This blog mentions various principles for reading textbooks effectively.

• Engage with what you read emotionally. Judge ideas presented in the book early, make judgements like: (i) this is a very simple idea that anyone could have come up with, (ii) there’s no way an idea like this could work, (iii) interesting idea but I don’t think it will work. Judge as if a friend pitched this idea to you and you’re looking to critique it. Maybe actively look to criticize the author for any line that you believe could be framed better.
• Do not ever lose track of the big picture (it’s okay to miss out a finer details). Maybe create a map of the chapter that you’re reading and keep connecting different ideas. Criticize the author if the connection aren’t as well as they could be.
• After reading each section, summarize it like you would to a 5-year old in as few words as possible.
• Actively imaging a funnier version. This is the best part because it’s fun and let’s you remember the ideas for longer.
  • Example: “Exploration is needed because there is always uncertainty about the accuracy of the action-value estimates. The greedy actions are those that look best at present, but some of the other actions may actually be better.”
  • Imagine a funny agent running around tensed to find the way out, even though it’s action-value box has inaccurate estimates. This of actions from the perspective of this agent.
  • Imagination is the fun of studying ideas like these, always imagine the ideas in more exciting ways and have fun. :)
• Use flashcards to take notes and refer to them at consistent intervals.
• Read as if you’re the expert and the author worked a 100 years to come up with that formulation. Critique it.
• Understand equations deeply. How would changing one parameter in the equation affect the rest? Relate to similar equations you’ve seen before. Imagine all this happening in an abstract space. Understand the equation applied to a toy example. Spend more time on the main equations than 90% of the people do.
• The key to learning more advanced topics is to do it in multiple runs (rereading the material or rewatching the video). Try to get the general idea first, then work on understanding specifics.