What reading is better than school or learning? Yes, I do not know if school is a great place to learn unless you have an amazing professor and a lot of  Socratic method interaction.

Are you serious reading is better than experience for learning? Yes, because as you do not have an infinite amount of time in your life. If you want to learn to trade stocks you can read the ten best books on the subject. This will be the wisdom of ten lifetimes to gain. You need to learn from other people’s experiences, rather than experience everything yourself first hand, as life is too short.

Reading can teach you wisdom, knowledge, information and open your mind in general. I can not think of a better way to learn than reading. If you disagree or have a better way let me know.

Reading is good for learning but does it make you smarter?

Reading is also one of the best ways to improve your cognitive function.  I have no idea why people forget about this and turn other ways. There are all types of improve your intelligence techniques and technology. There are brainwaves and light and sound machines as well as Neurotrophin.

People who read books are smarter and have a higher IQ than people who do not. I do not have any firm data on this, however, this is what I see. There are some none scientific studies that point to this. The studies show that people who read more have a higher IQ. I do not know the cause or the effect, but does it matter?  One side note if you read books on the IQ test your IQ results will be better, but this does not mean you will be smarter. Just score better. But if you read a book on image streaming by Win Wenger, you might be surprised what you find.

Therefore, are people who read a lot smarter people?  This seems so basic, and low tech that reading can improve your learning and brain performance that people often over look this. That is simply buying some books and reading.

Why I started to read very late

Growing up I had a lot of stress as I grew up in a small house with seven people living in it. This combine with a very strict upbringing and a lot of noise it was not an atmosphere conducive for reading. Reading was not possible until well in my 20s as the atmosphere was not relaxed enough. I really did not read my first book, until an age I do not want to admit.  However, in my 20s I worked in some bookstores and caught up. Maybe too much so. I read everything all the time. I read classics as well as trash. I think I learned more working in a bookstore than I did at college or University.

I also had a brain lesion  that became symptomatic in my 20s.  This bleeding in the brain made me suffer not only pain but I feel some cognitive deficiencies. I tried everything to improve my brain function. Some things did better than other. Games, I feel worked particularly well. But reading helped a lot.

I had a slow start and some trouble but once I go going with reading my life changed.

Reading odds and ends

Nothing beats reading a good book. However, the Internet is a good source for quick information. What I do is I often scan the Internet and the if I need to look for a topic in-depth I look up the best books on the subject on Amazon. Books are well thought out, while often Internet posts have not been put together with as much care.

What about photo reading and speed reading and other accelerated reading techniques. I have tried these and every time, I simply get bored. I prefer to go back to my old pace and take in knowledge at my pace.

Do I read a book cover to cover?  Sometimes, but not always.  For non-fiction I dive right in. For fiction I start from the beginning and skip the introduction.

Reading to learn a language? I study and teach languages and all my students I make read books in foreign languages. I make them because they can not possibly be learning from me everyday. But if they were to read 20 minutes in a foreign langauge a night before they go to bed, they will pick up a lot of vocabulary and generally use the language in a fun way. At the end of this post I will tell you a place you can get foreign language books to read for free online.

Reading will make you:

• I think that people who read are smarter (If you read in the right way).
• Have better vocabulary.
• A more open view of the world.
• Keep your brain growing.
• Make you a more interesting person.
• Keep you out of trouble.

Books and money

I use to complain I felt guilty about buying books. They cost money. However, books are one of the best investments. You can always resell them if you need to. You can go to the library or download books for free at reading to learn.  They even have free human read audio books. If you have an iPod or iPad or e-reader or whatever, you can use these books. I often just print them and put them in a folder and I have a cheap book.

If your book is connected to your business, you could take it as an expense on your tax return. For example, I do consulting and from time to time I buy a technical book I need. This could be a legitimate expense for my business. I am learning what I need to make money.

Either way it is an investment in your brain and your life.

My conclusion is simple, reading is the best way to learn anything, what do you think? Is there any better way?

Get lost to exercises your brain on vacation

I have traveled to about all over the world and prefer this method to a guided tour. Try it without a map or guide book.  I am an avid walker and do not mind if I get lost. I guess I am also a bit over trusting and have never gotten in serious trouble.  But I think it is more often people who live around you hurt you more than complete strangers.  So I am pretty fearless when I am walking around a foreign city. In fact getting lost on vacation is very low stress as you do not have a meeting or important things to tend to.  Further, the best experiences are those unplanned.

Children experience this type of brain exercise all the time as everything is foreign

I am an American but live in Eastern Europe by the way. Traveling around Europe I experience this brain exercise all the time and yes feel smarter for it, or at least more confident.

When you get lost you need to use all your senses to finger out street signs, directions, foreign words and symbols and do this in a reasonable time before the sun goes down.  If you take a wrong turn your have to pay for real estate twice and double back. If you are walking you will get a good workout.  If it is the end of the day I take public transport back. This is perhaps the best way to know a city. In one day you could get to know the whole city. Could you ever get this much of a neural brain workout if you are simply doing a one dimensional puzzle with defined rules? Could you ever excises your brain this way sitting in a classroom?

Maybe that is why kids brains are so flexible, because to them they have to live in a world where everything is new and foreign.  When I moved to Poland from the USA, for at least one year everything was neural chaos.  Everything was different.

Try this brain exercise the next time you are traveling. Let me know if you have ever done this brain excersise and your experiences.  And if you are an American, please get a passport and travel to a foreign country not on a package, but rent an apartment or youth hostel  I do not care if you are a business professional, start taking real adventures in your life for your brain’s sake. Think of it as an educational investment.