax your concentration. I recommend general audience science writing for the same reason. Mary Roach's "Gulp" comes to mind as one of the first books I read cover-to-cover after a long stretch of not being able to finish anything. There are also poets who are incredibly rewarding to read but write plainly...my big rec for that being Miller Williams.
| 1 | 10,809 | 11 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fvakclb
|
fva9io2
| 1,592,530,083 | 1,592,523,707 | 11 | 1 |
It's incredible how Academia can ruin our abilities to do things. I'm still in process of learning how to relax. The dissertation made me feel guilty over every "unproductive" minute. Even weekends and evenings. That feeling is still there hanging on. I know I shouldn't feel guilty doing things I enjoy, but even if my rational mind knows this, my affective mind can't shake it.
|
As I skim your post. I’ve found myself switching to audiobooks. I still force myself to read, but it is definitely not for pleasure. Writing I find helps.
| 1 | 6,376 | 11 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fvakclb
|
fva9xbv
| 1,592,530,083 | 1,592,523,938 | 11 | 1 |
It's incredible how Academia can ruin our abilities to do things. I'm still in process of learning how to relax. The dissertation made me feel guilty over every "unproductive" minute. Even weekends and evenings. That feeling is still there hanging on. I know I shouldn't feel guilty doing things I enjoy, but even if my rational mind knows this, my affective mind can't shake it.
|
I might not be much help LMAO, but have you though of using one of those index cards to hide the other words and only move them when you need to read it? It might be a bit annoying, maybe even frustrating, but if you add some calming music it might help with that :D idk I'm probably not even helping aha
| 1 | 6,145 | 11 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fv9e2gq
|
fv9t9nm
| 1,592,507,526 | 1,592,515,042 | 7 | 9 |
I don’t know if this would help but my postdoc creates PowerPoint documents (themed by topic) of papers with important notes/figures relevant to the claims in the paper. Alternatively, I make sure to write notes on each figure of a paper. It helps me think critically and slow down. Or you could try to read some really fun/unique (not necessarily relevant) papers. Might pique your interest in reading again :).
|
Audiobooks!!! They are, for some reason different. Until I get out of this mess, and my brain has dome time to recover, I'm sticking to the . Podcasts and audiobooks work very well, both for my often tired eyes, and for what I can only describe as attention deficit. It gives me the opportunity to walk or fiddle with something in my hands, which makes me calmer and more focused. Hope that this helps!
| 0 | 7,516 | 1.285714 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fv9t9nm
|
fv9s160
| 1,592,515,042 | 1,592,514,420 | 9 | 3 |
Audiobooks!!! They are, for some reason different. Until I get out of this mess, and my brain has dome time to recover, I'm sticking to the . Podcasts and audiobooks work very well, both for my often tired eyes, and for what I can only describe as attention deficit. It gives me the opportunity to walk or fiddle with something in my hands, which makes me calmer and more focused. Hope that this helps!
|
Grad school brought my childhood/adolescent ADHD back in full force after (at least I thought) I had squashed it during early undergrad. The pace of research is just so unrelenting that if I relied on all my concentration tricks, I'd end up failing. Turns out I mastered out anyway, and now I still can't concentrate
| 1 | 622 | 3 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fv9mbhp
|
fv9t9nm
| 1,592,511,605 | 1,592,515,042 | 1 | 9 |
I’m the same. I got to the point where I asked myself ‘what exactly just happened? Did I fully get every detail?’ every few pages or scene or so within fiction, and when I realised I was skimming again, I’d force myself to pay attention to every word, and kept doing it until I eventually read normally again. It actually happened to improve my overall normal reading speed, since I have the quickness from academic reading, along with the details of fictional reading.
|
Audiobooks!!! They are, for some reason different. Until I get out of this mess, and my brain has dome time to recover, I'm sticking to the . Podcasts and audiobooks work very well, both for my often tired eyes, and for what I can only describe as attention deficit. It gives me the opportunity to walk or fiddle with something in my hands, which makes me calmer and more focused. Hope that this helps!
| 0 | 3,437 | 9 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fv9t9nm
|
fv9siap
| 1,592,515,042 | 1,592,514,659 | 9 | 1 |
Audiobooks!!! They are, for some reason different. Until I get out of this mess, and my brain has dome time to recover, I'm sticking to the . Podcasts and audiobooks work very well, both for my often tired eyes, and for what I can only describe as attention deficit. It gives me the opportunity to walk or fiddle with something in my hands, which makes me calmer and more focused. Hope that this helps!
|
I have this same problem! What helps me is that I will download the pdf and make sure I can hi light things. I set small goals for myself. I will go through the paper and skim to hi light every time a figure is referenced in the paper in green. Then I will skim again to hi light every method/ technique used in in blue. Then I will hilight every sentence with a conclusion about the data in purple. Once I skim through all that, I start from the beginning and underline important things and hi light the hypothesis in yellow. This is kind of time consuming but it really helps me actually read the paper and grasp the concepts presented.
| 1 | 383 | 9 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fv9yz4m
|
fv9s160
| 1,592,517,942 | 1,592,514,420 | 7 | 3 |
This is addressed in Nicholas Carr’s book “The Shallows: what the internet is doing to our brains”. As I recall, he says that deep reading came with the invention of the printing press, and was unnatural for us at the time. We had to learn to read large amounts of material in depth. Now we have material presented to us in small portions, so we have to relearn deep reading. In short, it’s practice. Skim reading comes to us more naturally, but you can recover deep reading skills through practice and persistence. I also find it difficult and am working on improving.
|
Grad school brought my childhood/adolescent ADHD back in full force after (at least I thought) I had squashed it during early undergrad. The pace of research is just so unrelenting that if I relied on all my concentration tricks, I'd end up failing. Turns out I mastered out anyway, and now I still can't concentrate
| 1 | 3,522 | 2.333333 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fv9yz4m
|
fv9v1hc
| 1,592,517,942 | 1,592,515,932 | 7 | 2 |
This is addressed in Nicholas Carr’s book “The Shallows: what the internet is doing to our brains”. As I recall, he says that deep reading came with the invention of the printing press, and was unnatural for us at the time. We had to learn to read large amounts of material in depth. Now we have material presented to us in small portions, so we have to relearn deep reading. In short, it’s practice. Skim reading comes to us more naturally, but you can recover deep reading skills through practice and persistence. I also find it difficult and am working on improving.
|
Losing the ability to concentrate and feel pleasure with things you used to find enjoyable are signs of depression, and goodness knows, academia is often like a depression/anxiety factory. You may want to look into more signs of depression or anxiety and see if they match up.
| 1 | 2,010 | 3.5 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fv9mbhp
|
fv9yz4m
| 1,592,511,605 | 1,592,517,942 | 1 | 7 |
I’m the same. I got to the point where I asked myself ‘what exactly just happened? Did I fully get every detail?’ every few pages or scene or so within fiction, and when I realised I was skimming again, I’d force myself to pay attention to every word, and kept doing it until I eventually read normally again. It actually happened to improve my overall normal reading speed, since I have the quickness from academic reading, along with the details of fictional reading.
|
This is addressed in Nicholas Carr’s book “The Shallows: what the internet is doing to our brains”. As I recall, he says that deep reading came with the invention of the printing press, and was unnatural for us at the time. We had to learn to read large amounts of material in depth. Now we have material presented to us in small portions, so we have to relearn deep reading. In short, it’s practice. Skim reading comes to us more naturally, but you can recover deep reading skills through practice and persistence. I also find it difficult and am working on improving.
| 0 | 6,337 | 7 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fv9yz4m
|
fv9siap
| 1,592,517,942 | 1,592,514,659 | 7 | 1 |
This is addressed in Nicholas Carr’s book “The Shallows: what the internet is doing to our brains”. As I recall, he says that deep reading came with the invention of the printing press, and was unnatural for us at the time. We had to learn to read large amounts of material in depth. Now we have material presented to us in small portions, so we have to relearn deep reading. In short, it’s practice. Skim reading comes to us more naturally, but you can recover deep reading skills through practice and persistence. I also find it difficult and am working on improving.
