How to Study

that laser bar code technology has advanced to the point where

bar codes can now be imprinted directly onto meat and eggs and

be read without damaging the product.

This means that, yes, bar codes can now safely be placed on

human flesh. Imagine a future in which you order a ticket to a

baseball game at home on the Internet using your own personal

bar code ID number. When you get to the stadium, you hold out

your hand, and an optical scanner reads the bar code tattooed

(or whatever) on the back of your wrist. The master database

(which everyone will be sharing by then) confirms that you did,

indeed, purchase a ticket, and you get whisked through the

entrance in the time it takes to swipe a bag of chips across a

grocery store cash register scanner.

Science fiction? Not really. We’re pretty close to this scenario

already.

Score: If you can read the material straight through and accurately
summarize what you’ve read, all in less than two minutes, give your-
self an A. If you have some problems reading and understanding the
text but are able to complete the assignment in less than four minutes,
give yourself a B. If you are unable to complete the assignment in that
time, remember what you read, or produce accurate notes at all, give
yourself a C.

Retention

Test #1:Look at the number following this paragraph for 10 seconds.
Then cover the page and write down as much of it as you can
remember:

762049582049736

Score:If you remembered 12 or more digits in the correct order,
give yourself an A; 8 to 11, a B; 7 or less, a C.

Chapter 1 ■ How to Start Out Right 7