学点经济学和英语，这本书真的挺适合的
读书群在读《穷查理宝典》(Poor Charlie's Almanack)，这本书讲得是Charlie Munger的学习和思考之道。他一直强调的一点是big ideas in the big disciplines，即掌握经典学科中的重要思想，建立一个multiple mental models，把大脑变成学习机器，把各派所长融会贯通最后可以独步江湖。
You must know the big ideas in the big disciplines and use them routinely -- all of them, not just a few. Most people are trained in one model -- economics for example -- and try to solve all problems in one way. You know the old saying: "To the man with a hammer, the world looks like a nail." This is a dumb way of handling problems.
经济学自然是big disciplines的一种，Charlie Munger在演讲中也多次提到了曼昆和他的《经济学原理》，我认为是人人都应该读的一本书。这本入门级经济学经典教材内容系统，语言通俗易懂（几乎没有生词），举例都很接地气，是用英语学知识的好材料。
有一点需要指出的是：不要因为一本书的生词数量而判断它是简单还是难，不是它的语言简单这本书就简单。读书不是把字过目一遍，而是书中的内容。你会有认识每一个字但是不知道这句话到底是在说什么的时候，你也会碰到有些文字看起来“高大上”实际上是外强中干。能用直白准确的语言来描述复杂的概念是我们需要的文字，是值得我们学习的。"Plain English"是悦人悦己的好英文，我们要学习作者是如何“小词大用”的，这是最实用的也是我们最需要的英文写作典范。
了解一些基本的经济学原理，可以帮助我们思考和判断我们所处的这个环境。在这本书的Preface中，作者提到为什么我们要学点经济学：
1. The first reason to study economics is that it will help you understand the world in which you live.
2. The second reason to study economics is that it will make you a more astute participant in the economy.
3. The third reason to study economics is that it will give you a better understanding of both the potential and the limits of economic policy.
任何看起来高深莫测的学科都是源于生活，服务于生活。我们学点经济学的目的是我们可以对我们所生活的这个环境更了解，这样可以帮助我们进行较为”正确“的决策，也帮助我们可以”科学地评价和吐槽”一些行为。
经济学研究的是人日常活动的动机，不只是财富本身。Alfred Marshall说:
Political Economy or Economics is a study of mankind in the ordinary business of life.
作为一名老师，作者用心良苦。"Economics is fun, but it can also be hard to learn." 他对有关如何学习这本书提出了9个意见，我们从中不只是可以学到如何读这本书，这种阅读教科书的方法适用于任何同类型的书。
Experience shows that if you are actively involved as you study this book, you will enjoy a better outcome both on your exams and in the years that follow. Here are a few tips about how best to read this book.
1. Read before class. Students do better when they read the relevant textbook chapter before attending a lecture. You will understand the lecture better, and your questions will be better focused on where you need extra help.
从小我们就常听老师说要预习和复习，然而恐怕我们对为什么要预习和如何预习的认识都还是在处于初级阶段。尤其是在大学或以上的课程，老师只是引导和点拨一下，同样的一堂课大家的收获是不同的。
我的一个经验是课前做足功课，不仅是从一个学生的角度去学习，还要从“如果我是老师的话，我会怎么去讲”的角度来拓展。上课只不过是再一次帮助理解和消化新知识，一堂课的大多数时间都是不必全神贯注的，只需要注意预习过程中不够清楚的地方。这个思路有点像我们现在的翻转课堂（flipped classroom）。
2. Summarize, don’t highlight. Running a yellow marker over the text is too passive an activity to keep your mind engaged. Instead, when you come to the end of a section, take a minute and summarize what you just learned in your own words, writing your summary in the wide margins we’ve provided. When you’ve finished the chapter, compare your summaries with the one at the end of the chapter. Did you pick up the main points?
一定要能用自己的话简明扼要的把读到的内容讲出来，可以是口述也可以是写出来。如果是“我脑袋里明白了，但是我说不出来”，那很有可能是你还没有明白。我觉得我们的大脑是有欺骗性的，用自己的话说出来和写出来就是一个验证的过程。对学习要诚实，所谓的脚踏实地就是不自欺欺人，要么不学，要学就学明白。
书中的summary和key concept是一个很好的示范。
另外写summary也是提高写作的一个训练方法，想清楚了才能写清楚，在写的过程中推敲打磨。书中给的summary是很好的参考资料，我们写完之后和它做比较，若是把这本书36章的每一章都认真的做总结，收获的将不只是一些经济学知识。
3. Test yourself. Throughout the book, Quick Quizzes offer instant feedback to find out if you’ve learned what you are supposed to. Take the opportunity to write down your answer, and then check it against the answers provided at this book’s website. The quizzes are meant to test your basic comprehension. If your answer is incorrect, you probably need to review the section.
