Two of the objects to be gained by time spent in study are a thorough understanding of the subject matter and to so fix the thought in mind that it will be available for future use. It is well to realize that the scanning of the modern newspaper and careless or rapid reading causes many adults to forget what they read. We can so educate the physical eye that it can read an entire paragraph, or page while the brain is dormant and does not accept the impressions intended by the author. Often the physical action of turning the page awakens you to a realization of the fact that you have read the page but have absolutely no knowledge of its contents. Eye and Brain Must Work Together This habit of careless reading must be avoided and for successful study the child should be aided in forming the visualizing habit. "Thought Leads to Knowledge" We cannot gain knowledge merely by reading. The value of reading is in the thought that it stimulates in the mind. We exercise muscles to get strength. You must aid the child in exercising his mental muscles by thinking in order to get mental strength. It is not what he reads, but what he thinks concerning what he reads that becomes his, and contributes to his education. Reading which stimulates no thought is a waste of time. The disappointment felt in the lack of progress after time spent in study is not that we forget, but that we do not really "GET." This lack can be largely avoided in the child's training if you are willing to help in forming right habits. Visualization the Greatest Aid The principle of visualization, as discussed in the first book, will prove of the greatest aid, because it is the natural method of using the mind. To visualize the thought of the author will stimulate thinking, will increase the understanding of the subject matter, and at the same time make the strongest impression upon the brain and thus help him to remember. The Mississippi Captain An excellent illustration of the use and value of visualization in learning and remembering was given by an old captain of a Mississippi River steamer. "Do you know how I learned the river," he asked; "well I just lay in bed nights and made a picture in my mind of the river and the course I had to steer. Then I would go over the picture and see every detail of it and review it several times. I'd sail up and down that river several times each night, I'd see every landmark and every danger point on each trip. That's the way I learned it and I became a captain when I was younger than many men who had sailed the river longer than I had." The Artist's Picture When an artist seats himself before a new canvas he knows definitely what he is going to place upon it. He either has a model before him, or in his mind's eye sees a beautiful picture. He will give weeks, months, or even years of effort in order to place upon that canvas a picture equal in perfection and beauty to the one which he sees.