|
I have this same problem! What helps me is that I will download the pdf and make sure I can hi light things. I set small goals for myself. I will go through the paper and skim to hi light every time a figure is referenced in the paper in green. Then I will skim again to hi light every method/ technique used in in blue. Then I will hilight every sentence with a conclusion about the data in purple. Once I skim through all that, I start from the beginning and underline important things and hi light the hypothesis in yellow. This is kind of time consuming but it really helps me actually read the paper and grasp the concepts presented.
| 1 | 3,283 | 7 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fv9yz4m
|
fv9vmyv
| 1,592,517,942 | 1,592,516,237 | 7 | 1 |
This is addressed in Nicholas Carr’s book “The Shallows: what the internet is doing to our brains”. As I recall, he says that deep reading came with the invention of the printing press, and was unnatural for us at the time. We had to learn to read large amounts of material in depth. Now we have material presented to us in small portions, so we have to relearn deep reading. In short, it’s practice. Skim reading comes to us more naturally, but you can recover deep reading skills through practice and persistence. I also find it difficult and am working on improving.
|
Yeah, sadly is a common side effect of full academic life. Try reading non-scientific books just for fun, start with something fun and easy and you will find something that will trap your attention. Another way is try reading papers completely outside your field just for the kicks, you will likely need to read carefully for better comprehension and maybe you end up “training” yourself to read.
| 1 | 1,705 | 7 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fv9yz4m
|
fv9yf49
| 1,592,517,942 | 1,592,517,653 | 7 | 1 |
This is addressed in Nicholas Carr’s book “The Shallows: what the internet is doing to our brains”. As I recall, he says that deep reading came with the invention of the printing press, and was unnatural for us at the time. We had to learn to read large amounts of material in depth. Now we have material presented to us in small portions, so we have to relearn deep reading. In short, it’s practice. Skim reading comes to us more naturally, but you can recover deep reading skills through practice and persistence. I also find it difficult and am working on improving.
|
I think it's going to be hard to be able to do both, but not impossible. You can (relatively) easily get the ability back once you stop having to read so many papers at that rate (ie later in your career). But switching is hard. To the extend that I have been successful at this I advise two things. Firstly, when you go to read a novel or something, you have to make some special effort to get into a different mental zone. Try some sort of ritual like drinking a particular kind of tea, going to a particular place, maybe before you start reading, spend five to ten minutes just in silence letting your brain slow down a bit (a much bigger challenge than it sounds: try it!). Secondly, you could make a change in your research habits. What are you getting out of skimming these papers? Ticking a box basically. I doubt you can really be taking anything in this way. You should be skim reading something only to check if it's worth your time to read thoroughly, there's not much point skim reading everything. This might sound like hard to follow advice, but it has a neat double feature: if you decide not to do it then it means ultimately that you value getting your literature reviews "done" (on time or sufficiently "thoroughly" or whatever) or avoiding your PI's wrath more than you value reading novels. Admitting that to yourself (if it's true) could be a very useful way to deal with the problem.
| 1 | 289 | 7 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fvac2lf
|
fvafzaq
| 1,592,525,151 | 1,592,527,438 | 4 | 7 |
This was me during grad school. I found listening to audio books while I went for long walks were a good way to easy back into it. A couple years out of academia and I’m reading like I used to!
|
Read out loud to your SO or dog or even the wall.
| 0 | 2,287 | 1.75 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fv9s160
|
fvafzaq
| 1,592,514,420 | 1,592,527,438 | 3 | 7 |
Grad school brought my childhood/adolescent ADHD back in full force after (at least I thought) I had squashed it during early undergrad. The pace of research is just so unrelenting that if I relied on all my concentration tricks, I'd end up failing. Turns out I mastered out anyway, and now I still can't concentrate
|
Read out loud to your SO or dog or even the wall.
| 0 | 13,018 | 2.333333 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fvafzaq
|
fv9v1hc
| 1,592,527,438 | 1,592,515,932 | 7 | 2 |
Read out loud to your SO or dog or even the wall.
|
Losing the ability to concentrate and feel pleasure with things you used to find enjoyable are signs of depression, and goodness knows, academia is often like a depression/anxiety factory. You may want to look into more signs of depression or anxiety and see if they match up.
| 1 | 11,506 | 3.5 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fvaclpn
|
fvafzaq
| 1,592,525,457 | 1,592,527,438 | 2 | 7 |
I know how it feels. Wanting to read as many papers as possible and then reading becomes a chore. I now go outside or when inside disable my phone so I don't have internet access. I then try to read uninterrupted and try to read slowly to grasp the whole text and not skim. It is really hard work and I think form our FOMO. who knows what the next papers or social media post will bring for the next job? I feel that if I would have stability in my life jobwise, I will be able to refocus my thoughts.
|
Read out loud to your SO or dog or even the wall.
| 0 | 1,981 | 3.5 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fv9mbhp
|
fvafzaq
| 1,592,511,605 | 1,592,527,438 | 1 | 7 |
I’m the same. I got to the point where I asked myself ‘what exactly just happened? Did I fully get every detail?’ every few pages or scene or so within fiction, and when I realised I was skimming again, I’d force myself to pay attention to every word, and kept doing it until I eventually read normally again. It actually happened to improve my overall normal reading speed, since I have the quickness from academic reading, along with the details of fictional reading.
|
Read out loud to your SO or dog or even the wall.
| 0 | 15,833 | 7 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fv9siap
|
fvafzaq
| 1,592,514,659 | 1,592,527,438 | 1 | 7 |
I have this same problem! What helps me is that I will download the pdf and make sure I can hi light things. I set small goals for myself. I will go through the paper and skim to hi light every time a figure is referenced in the paper in green. Then I will skim again to hi light every method/ technique used in in blue. Then I will hilight every sentence with a conclusion about the data in purple. Once I skim through all that, I start from the beginning and underline important things and hi light the hypothesis in yellow. This is kind of time consuming but it really helps me actually read the paper and grasp the concepts presented.
|
Read out loud to your SO or dog or even the wall.
| 0 | 12,779 | 7 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fv9vmyv
|
fvafzaq
| 1,592,516,237 | 1,592,527,438 | 1 | 7 |
Yeah, sadly is a common side effect of full academic life. Try reading non-scientific books just for fun, start with something fun and easy and you will find something that will trap your attention. Another way is try reading papers completely outside your field just for the kicks, you will likely need to read carefully for better comprehension and maybe you end up “training” yourself to read.
|
Read out loud to your SO or dog or even the wall.
| 0 | 11,201 | 7 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fv9yf49
|
fvafzaq
| 1,592,517,653 | 1,592,527,438 | 1 | 7 |
I think it's going to be hard to be able to do both, but not impossible. You can (relatively) easily get the ability back once you stop having to read so many papers at that rate (ie later in your career). But switching is hard. To the extend that I have been successful at this I advise two things. Firstly, when you go to read a novel or something, you have to make some special effort to get into a different mental zone. Try some sort of ritual like drinking a particular kind of tea, going to a particular place, maybe before you start reading, spend five to ten minutes just in silence letting your brain slow down a bit (a much bigger challenge than it sounds: try it!). Secondly, you could make a change in your research habits. What are you getting out of skimming these papers? Ticking a box basically. I doubt you can really be taking anything in this way. You should be skim reading something only to check if it's worth your time to read thoroughly, there's not much point skim reading everything. This might sound like hard to follow advice, but it has a neat double feature: if you decide not to do it then it means ultimately that you value getting your literature reviews "done" (on time or sufficiently "thoroughly" or whatever) or avoiding your PI's wrath more than you value reading novels. Admitting that to yourself (if it's true) could be a very useful way to deal with the problem.
|
Read out loud to your SO or dog or even the wall.
| 0 | 9,785 | 7 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fvafzaq
|
fva1io2
| 1,592,527,438 | 1,592,519,274 | 7 | 1 |
Read out loud to your SO or dog or even the wall.
|
This is a question I once asked a neurologist about! His advice was to read short stories and feature articles (think New Yorker). The narrative and details are engaging but the structure is predictable enough that it doesn't overtax your concentration. I recommend general audience science writing for the same reason. Mary Roach's "Gulp" comes to mind as one of the first books I read cover-to-cover after a long stretch of not being able to finish anything. There are also poets who are incredibly rewarding to read but write plainly...my big rec for that being Miller Williams.
