Slow Learning in a Fast World: Why Books Beat AI Summaries for Lasting Knowledge
I used to devour AI summaries, craving knowledge at warp speed—until I realized none of it stuck. Now, I embrace slow reading. Here’s why it’s the ultimate rebellion in our fast-learning world.
Ever since I became aware of my own existence as a human, I’ve loved learning and being curious about new things. I wanted to learn as fast and as broadly as possible. I did this by cutting out the “fat”—YouTube, AI summary, google search for books TLDRs, you name it. It was all about concise, condensed information that I can quickly absorb. But recently, I had a realization that flipped my approach to learning—and I want to share it with you.
The Problem with AI Summaries
A few years ago, reading was akin to a calming activity for me—where I sit down, relax, slow down, and read a book. However, in today’s digital culture, where information travels at light speed, reading books makes me feel guilty—like I’m wasting time when faster options exist.
Nowadays, that's no longer what I do. I am slowly realizing that after a few days or weeks, I won't remember anything that I "learned" through all of the AI-generated bullet points, and (some) YouTube videos. Sure, I take notes occasionally and put them in my Second Brain, but nothing really sticks with me.
When you're reading a book, you're following the author's line of thought, when you're reading the summary you are only getting the final answer without all the work behind it.
- some guy on the internet
Think of it like getting a math answer from a TA versus working through the problem yourself. Sure, you 'have the answer,' but you didn't know any of the theorems, logic, or flow behind it to get there.
Benefits of Slow Reading
When you read through the material and experience the story with the author, you also remember better. The lesson sticks with you and you are more likely to be able to implement whatever it is you are trying to learn in your everyday life. Another point is that it takes most people a few days to weeks to completely read a book. every time you pause, you digest the concepts deeper.
Closing Thoughts
In my own personal experience and from what I have learned from other people's experiences, this is the way. I'm slower but I actually remember what I read. It's hard to go slow when everything around you seem to move so fast, but when you are learning something, The goal should be to understand the material, not to rush through it just to 'get to the point' and jump to the next topic.