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When researching how do you maximise the effectiveness?

#1 · May 1, 2020, 8:31 am

I’m a high school student who wants to study effectively and what better person to ask from a person who does a lot of research of power and related concepts.How do you write and research so much?

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#2 · May 1, 2020, 10:34 am

Quote from Lucio Buffalmano on May 1, 2020, 10:34 am
Hey man,
Very good question.
I had a post up on how to read and research efficiently, but I need to update it.
Here is some quick advice:
Cluster your research: say that you want to learn evolutionary psychology, then only listen to evo psych audiobooks, read only evo psych books and researches until you feel you know enough that more research won't bring much benefits
Leverage texbooks & meta-summaries: some researchers who've spent a long time on a topic sometimes will publish books that summarize years of complicated research into one single book. Undergrad textbooks often work as meta-summaries. In evo-psycho "Evolutionary Psychology" by David Buss is an example and "The Social Animal" is that book for social psychology
Avoid pop-science books: pop science is the equivalent of reading the news when you want to understand the world. It can help, but it's mostly dramatization and lists of curiosities
Leverage applied meta-summaries: instead of "simple" metasummaries, they sift through science to provide practical information that people can apply to their life. This is what I do here, for example with "Dating Power Dynamics" (for dating) and "Ultimate Power" for self-development. Ideally, this will be from someone with both research-side and practical experience in the field
Go online whenever you got a question or whenever something's not clear: when you're reading something and you don't understand it or it doesn't make sense, do a quick research. That research will likely provide you with those "aha moments" that will develop links between islands of meaning in your brain
Should You Research A Lot?
I totally agree with your approach of "maximizing" effectiveness.
The advice around research these days seems to be the opposite.
These days it's popular to say "CEO read 52 books a year", but I think that's a big BS.
Tai Lopez says that to sell knowledge products, never seen a survey confirming it.
Some people say Bill Gates reads 50 books a year.
Well, Bill Gates is not a CEO and I don't think he was reading 50 books a year while he was building his digital empire. Plus, Bill is quite bad with people.
Researching is the equivalent of being good at technical skills. And the people who reach the top of their profession are rarely technical people.
They're soft-skills guys and decision-makers who use other people researches.
To make a recent example, Dr. Brix is the researcher, and Trump is the guy who puts in her in a tough spot. Who's got the power? Who's more successful? It's not the researcher.
Still, there is truth in the "knowledge is power" mantra.
Of course there is.
The more you know about your field, and the more you know about people and power dynamics, the bigger your advantage over others.
But there must be a balance. And that knowledge is not all book-based, but it includes what's sometimes referred to as "street-smarts".
If you spend all your time researching, when are you going to work on all the rest (and, well, live?).
Like you say, one must be strategic when it comes to research.
So here are my tips for people who don't want to make a life as researchers:
Research life-related fields, such as:
People / psychology / relationships
Power dynamics (which includes street smarts)
Money
Physical health / nutrition
Mental health (happiness, optimism, mental control)
All the rest?
Just enough so that you can say a few words about it. And the things you're personally curious about, of course.
P.S.: my case is different.
A life of research works for me for a few reasons:
I mainly research people and what works with people, and the "practical" side of that research includes socialization. That translates well into a good quality of life
My business and life work is grounded on research, so it's not either research or work. When I am researching, I am working
I love researching and acquiring knowledge. Since I was a kid I had to make sense of the world. So research aligns with my personality
But for most people having non-research related goals and lives?
Then focus on the few crucial building blocks of a good and empowered life, seek practically-oriented meta-summaries on those fields, and spend the rest of the time living that life.

Hey man,

Very good question.

I had a post up on how to read and research efficiently, but I need to update it.

Here is some quick advice:

Cluster your research: say that you want to learn evolutionary psychology, then only listen to evo psych audiobooks, read only evo psych books and researches until you feel you know enough that more research won't bring much benefits
Leverage texbooks & meta-summaries: some researchers who've spent a long time on a topic sometimes will publish books that summarize years of complicated research into one single book. Undergrad textbooks often work as meta-summaries. In evo-psycho "Evolutionary Psychology" by David Buss is an example and "The Social Animal" is that book for social psychology
Avoid pop-science books: pop science is the equivalent of reading the news when you want to understand the world. It can help, but it's mostly dramatization and lists of curiosities
Leverage applied meta-summaries: instead of "simple" metasummaries, they sift through science to provide practical information that people can apply to their life. This is what I do here, for example with "Dating Power Dynamics" (for dating) and "Ultimate Power" for self-development. Ideally, this will be from someone with both research-side and practical experience in the field
Go online whenever you got a question or whenever something's not clear: when you're reading something and you don't understand it or it doesn't make sense, do a quick research. That research will likely provide you with those "aha moments" that will develop links between islands of meaning in your brain

Should You Research A Lot?

I totally agree with your approach of "maximizing" effectiveness.

The advice around research these days seems to be the opposite.

These days it's popular to say "CEO read 52 books a year", but I think that's a big BS.
Tai Lopez says that to sell knowledge products, never seen a survey confirming it.

Some people say Bill Gates reads 50 books a year.
Well, Bill Gates is not a CEO and I don't think he was reading 50 books a year while he was building his digital empire. Plus, Bill is quite bad with people.

Researching is the equivalent of being good at technical skills. And the people who reach the top of their profession are rarely technical people.
They're soft-skills guys and decision-makers who use other people researches.

To make a recent example, Dr. Brix is the researcher, and Trump is the guy who puts in her in a tough spot. Who's got the power? Who's more successful? It's not the researcher.

Still, there is truth in the "knowledge is power" mantra.
Of course there is.
The more you know about your field, and the more you know about people and power dynamics, the bigger your advantage over others.
But there must be a balance. And that knowledge is not all book-based, but it includes what's sometimes referred to as "street-smarts".
If you spend all your time researching, when are you going to work on all the rest (and, well, live?).

Like you say, one must be strategic when it comes to research.
So here are my tips for people who don't want to make a life as researchers:

Research life-related fields, such as:
- People / psychology / relationships
- Power dynamics (which includes street smarts)
- Money
- Physical health / nutrition
- Mental health (happiness, optimism, mental control)

All the rest?
Just enough so that you can say a few words about it. And the things you're personally curious about, of course.

P.S.: my case is different.

A life of research works for me for a few reasons:

I mainly research people and what works with people, and the "practical" side of that research includes socialization. That translates well into a good quality of life
My business and life work is grounded on research, so it's not either research or work. When I am researching, I am working
I love researching and acquiring knowledge. Since I was a kid I had to make sense of the world. So research aligns with my personality

But for most people having non-research related goals and lives?
Then focus on the few crucial building blocks of a good and empowered life, seek practically-oriented meta-summaries on those fields, and spend the rest of the time living that life.

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