| 1 | 8,164 | 7 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fvafzaq
|
fva9io2
| 1,592,527,438 | 1,592,523,707 | 7 | 1 |
Read out loud to your SO or dog or even the wall.
|
As I skim your post. I’ve found myself switching to audiobooks. I still force myself to read, but it is definitely not for pleasure. Writing I find helps.
| 1 | 3,731 | 7 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fva9xbv
|
fvafzaq
| 1,592,523,938 | 1,592,527,438 | 1 | 7 |
I might not be much help LMAO, but have you though of using one of those index cards to hide the other words and only move them when you need to read it? It might be a bit annoying, maybe even frustrating, but if you add some calming music it might help with that :D idk I'm probably not even helping aha
|
Read out loud to your SO or dog or even the wall.
| 0 | 3,500 | 7 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fvac2lf
|
fv9s160
| 1,592,525,151 | 1,592,514,420 | 4 | 3 |
This was me during grad school. I found listening to audio books while I went for long walks were a good way to easy back into it. A couple years out of academia and I’m reading like I used to!
|
Grad school brought my childhood/adolescent ADHD back in full force after (at least I thought) I had squashed it during early undergrad. The pace of research is just so unrelenting that if I relied on all my concentration tricks, I'd end up failing. Turns out I mastered out anyway, and now I still can't concentrate
| 1 | 10,731 | 1.333333 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fvac2lf
|
fv9v1hc
| 1,592,525,151 | 1,592,515,932 | 4 | 2 |
This was me during grad school. I found listening to audio books while I went for long walks were a good way to easy back into it. A couple years out of academia and I’m reading like I used to!
|
Losing the ability to concentrate and feel pleasure with things you used to find enjoyable are signs of depression, and goodness knows, academia is often like a depression/anxiety factory. You may want to look into more signs of depression or anxiety and see if they match up.
| 1 | 9,219 | 2 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fvac2lf
|
fv9mbhp
| 1,592,525,151 | 1,592,511,605 | 4 | 1 |
This was me during grad school. I found listening to audio books while I went for long walks were a good way to easy back into it. A couple years out of academia and I’m reading like I used to!
|
I’m the same. I got to the point where I asked myself ‘what exactly just happened? Did I fully get every detail?’ every few pages or scene or so within fiction, and when I realised I was skimming again, I’d force myself to pay attention to every word, and kept doing it until I eventually read normally again. It actually happened to improve my overall normal reading speed, since I have the quickness from academic reading, along with the details of fictional reading.
| 1 | 13,546 | 4 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fvac2lf
|
fv9siap
| 1,592,525,151 | 1,592,514,659 | 4 | 1 |
This was me during grad school. I found listening to audio books while I went for long walks were a good way to easy back into it. A couple years out of academia and I’m reading like I used to!
|
I have this same problem! What helps me is that I will download the pdf and make sure I can hi light things. I set small goals for myself. I will go through the paper and skim to hi light every time a figure is referenced in the paper in green. Then I will skim again to hi light every method/ technique used in in blue. Then I will hilight every sentence with a conclusion about the data in purple. Once I skim through all that, I start from the beginning and underline important things and hi light the hypothesis in yellow. This is kind of time consuming but it really helps me actually read the paper and grasp the concepts presented.
| 1 | 10,492 | 4 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fvac2lf
|
fv9vmyv
| 1,592,525,151 | 1,592,516,237 | 4 | 1 |
This was me during grad school. I found listening to audio books while I went for long walks were a good way to easy back into it. A couple years out of academia and I’m reading like I used to!
|
Yeah, sadly is a common side effect of full academic life. Try reading non-scientific books just for fun, start with something fun and easy and you will find something that will trap your attention. Another way is try reading papers completely outside your field just for the kicks, you will likely need to read carefully for better comprehension and maybe you end up “training” yourself to read.
| 1 | 8,914 | 4 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fv9yf49
|
fvac2lf
| 1,592,517,653 | 1,592,525,151 | 1 | 4 |
I think it's going to be hard to be able to do both, but not impossible. You can (relatively) easily get the ability back once you stop having to read so many papers at that rate (ie later in your career). But switching is hard. To the extend that I have been successful at this I advise two things. Firstly, when you go to read a novel or something, you have to make some special effort to get into a different mental zone. Try some sort of ritual like drinking a particular kind of tea, going to a particular place, maybe before you start reading, spend five to ten minutes just in silence letting your brain slow down a bit (a much bigger challenge than it sounds: try it!). Secondly, you could make a change in your research habits. What are you getting out of skimming these papers? Ticking a box basically. I doubt you can really be taking anything in this way. You should be skim reading something only to check if it's worth your time to read thoroughly, there's not much point skim reading everything. This might sound like hard to follow advice, but it has a neat double feature: if you decide not to do it then it means ultimately that you value getting your literature reviews "done" (on time or sufficiently "thoroughly" or whatever) or avoiding your PI's wrath more than you value reading novels. Admitting that to yourself (if it's true) could be a very useful way to deal with the problem.
|
This was me during grad school. I found listening to audio books while I went for long walks were a good way to easy back into it. A couple years out of academia and I’m reading like I used to!
| 0 | 7,498 | 4 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fvac2lf
|
fva1io2
| 1,592,525,151 | 1,592,519,274 | 4 | 1 |
This was me during grad school. I found listening to audio books while I went for long walks were a good way to easy back into it. A couple years out of academia and I’m reading like I used to!
|
This is a question I once asked a neurologist about! His advice was to read short stories and feature articles (think New Yorker). The narrative and details are engaging but the structure is predictable enough that it doesn't overtax your concentration. I recommend general audience science writing for the same reason. Mary Roach's "Gulp" comes to mind as one of the first books I read cover-to-cover after a long stretch of not being able to finish anything. There are also poets who are incredibly rewarding to read but write plainly...my big rec for that being Miller Williams.
| 1 | 5,877 | 4 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fvac2lf
|
fva9io2
| 1,592,525,151 | 1,592,523,707 | 4 | 1 |
This was me during grad school. I found listening to audio books while I went for long walks were a good way to easy back into it. A couple years out of academia and I’m reading like I used to!
|
As I skim your post. I’ve found myself switching to audiobooks. I still force myself to read, but it is definitely not for pleasure. Writing I find helps.
| 1 | 1,444 | 4 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fva9xbv
|
fvac2lf
| 1,592,523,938 | 1,592,525,151 | 1 | 4 |
I might not be much help LMAO, but have you though of using one of those index cards to hide the other words and only move them when you need to read it? It might be a bit annoying, maybe even frustrating, but if you add some calming music it might help with that :D idk I'm probably not even helping aha
|
This was me during grad school. I found listening to audio books while I went for long walks were a good way to easy back into it. A couple years out of academia and I’m reading like I used to!
| 0 | 1,213 | 4 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fv9mbhp
|
fv9s160
| 1,592,511,605 | 1,592,514,420 | 1 | 3 |
I’m the same. I got to the point where I asked myself ‘what exactly just happened? Did I fully get every detail?’ every few pages or scene or so within fiction, and when I realised I was skimming again, I’d force myself to pay attention to every word, and kept doing it until I eventually read normally again. It actually happened to improve my overall normal reading speed, since I have the quickness from academic reading, along with the details of fictional reading.
|
Grad school brought my childhood/adolescent ADHD back in full force after (at least I thought) I had squashed it during early undergrad. The pace of research is just so unrelenting that if I relied on all my concentration tricks, I'd end up failing. Turns out I mastered out anyway, and now I still can't concentrate
| 0 | 2,815 | 3 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fv9mbhp
|
fv9v1hc
| 1,592,511,605 | 1,592,515,932 | 1 | 2 |
I’m the same. I got to the point where I asked myself ‘what exactly just happened? Did I fully get every detail?’ every few pages or scene or so within fiction, and when I realised I was skimming again, I’d force myself to pay attention to every word, and kept doing it until I eventually read normally again. It actually happened to improve my overall normal reading speed, since I have the quickness from academic reading, along with the details of fictional reading.
|
Losing the ability to concentrate and feel pleasure with things you used to find enjoyable are signs of depression, and goodness knows, academia is often like a depression/anxiety factory. You may want to look into more signs of depression or anxiety and see if they match up.
