Post: #1

http://www.spritzinc.com/

Post: #2

Mmm, if I understand it correctly Spritz displays just one word on the screen at a time. I guess you can set the pace slow/fast, but you inevitably get distracted and will then miss some words flashing by.

Would have to use it and see how it works in practice before passing judgement, but I think I'd prefer audio books, or an audio "engine", even, that vocalizes words, to this.

Post: #3

Nope I don't think so. I'd give it a try and even go faster than 500 w/min.

Post: #4

This kind of script has been available for years on other sites, having tried a few you can definitely hit some crazy wpm speeds using them.

The downside is that you stare so hard it leaves you with after-images floating about, and you're afraid to blink in case you miss something.


It's a lot more practical to learn how to speed-read standard text, these shortcut tools are designed for people who are too lazy to put serious time into learning how to read.

You need to read enough to understand the flow of the language, then you can scan whole paragraphs and absorb them.

"I'd hate myself if I had that kind of attitude, if I were that weak." - Arnold

Post: #5

Worst idea ever? Why is that?

Another benefit is that you can read whole books on your phone while traveling without the text being very small.

I wonder if it would also prevent people from getting car sick while reading in the car? I can't read in the car or I feel like shit.

Has anyone become proficient at speed reading? Do you comprehend and retain the information as well as someone who reads at a standard pace?

I would like to read quicker. Anyone point me in the right direction?

Thanks.

Post: #6

I didn't check the OP link so if any of this is being repeated I apologize.

I used a program at school a long time ago with a lit of success, but I don't remember the name of it. So that's essentially worthless information.

I used AceReader a few years ago with success. I didn't do it consistently enough to really see excellent results. It is something you really need to do daily. At the time I didn't have a laptop which would of made it much more convenient.

Basically what AceReader does, and the other program I used, is train you to 1) decrease time spent on each word 2) train your eyes to move faster and 3) train your peripheral vision to be able to read more than one word at the same time. All that may sound dumb, but I believe it works especially the reading more than one word at a time thing. There was a time when I was able to read while using two focal points per line (at one point I was almost able to read at one focal point per line) so basically I would look at the middle of the left half of the line and then the middle of the right half of the line. Boom. Done. Next line. And I was able to comprehend also as, and this can be a bit difficult to describe/understand, I wasn't reading the words aloud in my head. To a certain point, increasing reading speed increased comprehension for me for some reason. If you are reading some dense material, don't expect to be able to breeze through it though.

One good thing about AceReader, not an affiliate and I can't speak for any other program, is that you were able to input your own texts to practice with. As far as what formats I don't remember, but PDFs or words docs na probably others you were able to practice using their training programs.

Post: #7

Well - I think speed reading is a bad idea.

Reading should be a conversation between yourself and the book. Taking it slow is a good thing since often with a book the most interesting insights are the ones that occur to you as you read - as opposed to just what is in the text.

And focusing on speed - means you will have less chance of allowing the test to inspire a new thought by something you read.

Just my two cents...

Cardguy

PS This thread has some gifs of the app - so that you can experience it for yourself.

/thread-33773.html

Post: #8

Thanks for the link to the gifs. I dislike using only that style of training and would not use it personally.

I agree with you. Reading for explicit purpose of reading quickly is counterproductive ad defeats the purpose of reading. "Speed reading" is also sort of a general term. For some, 400wpm is speed reading while for others that is normal. I don't see myself ever reading 1000, 1500, 2000 wpm. I think that is unreasonable.

However, I am all for reading quicker and more productively. That being said, a novel will read quicker than, say, a biography which will read quicker than a book on the philosophy. And reading speed is variable. Just like driving across a country, drive faster through the boring parts and slow down when you get to the beautiful buildings and scenery. If there is a section that is important, read it. In fact, read it twice maybe.

I think that just like when you look at a word you don't look at individual letters, when people read they need not look at individual words. Take the above gifs. They show one word at a time. With practice and drills to work on peripheral vision, having two or even three words show up on screen at a slightly slower pace is very doable. Emphasis on "with practice". Instead of reading one word at a time being able to read two words at a time you will essentially double (not quite in reality, but maybe 50% quicker?) your reading speed. The trick is to be able to read the three or more words without relocating the eye. This helps to lower eye strain and/or fatigue I think. Less moving equals less work.

I think the fluidity and grasping more of the picture quicker (in terms of text) aids in comprehension for me. I think of it as more like a conversation. You aren't always focusing on individual words when someone is talking. You can hear phrases and ideas without concentrating on individual words.

I would like to emphasize. I am a proponent on developing efficient reading as a skill, but I don't expect to sit down and read "The Intelligent Investor" in a couple hours and be an expert on investing. This isn't "Good Will Hunting" one page every three seconds and remember everything sort of thing. Besides, for your everyday person looking to read more, who wouldn't want to read 50wpm quicker.

BTW, a bit late, congrats on 3,000+ posts. I have gotten more than a few book recommendations from you so keep up the good work.

Post: #9

Thanks for the kind words. Although I am not sure how much of an achievement having 3000 posts is? I am guessing the cooler and more interesting guys are too busy to post as often as me! :-)

As for the speed-reading app. It could be useful if your job involved reading through alot of documents (such as general briefings) which you want to skim through.

