Why You Need To Read A Lot And Wide

The sad truth is that experience is not the best teacher. You can go through an experience and learn the wrong thing from it or not even learn anything useful from it. And that is why schools exist; to help us learn the right things the right way.

image: blog.prepscholar.com

Beyond the knowledge to survive and satisfy our basic need for food, clothing and shelter, experience becomes a very limited and ineffective teacher. When it comes to high level skills and sound knowledge of complex matters, experience can only serve to refine the knowledge you have. You will need to first acquire the knowledge that experience will now help fine tune. And the proven way of acquiring knowledge is by reading and learning from those you truly know. 

It is no coincidence that all through your schooling days, you were required to read at least a book for each subject/course. Then when you get a job, the induction process includes having you read a lot. And every time you go for a professional course, there are a bunch of books you are required to read. Reading is the easiest way to acquire knowledge. Even the most expensive schools in the world won't do a knowledge transfer surgery on you, they will load you with books to read and force you to read them. They know knowledge doesn't come from thinking and recycling whatever incomplete and incorrect information you have. Sound knowledge doesn't come from practice. That's why a doctor spends about 10 years learning, mostly by reading, first before being allowed to practice. And while I was learning to swim, I was constantly told that practicing with the wrong form (knowledge) will only make you better/perfect at swimming with the wrong form.

When you make reading a habit and read wide, you are acquiring knowledge and improving yourself continually. You learn things you will never know otherwise. You see things from other people's perspectives. You become knowledgeable on the things you are yet to experience. You open yourself up for opportunities. Your world expands and your value rises. You do more with the same resources because knowledge gives you power.