| 0 | 4,327 | 2 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fv9siap
|
fv9v1hc
| 1,592,514,659 | 1,592,515,932 | 1 | 2 |
I have this same problem! What helps me is that I will download the pdf and make sure I can hi light things. I set small goals for myself. I will go through the paper and skim to hi light every time a figure is referenced in the paper in green. Then I will skim again to hi light every method/ technique used in in blue. Then I will hilight every sentence with a conclusion about the data in purple. Once I skim through all that, I start from the beginning and underline important things and hi light the hypothesis in yellow. This is kind of time consuming but it really helps me actually read the paper and grasp the concepts presented.
|
Losing the ability to concentrate and feel pleasure with things you used to find enjoyable are signs of depression, and goodness knows, academia is often like a depression/anxiety factory. You may want to look into more signs of depression or anxiety and see if they match up.
| 0 | 1,273 | 2 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fv9mbhp
|
fvaclpn
| 1,592,511,605 | 1,592,525,457 | 1 | 2 |
I’m the same. I got to the point where I asked myself ‘what exactly just happened? Did I fully get every detail?’ every few pages or scene or so within fiction, and when I realised I was skimming again, I’d force myself to pay attention to every word, and kept doing it until I eventually read normally again. It actually happened to improve my overall normal reading speed, since I have the quickness from academic reading, along with the details of fictional reading.
|
I know how it feels. Wanting to read as many papers as possible and then reading becomes a chore. I now go outside or when inside disable my phone so I don't have internet access. I then try to read uninterrupted and try to read slowly to grasp the whole text and not skim. It is really hard work and I think form our FOMO. who knows what the next papers or social media post will bring for the next job? I feel that if I would have stability in my life jobwise, I will be able to refocus my thoughts.
| 0 | 13,852 | 2 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fv9siap
|
fvaclpn
| 1,592,514,659 | 1,592,525,457 | 1 | 2 |
I have this same problem! What helps me is that I will download the pdf and make sure I can hi light things. I set small goals for myself. I will go through the paper and skim to hi light every time a figure is referenced in the paper in green. Then I will skim again to hi light every method/ technique used in in blue. Then I will hilight every sentence with a conclusion about the data in purple. Once I skim through all that, I start from the beginning and underline important things and hi light the hypothesis in yellow. This is kind of time consuming but it really helps me actually read the paper and grasp the concepts presented.
|
I know how it feels. Wanting to read as many papers as possible and then reading becomes a chore. I now go outside or when inside disable my phone so I don't have internet access. I then try to read uninterrupted and try to read slowly to grasp the whole text and not skim. It is really hard work and I think form our FOMO. who knows what the next papers or social media post will bring for the next job? I feel that if I would have stability in my life jobwise, I will be able to refocus my thoughts.
| 0 | 10,798 | 2 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fv9vmyv
|
fvaclpn
| 1,592,516,237 | 1,592,525,457 | 1 | 2 |
Yeah, sadly is a common side effect of full academic life. Try reading non-scientific books just for fun, start with something fun and easy and you will find something that will trap your attention. Another way is try reading papers completely outside your field just for the kicks, you will likely need to read carefully for better comprehension and maybe you end up “training” yourself to read.
|
I know how it feels. Wanting to read as many papers as possible and then reading becomes a chore. I now go outside or when inside disable my phone so I don't have internet access. I then try to read uninterrupted and try to read slowly to grasp the whole text and not skim. It is really hard work and I think form our FOMO. who knows what the next papers or social media post will bring for the next job? I feel that if I would have stability in my life jobwise, I will be able to refocus my thoughts.
| 0 | 9,220 | 2 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fvaclpn
|
fv9yf49
| 1,592,525,457 | 1,592,517,653 | 2 | 1 |
I know how it feels. Wanting to read as many papers as possible and then reading becomes a chore. I now go outside or when inside disable my phone so I don't have internet access. I then try to read uninterrupted and try to read slowly to grasp the whole text and not skim. It is really hard work and I think form our FOMO. who knows what the next papers or social media post will bring for the next job? I feel that if I would have stability in my life jobwise, I will be able to refocus my thoughts.
|
I think it's going to be hard to be able to do both, but not impossible. You can (relatively) easily get the ability back once you stop having to read so many papers at that rate (ie later in your career). But switching is hard. To the extend that I have been successful at this I advise two things. Firstly, when you go to read a novel or something, you have to make some special effort to get into a different mental zone. Try some sort of ritual like drinking a particular kind of tea, going to a particular place, maybe before you start reading, spend five to ten minutes just in silence letting your brain slow down a bit (a much bigger challenge than it sounds: try it!). Secondly, you could make a change in your research habits. What are you getting out of skimming these papers? Ticking a box basically. I doubt you can really be taking anything in this way. You should be skim reading something only to check if it's worth your time to read thoroughly, there's not much point skim reading everything. This might sound like hard to follow advice, but it has a neat double feature: if you decide not to do it then it means ultimately that you value getting your literature reviews "done" (on time or sufficiently "thoroughly" or whatever) or avoiding your PI's wrath more than you value reading novels. Admitting that to yourself (if it's true) could be a very useful way to deal with the problem.
| 1 | 7,804 | 2 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fva1io2
|
fvaclpn
| 1,592,519,274 | 1,592,525,457 | 1 | 2 |
This is a question I once asked a neurologist about! His advice was to read short stories and feature articles (think New Yorker). The narrative and details are engaging but the structure is predictable enough that it doesn't overtax your concentration. I recommend general audience science writing for the same reason. Mary Roach's "Gulp" comes to mind as one of the first books I read cover-to-cover after a long stretch of not being able to finish anything. There are also poets who are incredibly rewarding to read but write plainly...my big rec for that being Miller Williams.
|
I know how it feels. Wanting to read as many papers as possible and then reading becomes a chore. I now go outside or when inside disable my phone so I don't have internet access. I then try to read uninterrupted and try to read slowly to grasp the whole text and not skim. It is really hard work and I think form our FOMO. who knows what the next papers or social media post will bring for the next job? I feel that if I would have stability in my life jobwise, I will be able to refocus my thoughts.
| 0 | 6,183 | 2 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fvaclpn
|
fva9io2
| 1,592,525,457 | 1,592,523,707 | 2 | 1 |
I know how it feels. Wanting to read as many papers as possible and then reading becomes a chore. I now go outside or when inside disable my phone so I don't have internet access. I then try to read uninterrupted and try to read slowly to grasp the whole text and not skim. It is really hard work and I think form our FOMO. who knows what the next papers or social media post will bring for the next job? I feel that if I would have stability in my life jobwise, I will be able to refocus my thoughts.
|
As I skim your post. I’ve found myself switching to audiobooks. I still force myself to read, but it is definitely not for pleasure. Writing I find helps.
| 1 | 1,750 | 2 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fvaclpn
|
fva9xbv
| 1,592,525,457 | 1,592,523,938 | 2 | 1 |
I know how it feels. Wanting to read as many papers as possible and then reading becomes a chore. I now go outside or when inside disable my phone so I don't have internet access. I then try to read uninterrupted and try to read slowly to grasp the whole text and not skim. It is really hard work and I think form our FOMO. who knows what the next papers or social media post will bring for the next job? I feel that if I would have stability in my life jobwise, I will be able to refocus my thoughts.
|
I might not be much help LMAO, but have you though of using one of those index cards to hide the other words and only move them when you need to read it? It might be a bit annoying, maybe even frustrating, but if you add some calming music it might help with that :D idk I'm probably not even helping aha
| 1 | 1,519 | 2 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fvc87wt
|
fv9mbhp
| 1,592,576,128 | 1,592,511,605 | 2 | 1 |
I've had this happen to me. If your interested in comics or manga you could start there and work your way back up. I read Webtoons when it seems like I can't handle anything else
|
I’m the same. I got to the point where I asked myself ‘what exactly just happened? Did I fully get every detail?’ every few pages or scene or so within fiction, and when I realised I was skimming again, I’d force myself to pay attention to every word, and kept doing it until I eventually read normally again. It actually happened to improve my overall normal reading speed, since I have the quickness from academic reading, along with the details of fictional reading.
