Student:    Hey, Professor – I’m taking this really hard science class right now, but I don’t really understand the book very well.  I mean, I try to read it and I re-read it, but no matter how many times I try, I just don’t see what the book is talking about.

Professor:  One of the reasons why textbooks are so difficult to understand is that they aren’t doing a very good job of answering questions that you are asking as you’re reading.  When most people read a textbook, they form questions in their minds while they read.  A person can only go so long before they’ve accumulated so many unanswered questions that they feel like they just don’t understand the book anymore.

Student:    Wow.  You’re one of the first professors I’ve ever met that understood that.  I mean, sometimes when I read a math or science textbook, I’m like “where did they get that from?” or “what do I do with this information?”  And sometimes, I think to myself “man, I just don’t understand what they’re trying to get at.”  Other times, when I read some of the questions, I’m like “what are they trying to get me to do?”

Professor:  Sounds like you need Socratic Dialogues – like the one you’re reading right now.  With a Socratic Dialogue, the author can speak in a very conversational and down-to-Earth language.  One of the reasons why textbooks are so difficult to read is they are sacrificing clarity in favor of being rigorous and formal.  Usually, it’s easier to understand someone’s point if they just talk like you would talk in a conversation.  Socratic Dialogues do just that!  Complicated subjects like physics and chemistry are much easier to understand when the author just writes like their having a conversation.

Student:    Socratic Dialogues sound good already.

Professor:  Yeah, they’re popular because the author can answer questions you’re likely to have about the subject matter as the discussion moves along.  Regular textbooks seldom if ever address questions that students are likely to have.  But Socratic Dialogues make learning easy by addressing your questions while you learn.

Student:    I think I’m going to check out some of your study guides.  I see that you have quite a few of them.

Professor:  Have fun, and good luck.  The unexamined class is not worth taking!