Part 3 (1/2)

(_h_) REMEMBER THAT A STATEMENT IS NOT A PROOF MANY STUDENTS THINK THEY PROVE A STATEMENT BY MERELY REPEATING IT IN DIFFERENT WORDS YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND A CONCLUSION UNLESS YOU CAN SEE THE STEPS IN ITS LOGICAL DEMONSTRATION

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It is quite surprising how many students commit this error For instance, if I alass and I reply, because it is transparent, I a no reason at all, for transparentthat I can see through glass because I can see through glass The sais statements:

No unsportsmanlike act should be done; Smith's act was unsportsmanlike; Therefore, Smith's act should not have been done

Now, this of itself is not correct reasoning, for the reason that the word ”unsports which no sportsman should do The conclusion, therefore, is si to be proved in this case is whether Smith's act was or was not unsportsreat conceit are always in a fair way to bring about terrible misfortune”--_Goethe_

[2] ”I tell you earnestly and authoritatively (I know I a intensely at words, and assuring yourself of their , syllable by syllable--nay, letter by letter”--_Ruskin: Sesame and Lilies_

”Neither is a dictionary a bad book to read--it is full of suggestions”--_E to a lady who asked hi said:

”I would advise you to read with a pen in your hand, and enter in a little book short hints of what you find that is curious or that may be usefuland as many of the terms of science are such as you cannot have , and may therefore be unacquainted with, I think it would be well for you to have a good dictionary at hand to consult immediately when youof This , but it is a trouble that will daily diminish, and you will daily find less and less occasion for your dictionary, as you will become more acquainted with the terms; and in the mean time you will read with ”

[3] ”A es, knows nothing of his own”

[4] ”The Principles of Arguton, is another excellent book, not treating of foreneral principles which should govern the preparation of a paper or arguical fallacies in reasoning It is recommended to readers This book is, or has been, used in the course in English at Harvard University, and si in English under a good teacher is a good training in logic, for clear and logical writing requires clear and logical thinking Nevertheless, the writer strongly advocates the study of forh to knoe h to will, we must also do”--_Goethe_

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III

THE THIRD ESSENTIAL FOR A PROPER METHOD OF STUDY IS SYSTEM

(_a_) DISCOVER THE FUNDAMENTAL IDEA OF THE SUBJECT--Strip off the detail and get down to the root of the thing See the really important point Then, after this has been clearly perceived and e the details in their proper relations to the fundamentals The subject will thus have a skeleton, and upon this the details will be placed A subject of study thus viewed may be compared to the human body, with its bony skeleton or fraans and parts supported by it; or to a tree, with its trunk, branches and leaves Thus to consider the relative importance of facts, to sift out the essential ones, will train the power ofto the subject can be correlated hat is already known, and will in this way be easily retained by theaccurately, and refer {43} the rest to that” Unessential facts, or those of secondary i, and left for a second or later reading, for a proper _, perhapseven of a single subject, hence the is about it and knowing thee of a subject, that knowledge h ele_

The latter is worse than useless, and is rasp fundae, if clear and definite as far as it goes, is valuable, and the first step toward e Many students deceive the of a subject, because they have looked into it, while their knowledge may be entirely superficial and valueless

When the fundamental principle or fact is perceived, study this carefully until it is thoroughly mastered One who kno to study properly will thus pick out the sentence or the paragraph which contains the key to the {44} subject--the fundamental fact or principle--and will read and re-read this rasped When this is done it is sometimes remarkable how quickly the rest of the chapter or subject may be mastered, for it will often be found to consist of discussions or illustrations, which will be obvious once the fundamentals are clearly in the mind The ordinary student, however, does not do this He does not see the fundamental principle, and each illustration is like a separate problem, different from the others, which has to be studied by itself, and is never fullyfundarasped

(_b_) BEFORE YOU BEGIN TO STUDY A SUBJECT, THINK IT OVER CAREFULLY AND FIND OUT WHAT YOU ALREADY KNOW OF IT OR WHAT YOU CAN ARRIVE AT BY YOUR UNAIDED EFFORTS--Try also to perceive what you expect to get out of the study of the subject, and how it is related hat you have already studied, and how it is to find application[1] The historian, Edward Gibbon, states in his autobiography that before reading any book, heand classifying what he already knew of it

Thison the subject A student beginning the study of a new science which he has never studied before, can do co a clear idea of what the subject or problem is, its extent, what its objects and methods are, how it is related to other subjects, what its uses are, and how other studies will find their application in it