| 1 | 64,523 | 2 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fv9siap
|
fvc87wt
| 1,592,514,659 | 1,592,576,128 | 1 | 2 |
I have this same problem! What helps me is that I will download the pdf and make sure I can hi light things. I set small goals for myself. I will go through the paper and skim to hi light every time a figure is referenced in the paper in green. Then I will skim again to hi light every method/ technique used in in blue. Then I will hilight every sentence with a conclusion about the data in purple. Once I skim through all that, I start from the beginning and underline important things and hi light the hypothesis in yellow. This is kind of time consuming but it really helps me actually read the paper and grasp the concepts presented.
|
I've had this happen to me. If your interested in comics or manga you could start there and work your way back up. I read Webtoons when it seems like I can't handle anything else
| 0 | 61,469 | 2 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fvc87wt
|
fv9vmyv
| 1,592,576,128 | 1,592,516,237 | 2 | 1 |
I've had this happen to me. If your interested in comics or manga you could start there and work your way back up. I read Webtoons when it seems like I can't handle anything else
|
Yeah, sadly is a common side effect of full academic life. Try reading non-scientific books just for fun, start with something fun and easy and you will find something that will trap your attention. Another way is try reading papers completely outside your field just for the kicks, you will likely need to read carefully for better comprehension and maybe you end up “training” yourself to read.
| 1 | 59,891 | 2 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fvc87wt
|
fv9yf49
| 1,592,576,128 | 1,592,517,653 | 2 | 1 |
I've had this happen to me. If your interested in comics or manga you could start there and work your way back up. I read Webtoons when it seems like I can't handle anything else
|
I think it's going to be hard to be able to do both, but not impossible. You can (relatively) easily get the ability back once you stop having to read so many papers at that rate (ie later in your career). But switching is hard. To the extend that I have been successful at this I advise two things. Firstly, when you go to read a novel or something, you have to make some special effort to get into a different mental zone. Try some sort of ritual like drinking a particular kind of tea, going to a particular place, maybe before you start reading, spend five to ten minutes just in silence letting your brain slow down a bit (a much bigger challenge than it sounds: try it!). Secondly, you could make a change in your research habits. What are you getting out of skimming these papers? Ticking a box basically. I doubt you can really be taking anything in this way. You should be skim reading something only to check if it's worth your time to read thoroughly, there's not much point skim reading everything. This might sound like hard to follow advice, but it has a neat double feature: if you decide not to do it then it means ultimately that you value getting your literature reviews "done" (on time or sufficiently "thoroughly" or whatever) or avoiding your PI's wrath more than you value reading novels. Admitting that to yourself (if it's true) could be a very useful way to deal with the problem.
| 1 | 58,475 | 2 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fva1io2
|
fvc87wt
| 1,592,519,274 | 1,592,576,128 | 1 | 2 |
This is a question I once asked a neurologist about! His advice was to read short stories and feature articles (think New Yorker). The narrative and details are engaging but the structure is predictable enough that it doesn't overtax your concentration. I recommend general audience science writing for the same reason. Mary Roach's "Gulp" comes to mind as one of the first books I read cover-to-cover after a long stretch of not being able to finish anything. There are also poets who are incredibly rewarding to read but write plainly...my big rec for that being Miller Williams.
|
I've had this happen to me. If your interested in comics or manga you could start there and work your way back up. I read Webtoons when it seems like I can't handle anything else
| 0 | 56,854 | 2 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fva9io2
|
fvc87wt
| 1,592,523,707 | 1,592,576,128 | 1 | 2 |
As I skim your post. I’ve found myself switching to audiobooks. I still force myself to read, but it is definitely not for pleasure. Writing I find helps.
|
I've had this happen to me. If your interested in comics or manga you could start there and work your way back up. I read Webtoons when it seems like I can't handle anything else
| 0 | 52,421 | 2 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fvc87wt
|
fva9xbv
| 1,592,576,128 | 1,592,523,938 | 2 | 1 |
I've had this happen to me. If your interested in comics or manga you could start there and work your way back up. I read Webtoons when it seems like I can't handle anything else
|
I might not be much help LMAO, but have you though of using one of those index cards to hide the other words and only move them when you need to read it? It might be a bit annoying, maybe even frustrating, but if you add some calming music it might help with that :D idk I'm probably not even helping aha
| 1 | 52,190 | 2 | ||
hbkrzh
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?
|
fvc87wt
|
fvb6pa9
| 1,592,576,128 | 1,592,544,731 | 2 | 1 |
I've had this happen to me. If your interested in comics or manga you could start there and work your way back up. I read Webtoons when it seems like I can't handle anything else
|
Short stories! I love sci fi so I read a few of Le Guin's collections. The Birthday of the World comes to mind.
| 1 | 31,397 | 2 | ||
jo43ip
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Serious question - do admins really think people are excited to read their regular 20 paragraph emails? Because I rarely get one that has useful info. Why is this a thing? No, I don't care what you think about "mental health awareness" when you provide nothing to support it. No, I don't care what you think about race relations unless you mean it and make meaningful changes. These almost always read like a self pat on the back. /endrant
|
gb5l6p5
|
gb5knnx
| 1,604,522,606 | 1,604,522,358 | 224 | 192 |
Slight modification: > Serious question - do admins really think people ~~are excited to~~ read their regular 20 paragraph emails?
|
What do you expect the Executive Vice President for Corporate Communications to do in exchange for 40x your salary, nothing?
| 1 | 248 | 1.166667 | ||
jo43ip
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Serious question - do admins really think people are excited to read their regular 20 paragraph emails? Because I rarely get one that has useful info. Why is this a thing? No, I don't care what you think about "mental health awareness" when you provide nothing to support it. No, I don't care what you think about race relations unless you mean it and make meaningful changes. These almost always read like a self pat on the back. /endrant
|
gb5l6p5
|
gb5kqwm
| 1,604,522,606 | 1,604,522,401 | 224 | 53 |
Slight modification: > Serious question - do admins really think people ~~are excited to~~ read their regular 20 paragraph emails?
|
Yours have paragraphs? Sometimes I just get a wall of text.
| 1 | 205 | 4.226415 | ||
jo43ip
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Serious question - do admins really think people are excited to read their regular 20 paragraph emails? Because I rarely get one that has useful info. Why is this a thing? No, I don't care what you think about "mental health awareness" when you provide nothing to support it. No, I don't care what you think about race relations unless you mean it and make meaningful changes. These almost always read like a self pat on the back. /endrant
|
gb5kqwm
|
gb5mjd0
| 1,604,522,401 | 1,604,523,237 | 53 | 129 |
Yours have paragraphs? Sometimes I just get a wall of text.
|
As someone who has been involved in sending emails like this, a decent number of the items in any given email are a CYA so that no one comes yelling that you're not doing anything about X or yelling that you did something without telling people about it or without asking for community input.
| 0 | 836 | 2.433962 | ||
jo43ip
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Serious question - do admins really think people are excited to read their regular 20 paragraph emails? Because I rarely get one that has useful info. Why is this a thing? No, I don't care what you think about "mental health awareness" when you provide nothing to support it. No, I don't care what you think about race relations unless you mean it and make meaningful changes. These almost always read like a self pat on the back. /endrant
|
gb5kqwm
|
gb5vto4
| 1,604,522,401 | 1,604,527,613 | 53 | 81 |
Yours have paragraphs? Sometimes I just get a wall of text.
|
Dear Students, Faculty and Staff, Platitude platitude platitude platitude. Patting self on back patting self on back patting self on back. Attempt at hopeful platitude in face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Trying to sound empathetic by using my nickname, Dan
| 0 | 5,212 | 1.528302 | ||
jo43ip
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Serious question - do admins really think people are excited to read their regular 20 paragraph emails? Because I rarely get one that has useful info. Why is this a thing? No, I don't care what you think about "mental health awareness" when you provide nothing to support it. No, I don't care what you think about race relations unless you mean it and make meaningful changes. These almost always read like a self pat on the back. /endrant
|
gb5vto4
|
gb5qben
| 1,604,527,613 | 1,604,525,022 | 81 | 35 |
Dear Students, Faculty and Staff, Platitude platitude platitude platitude. Patting self on back patting self on back patting self on back. Attempt at hopeful platitude in face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Trying to sound empathetic by using my nickname, Dan
|
I’m not kidding, at least half of the emails I get from my grad program (students’) mailing list are from 60-70 years old tenured professors congratulating each other for some new award they got.