测试的作用是帮助我们了解自己的掌握程度。问题是，这是我们经常忽略的一个环节。多年的应试教育让我们容易对考试产生恐惧心理，要克服这一点，热爱犯错，知错就改。
4. Practice, practice, practice. At the end of each chapter, Questions for Review test your understanding, and Problems and Applications ask you to apply and extend the material. Perhaps your instructor will assign some of these exercises as homework. If so, do them. If not, do them anyway. The more you use your new knowledge, the more solid it becomes.
书中提供了很多的引导性问题帮助我们复习和应用，可谓是煞费苦心。这也是我们练习写作和口语的一个机会 -- 书中的语言简单直接，大多都可以作为口语素材。想象成我们是在一个真实的班级中进行小组讨论并且要做presentation，我们会说些什么？
读研的课堂中大多都是这样的讨论和展示，很多问题的对错都不重要，重要的是你是如何得出这个结论的 — Where does your conclusion stem from? What’s your rationale?
5. Go online. The publisher of this book maintains an extensive website to help you in your study of economics. It includes additional examples, applications, and problems, as well as quizzes so you can test yourself. Check it out. The website is www .cengage.com/economics/mankiw.
很多教材都提供了配套的网络资源。美国的书很贵，教科书更贵，动不动就几百刀也是正常的。很多时候买一本教科书的主要原因是里面可以使用其网络资源的接入码。除了这些“官方资源”，我们也可以使用其他资源。我们现在缺的不是好资源，而是如何消化这些资源。“看起来有用”和“实际上有用”是两回事。
6. Study in groups. After you’ve read the book and worked problems on your own, get together with classmates to discuss the material. You will learn from each other—an example of the gains from trade.
若是有100个人同时读这本书，每天讨论一个话题，一定会有无数个意外惊喜。“分享”是一种能力，越主动收获越多。
7. Teach someone. As all teachers know, there is no better way to learn something than to teach it to someone else. Take the opportunity to teach new economic concepts to a study partner, a friend, a parent, or even a pet.
每个人都是学生，也都是老师。Everyone is both a leader and a follower.
8. Don’t skip the real-world examples. In the midst of all the numbers, graphs, and strange new words, it is easy to lose sight of what economics is all about. The Case Studies and In the News boxes sprinkled throughout this book should help remind you. They show how the theory is tied to events happening in all our lives.
我们一定要能够把所学的理论和我们所生活的环境联系起来，否则就是死读书。这一点Malcolm Gladwell是大师，推荐看看他的书，学学他的思路。生活中处处都是case study。无论是我们学习语法还是经济学，它们最终都是帮助我们思考和判断的辅助工具。
9. Apply economic thinking to your daily life. Once you’ve read about how others apply economics to the real world, try it yourself! You can use economic analysis to better understand your own decisions, the economy around you, and the events you read about in the newspaper. The world may never look the same again.
为什么钻石要比水贵？为什么航空公司会卖廉价机票？我们凭我们的常识可以做出一些解释，但是了解一下基本的经济学知识，我们会对这些问题有更科学的认识。爱因斯坦说：The whole of science is nothing more than the refinement of everyday thinking. 每天思考一点点，今天比昨天聪明一点儿！
读第一章里提到了10条经济学理论，我想到了一个生活中的问题。每次吃自助餐的时候都有人说我“你吃的太少了，你不适合吃自助餐，你这样太亏了!" 而我的想法是“自助餐不过是多了一些选择而已，吃饱了就好了，不要吃到撑，既不健康也不舒服。“ 把这个问题放在经济学的角度来思考一下挺好玩的，我能想到的是oppotunity cost, incentive, marginal change这些概念，尽管我的解释还不够成熟，但是我学会了从另一个角度看问题，多了一个帮助我思考的工具。
我之前读过这本书但是很可惜没有读完，现在想重新开始读，我会在小密圈中用36天的时间读完这本书，每天有一个简短的心得笔记。有兴趣的话可以加入和我一起读，怎么加入呢？读一读公益英语学习社群，一起来玩？
回复关键字"414book"可以收到Principles of Economics 6th Edition的电子版。