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Learning Tips 9 LEARNING TIP 4 Skim Book Prefaces, Intros, and Such The reason we headed our introduction "Don't Read This" was to try to get you to at least skim it. Like most authors, we put a lot of important information into those few paragraphs. (I) We told you why this book that's supposed to be about studying has hints for learning and remembering and seems to have none for studying. Without understanding why we chose those main topics, you're going to have trouble figuring out the point of the book. (2) We told you that we're presenting only facts for which we've found scientific evidence-but that you won't find the evidence for most of the facts here. Unless you read that, you're going to think this is a very top-of-the-head book and wonder about how valuable it really is. (3) We suggested how to use the book for best results. You probably got used to skipping intros after trying a few in grade school. There, the textbook intros were written for teachers, not students. And the intros to novels were often dull facts about the author's life or philosophy. Skipping the introduction didn't hurt your enjoyment of the story one bit. But for college textbooks, the intros are meant to help you. They may explain the author's point of view, show the organization, define special terms and symbols, and offer hints for best use of the book. In short, they may cut down on your reading and study time. Introductions are often boring, so don't read every word. But do skim to see what's in them. ...

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