Dad advised us not to take too many notes in school. He told us about his college days, sitting in a lecture hall, surrounded by other students who were trying to write down everything the professor said. They ended up with a lovely collection of notes, but they had trouble passing the tests. That’s because they paid more attention to their note-taking than to the lecture.

Instead, he advised, sit up straight and pay attention. Watch the teacher and listen. When appropriate, write down the phrase or two that will bring back the experience, later.

When it came to studying for exams, all Dad had to do was review his notes and remember the lecture. The voluminous note-takers, on the other hand, had reams of their own writing to read, and no clear memory of being present in the class.

He taught us similarly about marking in textbooks. We never used highlighters – as Dad pointed out, people who use those pens tend to mark most of the book, again abandoning the student to a sea of undistinguished text to review for end-of-class contests. If you read for comprehension instead of trying to grab every sentence, if you don’t mark the book except to flag a page or two, or jot down a marginal summary of argument, then you can capture the book’s message without having to regurgitate the whole thing.

I think now what Dad was discussing was how to use your brain. I think he was skirting a 3D subject I’m contemplating lately. We’ve all heard of the left and right lobes. But there’s a front and back too. Consciousness and the subconscious. There are ways to harness those areas and put them to work for you.

If you’re trying to learn new vocabulary, for example, the trick is to make flash cards. The act of writing the vocabulary on the cards begins the memorization process. Then run through your cards right before bed. You’ll find that your brain works on them while you sleep.