Personally - if I am skimming a document - I prefer to concentrate on the begining and end. And then just slow down for any bits which seem interesting.

As for books. There are three types of book. Those that are worth reading every word of. Others that are worth throwing away. And others - where skipping a few chapters is no big deal. I only read non-fiction, and I find myself doing this from time to time. Today I read through a popular economics book and skipped the chapters that covered material I was familiar with. And yesterday I finished a big political memoir - but skipped a long chapter covering the situation in Iran (since I wasn't in the mood for learning about that).

Most books - are good enough and interesting enough that I will read every word. But I often find myself in situations where I would rather skip through a book and 'kill' it - as opposed to getting hung up on it which would it would stop me from getting on to other (better) books.

In that sense I often approach books like a magazine. And am not afraid to skip bits which don't seem of interest. There is a skill to it (I may speed read the bits I am skipping - in case there is something buried in there that might be of interest). So - speed reading is a skill of some use for short periods of time when you are considering skipping a chapter or two.

Post: #10

Speeding reading is one of the more underrated skills you can acquire and should be mandatory in schools. It saved my life through college. My mother forced me when I was in the 6th grade to attend a private speed reading class. She had to literally drag me there because I did not want to "waste" my free time---playing stupid video games and watching TV. Being able to read at a much faster rate increases your productivity. You also quickly realize that most books compose a few main core ideas and a lot of unnecessary filler.

During college I structured all of my classes to be on Tuesdays and Thursdays--so on Wednesdays I routinely had to read 300-450 pages. Would not have been able to do it without speed reading. The only kinds of material I could not speed read through were philosophy books like Kant, Heidegger, etc.

Post: #11

I love philosophy.

Just curious where you ended up with philosophy. Did you end up really digging a particular philosopher? Or did you lose interest (this seems to happen with alot of people who do philosophy at college)?

Post: #12

I tried out a beta version of Spritz a while back and wasn't allowed to speak publicly about it.

It's legit. I've always been a very fast reader, but this took it to a new level. In fact, and this is crazy, I found myself comprehending more. I was forced to be locked into the words because of the pace they came at. My brain had no opportunity to drift off and day dream. I did come away considerably more fatigued after reading however.

I'm not allowed to discuss much more than that, such as what interface I used it on, or even what I read on it.

Post: #13

Reading is the most pleasurable thing I do (pretty much). Turning reading into a chore is a bit of a hard sell for me.

Post: #14

(03-06-2014 05:33 PM)cardguy Wrote:  Reading is the most pleasurable thing I do (pretty much). Turning reading into a chore is a bit of a hard sell for me.

I agree with you that reading too quickly may prevent new ideas forming whilst reading. When I read, it isn't just to finish the book, or even to cover all the material- its often for the thoughts and insights I get whilst reading. Being forced to keep up with the machine would probably prevent that.

Post: #15

(03-06-2014 10:39 AM)RioNomad Wrote:  Worst idea ever? Why is that?

Another benefit is that you can read whole books on your phone while traveling without the text being very small.

I wonder if it would also prevent people from getting car sick while reading in the car? I can't read in the car or I feel like shit.

Has anyone become proficient at speed reading? Do you comprehend and retain the information as well as someone who reads at a standard pace?

I would like to read quicker. Anyone point me in the right direction?

Thanks.

The easiest way to learn how to read faster is to put three dots on an index card. One in the center, and one on each side. Then, when you are reading a book, move the card down line by line. Move your eyes from dot to dot. In this way you aren't slowly scanning across the page, you are taking in chunks of words, some with your peripheral vision.

As you do this faster and faster, you will eventually begin to remove what speed readers call "sub-vocalization." This is when you say the words you are reading in your mind's imagination. It's unnecessary unless you need to evaluate what you are reading, while you are reading it.

Obviously, more technical works require slower reading, but if you need to scan a 40 page document in 2 minutes, retain as much information as possible and then try and talk intelligently about it... it's pretty much invaluable as a skill.

I'm sure there are more in depth resources out there, but this is what I did and it can be learned with not too much effort.

Post: #16

Another thing about speed reading.

It feeds the myth that reading lots and lots of books will make you smart.

It isn't true. I read about 100 books a year - but the main benefit is pleasure.

You have to read a book twice before it really starts to stick into your longer term memory.

The analogy I give is this. Think of the thousands of emails you have written and read in your life. Or the hundreds of posts on this forum you have read. How much of that information can you recall? About 0.000000000000001%

The only way to boost the retention of information into a useful amount is by re-reading stuff.

So - if you actually care about learning stuff - I would advocating re-reading books - as opposed to speed reading a book once. But I wouldn't even advocate that - since the only books that are worth re-reading are technical books and philosophy books. Most books are designed to be interesting and pleasurable. But there is very little in there which will suddenly make you a much smarter person.

Still - I suppose these skills have some use. But only in a work situation where you want to quickly read up on a situation before discussing it with somebody. The information will be lost within an hour - but if you are onto a different meeting by then, it might not matter that much.

Post: #17