About not reading the whole textbook, I think I agree with the gist but I disagree with what you actually write. I definitely think that you should read most of a textbook if what you’re doing is reading the textbook. On the other hand, you shouldn’t try to master every detail in it. If you want to apply the pareto principle, then go through papers and write everything that you don’t know. Then go search that in textbook. That’s the efficient way. But reading a textbook is for getting a general impression of the field and building a map. So the latter chapters are useful. Just don’t spend 20 hours on them.
I agree; I should have written “don’t complete textbooks”, and have edited that part accordingly. I’m thinking some combination of “don’t do all of the exercises” and “don’t spend time learning every single concept in the book.”
I agree; I should have written “don’t complete textbooks”, and have edited that part accordingly. I’m thinking some combination of “don’t do all of the exercises” and “don’t spend time learning every single concept in the book.”