study

Decades of cognitive psychology research reveals that the most effective study method is not reading or highlighting. It is active recall: testing yourself on what you have learned, spacing those tests over time, and using retrieval difficulty as the signal for what to study next. The research, pioneered by Roediger and Karpicke, shows that retrieval practice produces substantially larger long-term learning gains than equivalent study time spent on relearning. This article explains the science and shows how to apply it to any subject.

Speed reading is often promoted as a way to consume books and articles in minutes instead of hours. The science, however, is clear: you cannot read faster without losing comprehension. This article examines what cognitive research reveals about the limits of reading speed, which techniques have evidence support, and which speed-reading claims are pure marketing. Most speed-reading methods fail or trade comprehension for speed. What actually works: identifying the purpose of your reading, skimming for structure before deep reading, and eliminating actual time-wasting habits.