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If you are not 'slow', I don't think it is necessary. Of course, if you are working in a job which requires you to scan many things, of course go for it. I do

If you are not 'slow', I don't think it is necessary. Of course, if you are working in a job which requires you to scan many things, of course go for it. I do it unintentionally. Probably because of how I learned to read. I also have very fast recognition of stuff so probably that is the reason. I am of course faster when I am reading novels and stuff, but I must say that 'visualization part' which you have while reading fiction is gone with me. I just scan and understand, and try to learn what happens next instead of creating a scene of that page etc.

0xf8 9y ago
That "visualization part" is unfortunately, for the majority of people, how the human brain creates meaningful neural pathways and absorbs information. Not necessarily in a "visual" as in involving images way, but some form of connection to something you already know whether explicitly visual or abstract is how the brain creates memories. In my experience speed reading, it dramatically increased the rate of information intake, especially if using software to sequentially display text (like Spritz), and eventually with practice it was possible to retain comprehension as well, but never was I able to create lasting stores of that information. I could get through a non technical book in a few hours reading consistently around 700 wpm (taking breaks to rest the eyes) and could understand what I was reading in the moment, but can't say I remember much of anything from those books. They literally feel like a "blur" in my mind. Perhaps if the goal of reading is to identify specific information anywhere within a text quickly and move on to something else or switch to reading more mindfully at that point, then it may make sense. Personally, I read exclusively to obtain information and retain it. If I don't care to retain the information, I won't read it in the first place. So not being able to retain anything meaningful save for the few instances I slowed down ended up defeating the purpose for me. Lastly IIRC, I once read about the neuroscience of reading with regards to speed reading and the gist of the article ended up saying that it takes discrete periods literally measurable in observable time in order to form memories, and speed reading feeds in information continuously at a rate that does not allow for this crystallization to occur--because the actual reading is like a blocking operation neurologically to memory formation. When we read normally, we pause and reflect in various abstract ways on the information which creates connections and hence memories.
muzani 9y ago
The better speed reading techniques actually teach you to visualize the words first. So if trained right, you should be able to actually visualize a book much better. Without learning the visualize first, people usually end up drinking from a firehose - they don't have the capacity to absorb the information. The human brain is designed to comprehend images, not words. So to go high speed, you have to make a habit of visualizing the words.

0xf8 9y ago

That "visualization part" is unfortunately, for the majority of people, how the human brain creates meaningful neural pathways and absorbs information. Not necessarily in a "visual" as in involving images way, but some form of connection to something you already know whether explicitly visual or abstract is how the brain creates memories. In my experience speed reading, it dramatically increased the rate of information intake, especially if using software to sequentially display text (like Spritz), and eventually with practice it was possible to retain comprehension as well, but never was I able to create lasting stores of that information. I could get through a non technical book in a few hours reading consistently around 700 wpm (taking breaks to rest the eyes) and could understand what I was reading in the moment, but can't say I remember much of anything from those books. They literally feel like a "blur" in my mind. Perhaps if the goal of reading is to identify specific information anywhere within a text quickly and move on to something else or switch to reading more mindfully at that point, then it may make sense. Personally, I read exclusively to obtain information and retain it. If I don't care to retain the information, I won't read it in the first place. So not being able to retain anything meaningful save for the few instances I slowed down ended up defeating the purpose for me. Lastly IIRC, I once read about the neuroscience of reading with regards to speed reading and the gist of the article ended up saying that it takes discrete periods literally measurable in observable time in order to form memories, and speed reading feeds in information continuously at a rate that does not allow for this crystallization to occur--because the actual reading is like a blocking operation neurologically to memory formation. When we read normally, we pause and reflect in various abstract ways on the information which creates connections and hence memories.

muzani 9y ago

The better speed reading techniques actually teach you to visualize the words first. So if trained right, you should be able to actually visualize a book much better. Without learning the visualize first, people usually end up drinking from a firehose - they don't have the capacity to absorb the information. The human brain is designed to comprehend images, not words. So to go high speed, you have to make a habit of visualizing the words.