2 + 2 = SMART READING

Another day, another blog.
A few days ago a friend of mine came up with a brilliant question: How do you act smart in front of people smarter than you? The question was addressed to a lawyer during a one-day seminar last week. The answer she gave was expected. You have to read a lot. I asked the same question to my Professor and he answered the same thing but he added: You have to know the person and engage him by showing an interest in his 'field'.
Good that's settled.

So here's the thing. Today's blog will be about how to read articles smartly. I came across a great book touching on this very topic itself. It's called Why Do Positive Thinkers Win by Ken Bossone.
An interesting part of the book mentioned that 'smart' people DO NOT read newspapers and magazines. Before you start flaming me, understand that the author meant NOT reading an entire article in those printed media (is there such a term?). What they do is they'll read the first few paragraphs, skip the body and head straight for the conclusion. Intriguing, no?
I immediately sought out for a newspaper and read the front page article. instantly, I knew why.
Most articles posted online or in print begin with the main point. The first two paragraphs always contain the issue and who did it and when.
The body will either mention past events or something that doesn't give much of an impact to the article itself. Somehow it makes me wonder why the body existed in the first place. It's an unnecessary filler that will either create another problem or contradictions. What smart people like you and I should do is ignore the body and continue on to the last few paragraphs. There is an 80% chance you can guess what the body will talk about.
The topic resumes at the closer. What action has been taken? What will happen next? They're all in the conclusion. Don't believe me? Go grab a newspaper right now. Even an online article would suffice.

This can be applied to a majority of articles out there. Unless it's a scholarly article or something related to national security, I can guarantee that that'll be the case.

Thanks for reading and if you have any ideas you would like to share, feel free to comment below.