| 1 | 2,591 | 2.314286 | ||
jo43ip
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Serious question - do admins really think people are excited to read their regular 20 paragraph emails? Because I rarely get one that has useful info. Why is this a thing? No, I don't care what you think about "mental health awareness" when you provide nothing to support it. No, I don't care what you think about race relations unless you mean it and make meaningful changes. These almost always read like a self pat on the back. /endrant
|
gb5nrv2
|
gb5vto4
| 1,604,523,814 | 1,604,527,613 | 11 | 81 |
Somehow ours have a formatting that just doesn’t work well with the university email and Outlook. They try to included staggered indents and bullet points, but they wind up shoved over to the far right of the page, making the emails even more obnoxious to read. You’d think that since every person on campus has to use the same email client and thus (I assume) see the same garbage formatting every time, that they would fix it. But nope.
|
Dear Students, Faculty and Staff, Platitude platitude platitude platitude. Patting self on back patting self on back patting self on back. Attempt at hopeful platitude in face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Trying to sound empathetic by using my nickname, Dan
| 0 | 3,799 | 7.363636 | ||
jo43ip
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Serious question - do admins really think people are excited to read their regular 20 paragraph emails? Because I rarely get one that has useful info. Why is this a thing? No, I don't care what you think about "mental health awareness" when you provide nothing to support it. No, I don't care what you think about race relations unless you mean it and make meaningful changes. These almost always read like a self pat on the back. /endrant
|
gb5nrv2
|
gb5qben
| 1,604,523,814 | 1,604,525,022 | 11 | 35 |
Somehow ours have a formatting that just doesn’t work well with the university email and Outlook. They try to included staggered indents and bullet points, but they wind up shoved over to the far right of the page, making the emails even more obnoxious to read. You’d think that since every person on campus has to use the same email client and thus (I assume) see the same garbage formatting every time, that they would fix it. But nope.
|
I’m not kidding, at least half of the emails I get from my grad program (students’) mailing list are from 60-70 years old tenured professors congratulating each other for some new award they got.
| 0 | 1,208 | 3.181818 | ||
jo43ip
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Serious question - do admins really think people are excited to read their regular 20 paragraph emails? Because I rarely get one that has useful info. Why is this a thing? No, I don't care what you think about "mental health awareness" when you provide nothing to support it. No, I don't care what you think about race relations unless you mean it and make meaningful changes. These almost always read like a self pat on the back. /endrant
|
gb67wg3
|
gb5nrv2
| 1,604,533,697 | 1,604,523,814 | 22 | 11 |
Our pro vice chancellor sends us a poem every week to motivate us all through the global pandemic 🙃
|
Somehow ours have a formatting that just doesn’t work well with the university email and Outlook. They try to included staggered indents and bullet points, but they wind up shoved over to the far right of the page, making the emails even more obnoxious to read. You’d think that since every person on campus has to use the same email client and thus (I assume) see the same garbage formatting every time, that they would fix it. But nope.
| 1 | 9,883 | 2 | ||
jo43ip
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Serious question - do admins really think people are excited to read their regular 20 paragraph emails? Because I rarely get one that has useful info. Why is this a thing? No, I don't care what you think about "mental health awareness" when you provide nothing to support it. No, I don't care what you think about race relations unless you mean it and make meaningful changes. These almost always read like a self pat on the back. /endrant
|
gb5wdmv
|
gb67wg3
| 1,604,527,885 | 1,604,533,697 | 2 | 22 |
are you me?
|
Our pro vice chancellor sends us a poem every week to motivate us all through the global pandemic 🙃
| 0 | 5,812 | 11 | ||
jo43ip
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Serious question - do admins really think people are excited to read their regular 20 paragraph emails? Because I rarely get one that has useful info. Why is this a thing? No, I don't care what you think about "mental health awareness" when you provide nothing to support it. No, I don't care what you think about race relations unless you mean it and make meaningful changes. These almost always read like a self pat on the back. /endrant
|
gb67wg3
|
gb5zgq8
| 1,604,533,697 | 1,604,529,404 | 22 | 2 |
Our pro vice chancellor sends us a poem every week to motivate us all through the global pandemic 🙃
|
Long all-hands emails are like reports - it's product.
| 1 | 4,293 | 11 | ||
jo43ip
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Serious question - do admins really think people are excited to read their regular 20 paragraph emails? Because I rarely get one that has useful info. Why is this a thing? No, I don't care what you think about "mental health awareness" when you provide nothing to support it. No, I don't care what you think about race relations unless you mean it and make meaningful changes. These almost always read like a self pat on the back. /endrant
|
gb5wdmv
|
gb69a1d
| 1,604,527,885 | 1,604,534,417 | 2 | 9 |
are you me?
|
I did time at one decent state university, and one very rich private university. One organizational aspect that still astonishes me is the rich place had easily 5x the number of admins per capita. As far as I could tell their primary jobs were to make more work for each other. Objectively it seemed clear to me that these people had jobs that legitimately did not need to be done, since other departments managed to not have them.
| 0 | 6,532 | 4.5 | ||
jo43ip
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Serious question - do admins really think people are excited to read their regular 20 paragraph emails? Because I rarely get one that has useful info. Why is this a thing? No, I don't care what you think about "mental health awareness" when you provide nothing to support it. No, I don't care what you think about race relations unless you mean it and make meaningful changes. These almost always read like a self pat on the back. /endrant
|
gb5zgq8
|
gb69a1d
| 1,604,529,404 | 1,604,534,417 | 2 | 9 |
Long all-hands emails are like reports - it's product.
|
I did time at one decent state university, and one very rich private university. One organizational aspect that still astonishes me is the rich place had easily 5x the number of admins per capita. As far as I could tell their primary jobs were to make more work for each other. Objectively it seemed clear to me that these people had jobs that legitimately did not need to be done, since other departments managed to not have them.
| 0 | 5,013 | 4.5 | ||
jo43ip
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Serious question - do admins really think people are excited to read their regular 20 paragraph emails? Because I rarely get one that has useful info. Why is this a thing? No, I don't care what you think about "mental health awareness" when you provide nothing to support it. No, I don't care what you think about race relations unless you mean it and make meaningful changes. These almost always read like a self pat on the back. /endrant
|
gb5wdmv
|
gb6ddqf
| 1,604,527,885 | 1,604,536,588 | 2 | 6 |
are you me?
|
I've transitioned from an underpaid professor to an overpaid email reader and writer.
| 0 | 8,703 | 3 | ||
jo43ip
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Serious question - do admins really think people are excited to read their regular 20 paragraph emails? Because I rarely get one that has useful info. Why is this a thing? No, I don't care what you think about "mental health awareness" when you provide nothing to support it. No, I don't care what you think about race relations unless you mean it and make meaningful changes. These almost always read like a self pat on the back. /endrant
|
gb6ddqf
|
gb5zgq8
| 1,604,536,588 | 1,604,529,404 | 6 | 2 |
I've transitioned from an underpaid professor to an overpaid email reader and writer.
|
Long all-hands emails are like reports - it's product.
| 1 | 7,184 | 3 | ||
jo43ip
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Serious question - do admins really think people are excited to read their regular 20 paragraph emails? Because I rarely get one that has useful info. Why is this a thing? No, I don't care what you think about "mental health awareness" when you provide nothing to support it. No, I don't care what you think about race relations unless you mean it and make meaningful changes. These almost always read like a self pat on the back. /endrant
|
gb88fbw
|
gb5wdmv
| 1,604,585,290 | 1,604,527,885 | 3 | 2 |
So, my institution has been struggling with this. Currently, we’ve been bending over backwards to support our students in the quarantine hall. I’m talking about doing daily phone call check ins with each individual student, providing 3 customized hot meals from the normal dining hall menu that they can order exactly to their liking each day plus a snack order form that allows them to order any snacks they want each day, having ResLife staff drop off deliveries for them that their friends can bring to the front desk to have dropped off, we’re even talking about giving them something special and unique that only students who “survived” quarantine will get like a branded stress ball or deck of cards or t shirt (were still figuring out what students will like/ what’s doable in the budget). Now I’m not saying we’re perfect, we’re definitely still learning and tweaking as we go, but I know a lot of schools are basically dropping off a loaf of bread to their quarantined students and telling them to deal with it for 14 days. But the general student body is complaining that we don’t have enough transparency about what’s being done for quarantined students. We’re not hiding anything at all, and whenever we get questions, we answer them transparently (other than giving out the names of the students in quarantine obviously). So we’re not really sure what to do because we know if we send an email about quarantine protocols, no one will read it or they’ll respond negatively. The info is all on the website but none of the students check the website. I genuinely would love recommendations of how to be more transparent without having to send another email or come off as inauthentic.
