quote:
Originally posted by john smithe:
Thanks, its good to know that I am doing the right thing. As far as questions go, I usually make fairly general questions, as I do not want to lose too many parts of the text, for example if it is a fiction book with X as the main character my question would be 'what happens to X in this book?' I know this needs improvement but I am unsure how I should make it better.[b][quote]For fiction and leisure reading I usually just want to know what the adventure is because I'm planning to take time out and enjoy an adventure with the charactors much like watching a movie.
Whit non fiction... what do you want to know and build in layers. It usually works best general to specific depending on the level of detail you want.
[quote][b]Also, if I am PRing a a textbook, for example physics, and I PR a chapter, say on optics, what kind of questions should I form?Alot of very specific ones like what are the properties of concave lenses? or general like the differences between concave and convex?
Depends on your purpose. Is general information on that subject enough or do you need details?
How do you intend to apply the knowledge. What's your reason for reading it in the first place?
quote:
And finally( I am sorry for all the questions) how many activations doesnt it take for you to feel you know the material?
Err I think your question is miss-typed but to answer it as is...
It doesn't take 100 for the average non fiction book... it probably wouldn't even take 50 so I'll offer the 100 as an absolute figure 
Since I think and you're actually asking how many activations does it take
to arrive at an exact figure for you take a the book in your hand weigh it and estimate how many hours you would spend using the traditional method of reading. Consider what is 1/3 that figure. If you say 6 hours then 1/3 is 2 hours if you say 9 hours then 1/3 3 hours. Take that figure and divide it by the lenght of your activation pass. So if you decide to activate in 30 minute blocks then for 2 hours it would be 4 activation passes. for 3 hours 6 passes. If you take 20 minute activation passes then you allow for 6 passes for 2 hours and 9 passes for 3 hours.
I do recommend the shorter 20 minute passes because often you will find you have the information a whole lot sooner.
When judging how long it would take to read a book and estimating how many passes it would take be realistic with your starting point.
I did a survey in one of the local universities and asked some students how long it would take them to read a book about the size and density of the PhotoReading book. Times given were between 8 and 12 hours. I had calculated that the average should be about 6 hours based on average reading speed it turned out I had to put the average at 9.5 hours. Meaning that if it took them 3 hours they'd be thrilled and I give a book that size and density 30 to 45 minutes for a detailed activation.
Alex
