“Take a simple idea and take it seriously” – Charlie Munger, American Businessman, Investor, Font of Wisdom
What does it look like to take a simple idea seriously? You can read about it. You can read more about it. But to really take an idea seriously, you have to engage with it. Take it apart and put the pieces back together.
Summarization is one way to do this – maybe that’s why teachers assign book reports.
Summarization is a useful part of the learning process. It also has residual benefits – a summary is a creative work to be shared. Once written, your summary can introduce others to the idea you’ve found worth taking seriously. Book summaries signal “These are ideas I’m deeply interested in. Here’s my proof of work from efforts to understand them.” They can be a starting point to meeting and connecting with others on the internet.
Examples of people I’ve met to through their book summaries:
There’s a problem with summarization though: It’s hard.
Where do you start? You read something, you open a new google doc, you stare at the blinking cursor on a blank page…then what?
That’s why I enjoyed finding Tiago Forte’s Guide to Summarization Playlist on YouTube. It’s a simple, repeatable process to consume, engage, and create around your readings.
Summarization: a simple idea to take seriously.
Yes, this is a summary about summarization. Meta.
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