0.2 The learning flow (use this for every chapter)

Reading about AI does not teach you AI. This five-step loop does. Every chapter in this guide is built to support it.

   +------------------------------------------------------------------+
   |                                                                  |
   |   1. READ        2. EXPLAIN      3. PRACTICE     4. CHECK        |
   |   (10-20 min)    (5 min)         (20-60 min)     (5 min)         |
   |                                                                  |
   |   Read the  -->  Close the  -->  Run the     --> Answer the      |
   |   chapter        book and        "Practice"     "Check yourself" |
   |   once,          say it out      code and       questions from   |
   |   slowly.        loud in your    change it.     memory.          |
   |                  own words.                                      |
   |                       |                              |           |
   |                       |  can't explain it?           | got one   |
   |                       +----> re-read that section     | wrong?    |
   |                                                       |           |
   |                       +-------------------------------+           |
   |                       v                                           |
   |   5. CONNECT: write ONE sentence in your notes:                   |
   |      "X exists because Y was a problem, and it works by Z."       |
   |                                                                  |
   +------------------------------------------------------------------+
                                   |
                                   v
                    every ~5 chapters: BUILD something
                    (the guide gives you a project)

Why each step matters

Read once, slowly. Do not re-read a paragraph three times. Push through; the next paragraph often answers your question.
Explain out loud. This is the single highest-value step. It is called the Feynman technique. If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it yet — and you will discover that in 5 minutes instead of 5 weeks.
Practice by changing code, not by copying it. Run the given code, then break it on purpose: change a number, delete a line, see what happens. This is how intuition forms.
Check yourself from memory — do not look back at the chapter first.
Connect — one sentence per chapter, in your own file. After 50 chapters you have a 50-line map of the whole field that you wrote.

The rules that keep you moving

Time-box confusion to 20 minutes. If a concept won't land, write down the exact question, mark the section with TODO, and move on. It will almost always make sense two chapters later. Come back then.
Do not skip the Practice sections. Reading Part 6 without running the attention code is how people "learn transformers" three times and still can't explain them.
Do not chase every link. The Further Reading is for later or for when you're stuck. Finish the chapter first.
One pass, then depth. Get through the whole guide once at a shallow level before going deep on any one part.
Keep a notes.md with: your one-sentence summaries, your TODO questions, and every error message you hit + how you fixed it.