|
are you me?
| 1 | 57,405 | 1.5 | ||
jo43ip
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Serious question - do admins really think people are excited to read their regular 20 paragraph emails? Because I rarely get one that has useful info. Why is this a thing? No, I don't care what you think about "mental health awareness" when you provide nothing to support it. No, I don't care what you think about race relations unless you mean it and make meaningful changes. These almost always read like a self pat on the back. /endrant
|
gb88fbw
|
gb5zgq8
| 1,604,585,290 | 1,604,529,404 | 3 | 2 |
So, my institution has been struggling with this. Currently, we’ve been bending over backwards to support our students in the quarantine hall. I’m talking about doing daily phone call check ins with each individual student, providing 3 customized hot meals from the normal dining hall menu that they can order exactly to their liking each day plus a snack order form that allows them to order any snacks they want each day, having ResLife staff drop off deliveries for them that their friends can bring to the front desk to have dropped off, we’re even talking about giving them something special and unique that only students who “survived” quarantine will get like a branded stress ball or deck of cards or t shirt (were still figuring out what students will like/ what’s doable in the budget). Now I’m not saying we’re perfect, we’re definitely still learning and tweaking as we go, but I know a lot of schools are basically dropping off a loaf of bread to their quarantined students and telling them to deal with it for 14 days. But the general student body is complaining that we don’t have enough transparency about what’s being done for quarantined students. We’re not hiding anything at all, and whenever we get questions, we answer them transparently (other than giving out the names of the students in quarantine obviously). So we’re not really sure what to do because we know if we send an email about quarantine protocols, no one will read it or they’ll respond negatively. The info is all on the website but none of the students check the website. I genuinely would love recommendations of how to be more transparent without having to send another email or come off as inauthentic.
|
Long all-hands emails are like reports - it's product.
| 1 | 55,886 | 1.5 | ||
jo43ip
|
askacademia_train
| 0.98 |
Serious question - do admins really think people are excited to read their regular 20 paragraph emails? Because I rarely get one that has useful info. Why is this a thing? No, I don't care what you think about "mental health awareness" when you provide nothing to support it. No, I don't care what you think about race relations unless you mean it and make meaningful changes. These almost always read like a self pat on the back. /endrant
|
gb88fbw
|
gb73urj
| 1,604,585,290 | 1,604,551,018 | 3 | 2 |
So, my institution has been struggling with this. Currently, we’ve been bending over backwards to support our students in the quarantine hall. I’m talking about doing daily phone call check ins with each individual student, providing 3 customized hot meals from the normal dining hall menu that they can order exactly to their liking each day plus a snack order form that allows them to order any snacks they want each day, having ResLife staff drop off deliveries for them that their friends can bring to the front desk to have dropped off, we’re even talking about giving them something special and unique that only students who “survived” quarantine will get like a branded stress ball or deck of cards or t shirt (were still figuring out what students will like/ what’s doable in the budget). Now I’m not saying we’re perfect, we’re definitely still learning and tweaking as we go, but I know a lot of schools are basically dropping off a loaf of bread to their quarantined students and telling them to deal with it for 14 days. But the general student body is complaining that we don’t have enough transparency about what’s being done for quarantined students. We’re not hiding anything at all, and whenever we get questions, we answer them transparently (other than giving out the names of the students in quarantine obviously). So we’re not really sure what to do because we know if we send an email about quarantine protocols, no one will read it or they’ll respond negatively. The info is all on the website but none of the students check the website. I genuinely would love recommendations of how to be more transparent without having to send another email or come off as inauthentic.
|
Oh my god, I feel so much relief knowing I am not alone in this. I work for a university and today just about had a meltdown over the hypocrisy of the neoliberal institution. I constantly get so much pushback from admin on what I believe are decent, reasonable things to do to improve my department and rarely get an explanation. I've been trying to get long overdue raises for my subordinates for three months now and am still getting the run-around for no clear reason--at least no one can give me a reason. Plus, it's financially doable and it's the right thing to do. The shameless hypocrisy and institutional apathy, inaction, and selfishness almost had me in tears today.
| 1 | 34,272 | 1.5 | ||
kng3m1
|
askacademia_train
| 0.99 |
Does the feeling of “the more you learn the more you know you don’t know anything” ever end? Not sure if this has been asked before but it’s getting to my head, the more I study the more I feel behind or as an imposter..what are your stories/reflections on this
|
ghkb2zg
|
ghkgxkc
| 1,609,380,336 | 1,609,383,367 | 53 | 145 |
Nope. Not in my experience
|
The thing that has gone away for me is that panicky grad school feeling that I missed something. I was always convinced that a reviewer or colleague would point out that I had missed an important and basic theory. Now if I have several papers in an area I'm not concerned about that. So now the things I don't know are interesting questions to explore, rather than possible pitfalls for exposing my stupidity.
| 0 | 3,031 | 2.735849 | ||
kng3m1
|
askacademia_train
| 0.99 |
Does the feeling of “the more you learn the more you know you don’t know anything” ever end? Not sure if this has been asked before but it’s getting to my head, the more I study the more I feel behind or as an imposter..what are your stories/reflections on this
|
ghkgxkc
|
ghkg26y
| 1,609,383,367 | 1,609,382,906 | 145 | 24 |
The thing that has gone away for me is that panicky grad school feeling that I missed something. I was always convinced that a reviewer or colleague would point out that I had missed an important and basic theory. Now if I have several papers in an area I'm not concerned about that. So now the things I don't know are interesting questions to explore, rather than possible pitfalls for exposing my stupidity.
|
I stopped caring a long time ago. I learn as much as I can and as much as I need to know. I'm just trying to contribute to the scientific literature that's all. I'm a small cog in a big machine
| 1 | 461 | 6.041667 | ||
kng3m1
|
askacademia_train
| 0.99 |
Does the feeling of “the more you learn the more you know you don’t know anything” ever end? Not sure if this has been asked before but it’s getting to my head, the more I study the more I feel behind or as an imposter..what are your stories/reflections on this
|
ghkgxkc
|
ghkgfnq
| 1,609,383,367 | 1,609,383,105 | 145 | 16 |
The thing that has gone away for me is that panicky grad school feeling that I missed something. I was always convinced that a reviewer or colleague would point out that I had missed an important and basic theory. Now if I have several papers in an area I'm not concerned about that. So now the things I don't know are interesting questions to explore, rather than possible pitfalls for exposing my stupidity.
|
I think of this as being the opposite of Dunning-Kruger. Ultimately I rely on knowing that I have the skills to find information if I need to know something and remind myself that I do know plenty (think of explaining something you’re doing to a person wholly outside of the field/outside of academia for context, it helps).
| 1 | 262 | 9.0625 | ||
kng3m1
|
askacademia_train
| 0.99 |
Does the feeling of “the more you learn the more you know you don’t know anything” ever end? Not sure if this has been asked before but it’s getting to my head, the more I study the more I feel behind or as an imposter..what are your stories/reflections on this
|
ghkhbef
|
ghkg26y
| 1,609,383,574 | 1,609,382,906 | 53 | 24 |
No it just eventually turns into “*we* don’t know anything”. But sometimes you know that even if you know nothing it’s still more than almost anyone.
|
I stopped caring a long time ago. I learn as much as I can and as much as I need to know. I'm just trying to contribute to the scientific literature that's all. I'm a small cog in a big machine
| 1 | 668 | 2.208333 | ||
kng3m1
|
askacademia_train
| 0.99 |
Does the feeling of “the more you learn the more you know you don’t know anything” ever end? Not sure if this has been asked before but it’s getting to my head, the more I study the more I feel behind or as an imposter..what are your stories/reflections on this
|
ghkgfnq
|
ghkhbef
| 1,609,383,105 | 1,609,383,574 | 16 | 53 |
I think of this as being the opposite of Dunning-Kruger. Ultimately I rely on knowing that I have the skills to find information if I need to know something and remind myself that I do know plenty (think of explaining something you’re doing to a person wholly outside of the field/outside of academia for context, it helps).
