Learn by Reading
And deliberate practice is demanding; it requires effort. Trying to skip this step would be like going to the gym and trying to work out with the least effort possible. That just doesn't make sense, just like it wouldn't make sense to hire a coach to do the heavy lifting. A coach is not there to do the work, but to show us how to use our time and effort in the most effective way. What is self-evident in sports we are only starting to realise is true for learning as well. "The one who does the work does the learning," writes Doyle (2008, 63).
When we try to answer a question before we know how to, we will later remember the answer better, even if our attempt failed.
If learning is your goal, cramming is an irrational act.
Elaboration means nothing other than really Thinking about the meaning of what we read, how it could inform different questions and topics and how it could be combined with other knowledge.
In fact, "Writing for Learning" is the name of an "elaboration method".
Luhmann almost never read a text twice (Hagen 1997) and was still regarded as an impressive conversation partner who seemed to have all information ready to hand.
Not learning from what we read because we don't take the time to elaborate on it is the real waste of time.
There is a clear division of labour between the brain and the slip-box: The slip-box takes care of details and references and is a Long-term Memory resource that keeps information objectively unaltered. That allows the brain to focus on the gist, the deeper understanding and the bigger picture, and frees it up to be creative. Both the brain and the slip-box can focus on what they are best at.