(Note this does not mean I don't read boring books - for this to work, one has to read about related topics too. So if I am trying to troubleshoot code which uses consistent hashing, I'd read some texts on it, plus related topics like DHTs and maybe weight assignment strategies)
I don’t dispute that you will come to remember something after needing it several times. But without a more or less comprehensive knowledge of the subject, how do you know if there’s something you haven’t thought you needed, that would have solved the day’s problem faster or better than what you came up with via targeted search? How do you know there aren’t several such things?
I also strongly suspect that having all or most of the facts about a subject immediately available to your mind gives you the ability to think about it in a way that you otherwise couldn’t. Perhaps I’ll post an update in a few months once I’ve thoroughly studied the text I’m working through. If I’m no more adept at analysis, I’ll admit it. I’ll report the negative result.
So I guess we’ll see if it works for at least one of us.