How to Watch Videos
If you've spent any time on the other courses on this site, you'll know I am generally not a fan of videos. However, there are a few times when videos are great, like right now.
If you don't know much about a subject, and you want to sort of get an idea of something sort of fast, videos are a great way to build up some sort of context. You won't know the material, and it won't totally make sense, but it's a great start. So without further ado, I want you to watch the videos in this section with the following rules on active listening:
- Pause the video anytime you hear something you've never heard before and take some notes. If the section made absolutely no sense, roll it back and listen to it again and take more notes. If it still doesn't make sense, move on with your life, and the video.
- This pausing/note-taking should occur very frequently. I'd say it should make watching the video take at least 1.25 - 1.5 times longer. Any more than that and you are wasting time trying to understand. Remember, we aren't looking for even 80% understanding, more like 50%.
- At the end of the video, decide if anything in your notes you fundamentally don't understand so completely you need to go google it. If you can fake it, or at least guess at what it means, move forward. You'll figure it out as you go, no need to waste time on something that will be covered later.
If you do these things you will get more out of videos than ever before, which won't be much, but it will be enough to put things into context the next time you see them.