When you read, your brain does something far more interesting than just translating squiggles on a page into sounds. It builds a dynamic, 3D-like movie of the action, known to cognitive scientists as a situation model. Instead of just storing a list of words, you are constantly integrating what the author explicitly tells you with your own real-world common sense to track who is where, what they are holding, and why they are doing what they do.

To build an accurate situation model, you must master the art of inference: reading between the lines without letting your personal biases steer you off course. A true inference is a logical deduction built directly on a foundation of literal text clues combined with universal common sense. It is not a wild guess, nor is it your personal opinion about how the characters should act.