Quote:
Originally Posted by DiapDealer
We are in agreement, though: they don't hurt anything by being in the ebook (with or without links). I just think that when it comes to ebooks, the vast majority of those who truly appreciate a well-designed e-index are those who also create well designed e-indices. Heck, I think the same's probably true for print e-indices when it comes down to it.
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Agreed.
In my mind, I'm saving linkifying indexes as a "future-me" problem.
I've had the methods floating around in my head for years now, and I know all the individual steps work... it's just getting around to coding it up.
And as always, there's an XKCD for that:
https://xkcd.com/1205/
Is it worth the time for how often I do it? Not really.
But it'll happen eventually, and when it does, then I can automate through the entire batch of books.
And if you already have RPNs in there for Accessibility, then linkifying your Index shouldn't be
that much more work. Just a lot of regex elbow grease!
Quote:
Originally Posted by DiapDealer
You're putting on a major production for the world's tiniest audience. If your time is truly money, then this is a good place to stop wasting it, IMO.
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Pretty agreed.
The benefits of a "linked index" over an "unlinked index"... not much.
The "unlinked index" is effectively equivalent to the print book.
The "linked index" is a slight enhancement, but its practicality is low (because screens =/= pages).
If the link pointed to the exact location, now THAT would be a meaningful enhancement... but the effort to create that is enormous (and 99% of indexes are created externally and given as a list of page numbers, not generated within the document itself).
And search (engines) get you to the exact location with zero extra effort for the bookmaker... but doesn't include the unique benefits of a curated index.
Complete Side Note: Algorithms + Natural Language Processing are also constantly getting better at determining keywords, plus detecting related words. Two interesting videos on this stuff:
This type of stuff is already being used in search engines, generating text, condensing news articles, telling "moods", detecting spam/malintent, and even generating categories, etc.
Perhaps there will be some future tech that can get fed an Index of entries+pages, then go backwards to linkify at the sentence/word-level.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DiapDealer
Bad assumption. I haven't been in a situation where I have a limited amount of time to "find this all out" by reading a book in 30+ years. Fiction or non-fiction: I have all the time in the world to read anything I choose to read [...]
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What? Everyone has limited time. 24 hours in a day, X amount of days before death.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DiapDealer
So what need would I have of "skimming or pre-reading" techniques (with or without an index)? What need would I have of any kind of pre-reading preparation, period? RTFM.
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Sounds to me like you "don't know how to read a book"! Maybe you should read that one!
Anyway, earlier in the book he lays out a lot of groundwork on:
- how to more effectively learn/absorb information
- goals of reading (entertainment/information/understanding)
Before even reading, you can quickly analyze the work at a very high/surface level, like looking at:
- the order of chapters.
- Chronological or Topical?
- Linear (like a Fiction book)?
- Standalone chapters (like a manual)?
- how chapters are organized.
- Parts, Chapters, Subchapters.
- Wars > Battles > Skirmishes
- how many pages dedicated to each chapter/section/topic?
Prepping yourself for what's to come gives you:
- some "main/important topics" to focus on and where they're located
- potential questions to "ask" before you begin reading
so when you hit those points, you may absorb the information better by having this outline/framework in your mind ahead of time.
For example, let's say you have multiple history books about a civil war:
- One author may explain in purely chronological order (this lead to this lead to this).
- The other by main battles (here were the most important turning points).
- The other by topic (Economic, Social, Military).
Each method of organizing emphasizes different facets of the war:
- A purely chronological book will most likely cover broad strokes (and hop around).
- Probably names major events, and focuses on general "feelings", but ignores a lot of little minutiae (because you have entire years to cover!).
- Main battles.
- Which battles are included and not the others?
- Are these chronological? Or ordered by "importance"?
- Why was battle X more important than Y?
- Did X cause Y? Or were they just occurring at the same time in different locations?
- Topical, you may want to focus on reading only one section of the book.
- For example, I'm extremely knowledgeable in Economics, so as I skim through the headings/subheadings, I'll see what the historian believes were the important points. (Hint: Historians are generally pretty awful at economics! )
Instead of you hopping in completely blind, letting whatever random knowledge smack you in the face, hoping something sticks as the sentences whiz by... you can use some of these extra tools to enhance your reading... Indexes included!
So learn how to read a book!
