How to Study

Reading

Speed, comprehension, and recall are the three important components
of reading. Comprehension and recall are especially interrelated—
better to sacrifice some speed to increase these two factors. To test your
reading and comprehension skills, read the passage below (excerpted
from American Firsts by Stephen Spignesi, New Page Books, 2004).
Then close the book, jot down the key points made in the selection
you read, review the text, and compare your notes with the reading
selection. You will get a good idea of how well you understood what
you read and just how good your “top-of-the-mind” recall is.

Bar codes are everywhere these days. They are automatically

printed on almost every manufactured item—even though

there are still many retail outlets that do not use bar code

scanning devices. Someday, though, everyone will, the thinking

goes, and so the code is printed on more than 95 percent of

consumer items.

A bar code consists of 12 numbers separated by double lines

at the beginning, middle, and end of the sequence. A laser/

optical scanner reads the pattern of the numbers and instantly

identifies the item and its correct price. Bar codes have been

a boon to the retail industry, as well as the United States

military, which requires that every single item it purchases

have a scannable bar code. Bar codes allow speedy checkouts

at stores, continual inventory updating, and accurate informa-

tion about purchasing patterns.

Bar codes were invented in 1948 by Bernard Silver, a graduate

student of Drexel Institute in Philadelphia, and Joseph Wood-

land, his partner. They initially worked with ultraviolet ink, but

eventually settled on the pattern matching system in use today.

Some conspiracy theorists believe that the government even-

tually plans to have bar codes placed on every citizen, either on

the back of the wrist or on the forehead, for constant monitor-

ing of the populace. Interestingly, it was recently announced

6 How to Study