|
No it just eventually turns into “*we* don’t know anything”. But sometimes you know that even if you know nothing it’s still more than almost anyone.
| 0 | 469 | 3.3125 | ||
kng3m1
|
askacademia_train
| 0.99 |
Does the feeling of “the more you learn the more you know you don’t know anything” ever end? Not sure if this has been asked before but it’s getting to my head, the more I study the more I feel behind or as an imposter..what are your stories/reflections on this
|
ghkhbef
|
ghkh4md
| 1,609,383,574 | 1,609,383,473 | 53 | 6 |
No it just eventually turns into “*we* don’t know anything”. But sometimes you know that even if you know nothing it’s still more than almost anyone.
|
On one hand, I realize how little I know, but on the other hand, I've learned to value things about myself besides the amount I know.
| 1 | 101 | 8.833333 | ||
kng3m1
|
askacademia_train
| 0.99 |
Does the feeling of “the more you learn the more you know you don’t know anything” ever end? Not sure if this has been asked before but it’s getting to my head, the more I study the more I feel behind or as an imposter..what are your stories/reflections on this
|
ghkg26y
|
ghkqfuv
| 1,609,382,906 | 1,609,388,672 | 24 | 40 |
I stopped caring a long time ago. I learn as much as I can and as much as I need to know. I'm just trying to contribute to the scientific literature that's all. I'm a small cog in a big machine
|
When I was in grad school, I stumbled up against a question I couldn't find an answer to. I googled, I pubmeded, and I was stumped. So I asked the senior postdoc in the lab. He knew EVERYTHING -- every technique, every paper, every important person. When I asked, he shrugged, and said, "Nobody knows. Do the experiment." So I did! And I think that's when I arrived at the place you're describing. I no longer felt like "the more you learn, the more you know you don't know." I had gotten to the bottom of the problem. Eventually, in academic science, you carve out a little niche of new knowledge that no one else knows. And inside your little niche of expertise, you are pretty comfortable in your knowledge -- or at least the knowledge that no one else knows any better than you do.
| 0 | 5,766 | 1.666667 | ||
kng3m1
|
askacademia_train
| 0.99 |
Does the feeling of “the more you learn the more you know you don’t know anything” ever end? Not sure if this has been asked before but it’s getting to my head, the more I study the more I feel behind or as an imposter..what are your stories/reflections on this
|
ghkgfnq
|
ghkqfuv
| 1,609,383,105 | 1,609,388,672 | 16 | 40 |
I think of this as being the opposite of Dunning-Kruger. Ultimately I rely on knowing that I have the skills to find information if I need to know something and remind myself that I do know plenty (think of explaining something you’re doing to a person wholly outside of the field/outside of academia for context, it helps).
|
When I was in grad school, I stumbled up against a question I couldn't find an answer to. I googled, I pubmeded, and I was stumped. So I asked the senior postdoc in the lab. He knew EVERYTHING -- every technique, every paper, every important person. When I asked, he shrugged, and said, "Nobody knows. Do the experiment." So I did! And I think that's when I arrived at the place you're describing. I no longer felt like "the more you learn, the more you know you don't know." I had gotten to the bottom of the problem. Eventually, in academic science, you carve out a little niche of new knowledge that no one else knows. And inside your little niche of expertise, you are pretty comfortable in your knowledge -- or at least the knowledge that no one else knows any better than you do.
| 0 | 5,567 | 2.5 | ||
kng3m1
|
askacademia_train
| 0.99 |
Does the feeling of “the more you learn the more you know you don’t know anything” ever end? Not sure if this has been asked before but it’s getting to my head, the more I study the more I feel behind or as an imposter..what are your stories/reflections on this
|
ghklrb1
|
ghkqfuv
| 1,609,385,999 | 1,609,388,672 | 8 | 40 |
I suspect it won't end. But the important distinction is that you know *why* you don't know anything.
|
When I was in grad school, I stumbled up against a question I couldn't find an answer to. I googled, I pubmeded, and I was stumped. So I asked the senior postdoc in the lab. He knew EVERYTHING -- every technique, every paper, every important person. When I asked, he shrugged, and said, "Nobody knows. Do the experiment." So I did! And I think that's when I arrived at the place you're describing. I no longer felt like "the more you learn, the more you know you don't know." I had gotten to the bottom of the problem. Eventually, in academic science, you carve out a little niche of new knowledge that no one else knows. And inside your little niche of expertise, you are pretty comfortable in your knowledge -- or at least the knowledge that no one else knows any better than you do.
| 0 | 2,673 | 5 | ||
kng3m1
|
askacademia_train
| 0.99 |
Does the feeling of “the more you learn the more you know you don’t know anything” ever end? Not sure if this has been asked before but it’s getting to my head, the more I study the more I feel behind or as an imposter..what are your stories/reflections on this
|
ghkqfuv
|
ghkq4ub
| 1,609,388,672 | 1,609,388,493 | 40 | 8 |
When I was in grad school, I stumbled up against a question I couldn't find an answer to. I googled, I pubmeded, and I was stumped. So I asked the senior postdoc in the lab. He knew EVERYTHING -- every technique, every paper, every important person. When I asked, he shrugged, and said, "Nobody knows. Do the experiment." So I did! And I think that's when I arrived at the place you're describing. I no longer felt like "the more you learn, the more you know you don't know." I had gotten to the bottom of the problem. Eventually, in academic science, you carve out a little niche of new knowledge that no one else knows. And inside your little niche of expertise, you are pretty comfortable in your knowledge -- or at least the knowledge that no one else knows any better than you do.
|
As a former advisor of mine, who is one of the top in my field, says "those who succeed were just stupid enough to try it in the first place!"
| 1 | 179 | 5 | ||
kng3m1
|
askacademia_train
| 0.99 |
Does the feeling of “the more you learn the more you know you don’t know anything” ever end? Not sure if this has been asked before but it’s getting to my head, the more I study the more I feel behind or as an imposter..what are your stories/reflections on this
|
ghkq6jw
|
ghkqfuv
| 1,609,388,520 | 1,609,388,672 | 6 | 40 |
Nope, but at some point you hopefully learn to admit to utter ignorance with grace, and to extend that same grace to your equally-ignorant colleagues when you know something they don't.
|
When I was in grad school, I stumbled up against a question I couldn't find an answer to. I googled, I pubmeded, and I was stumped. So I asked the senior postdoc in the lab. He knew EVERYTHING -- every technique, every paper, every important person. When I asked, he shrugged, and said, "Nobody knows. Do the experiment." So I did! And I think that's when I arrived at the place you're describing. I no longer felt like "the more you learn, the more you know you don't know." I had gotten to the bottom of the problem. Eventually, in academic science, you carve out a little niche of new knowledge that no one else knows. And inside your little niche of expertise, you are pretty comfortable in your knowledge -- or at least the knowledge that no one else knows any better than you do.
| 0 | 152 | 6.666667 | ||
kng3m1
|
askacademia_train
| 0.99 |
Does the feeling of “the more you learn the more you know you don’t know anything” ever end? Not sure if this has been asked before but it’s getting to my head, the more I study the more I feel behind or as an imposter..what are your stories/reflections on this
|
ghkqfuv
|
ghkh4md
| 1,609,388,672 | 1,609,383,473 | 40 | 6 |
When I was in grad school, I stumbled up against a question I couldn't find an answer to. I googled, I pubmeded, and I was stumped. So I asked the senior postdoc in the lab. He knew EVERYTHING -- every technique, every paper, every important person. When I asked, he shrugged, and said, "Nobody knows. Do the experiment." So I did! And I think that's when I arrived at the place you're describing. I no longer felt like "the more you learn, the more you know you don't know." I had gotten to the bottom of the problem. Eventually, in academic science, you carve out a little niche of new knowledge that no one else knows. And inside your little niche of expertise, you are pretty comfortable in your knowledge -- or at least the knowledge that no one else knows any better than you do.
|
On one hand, I realize how little I know, but on the other hand, I've learned to value things about myself besides the amount I know.
| 1 | 5,199 | 6.666667 |
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