A Sort-Cut to Learning

The idea of "pushbutton control" has spilled over into some areas where it does not apply. What is wanted is an easy way to pass examinations. What is hoped for is some simple "short-cut" to learning.

Science is bringing us short-cuts to learning, and, in fact, some of the methods of improvement given in this book have come directly from efforts to speed up the process of self-education. Up to now, however, the process still involves the expenditure of large amounts of time. This book is written to reduce that time to the minimum. In that sense, it is a short-cut. It eliminates the painful trial-and-error method, so costly in time and self-confidence. But it would be incorrect to say that this book presents merely an easy way to pass examinations. What it presents is an efficient approach to studying and taking exams, and the logic or rationale behind self-education.

Who Will Profit from This Book?

All who must attend classes, read books and face up to a final test in a given subject are vitally concerned with the best methods of progress in the time allowed. Since there is a definite common denominator for the art of studying and taking exams, all those involved in studying for exams will find much that is helpful in this book.

Every high school and college student must absorb large amounts of in­formation and face various sorts of examinations to show how much he has absorbed. Technical school students. Civil Service applicants, and workers in industry, even including potential executives, and many others are subject to examinations of one sort or another. Teachers who thought they had taken their last examination when they left college are often obliged to take additional courses to be advanced in rank and salary. Since high school and college students form the largest number of people interested, there is much more here for their attention.

Is There One Sure Way to Study?

There are certain principles of studying and taking exams which apply in all cases. It is the techniques which vary. Everyone is acquainted with the success of those few who have their own peculiar "system" which gets results for them but will not work for most other people. Some students read assignments once and remember everything they read. As the singer, Pat Boone, a Phi Beta Kappa with a collection of A's, says, as quoted in Kitte Turmell's column, "Teen Etiquet":

The ideal solution to the exam-problem can be achieved in a simple way, I think. The quickest, shortest and smoothest road to an 'A' exam is to keep up with assignments from day to day — take good notes in class and know what's important … That's the smooth road. My schedule permits me only to take the more bumpy road! Often my daily assignments are squeezed into a rehearsal break, a plane trip or a car ride. Luckily, I've been blessed with a retentive memory and a knack for taking good notes. This, with a couple of full hours before exam time, is how I do it. Take my advice, if possible — take the smoother road. It leads to more success with less effort. (From the Detroit Free Press, January 12, 1958.)

In studying, the process is too complex to find one sure system that will work for everybody. The two sayings, "What's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander," and "One man's meat is another man's poison," both apply when it comes to studying. The principles of studying are like the sauce, but variations in detailed techniques are like the meat and poison. This book stresses the principles. When it comes to the techniques, the various types which have been found to be successful by different people are pre­sented for you to choose. The information about the nervous system, neurons, conditioned reflexes, and thinking is very much condensed, but it is believed to be adequate for the purposes of this book.