6 ms·

Reading linear texts on paper versus computer screen (2013) [pdf]

40 points by azizsaya 8y ago

adontz 8y ago
I was always printing out texts larger than a few pages. I felt like it's easier. Now I know it's not my personal trait.
bryanrasmussen 8y ago
what about on an eInk display.
gregmac 8y ago
Did this compare pdfs formatted for 8.5x11? Ironically, I cannot effectively read this on my phone because the formatting requires constant horizontal scrolling, though I find the same issue with reading documents like this (that don't wrap/reflow) on a regular computer screen. I guess I'm wondering does this study compare the medium (paper vs screen) or whether it's easier to read when formatting matches the medium (a document formatted for paper read on paper vs screen)?
- i_am_proteus 8y ago
  Even if it compares the format, formatting for the printed page (Letter and A4 being ubiquitous) is a solved problem, and formatting for digital devices is still a work in progress. I read a lot of academic papers and have yet to find a digital reader that beats a printer.
  - criddell 8y ago
    Have you ever tried any of Sony's digital paper devices? https://www.sony.com/electronics/digital-paper-notepads/dpt-series https://www.sony.com/electronics/digital-paper-notepads/dpt-...
    - snaky 8y ago
      Or Onyx Boox Max 2.
    - i_am_proteus 8y ago
      I have not! Reviews I read were mixed, availability seems spotty, and the cost has been a deterrent. I'm not ready to spend two years of paper/toner budget on not-quite-ready technology. I do intend to look at the next generation "big e-ink" tablets, whenever they hit the street.
      - criddell 8y ago
        There's another I read about on Boing Boing called Remarkable Paper Tablet and it looks pretty good.
- criddell 8y ago
  I didn't read the whole thing, but scrolling was definitely one of the problems they identified. Text on paper is fixed in position and that seems to help comprehension compared to text that scrolls electronically. It seems like if they had compared equivalently sized e-ink screen and paper, many of the differences would have gone away.
  - gregmac 8y ago
    When I read on a computer, my ideal width seems to be around 1/3 of a 1080p monitor. I usually have my browser window sized at about 2/3 of the screen width. On phone, most sites that have even a remotely responsive design are easy enough to read. I've also read at least a dozen Epub format books on my phone in the past few months, and frankly the convenience has got me back into reading in a way I haven't in years. My reader renders text as orange(ish)-on-black, and the big thing is I can read in bed at night without disturbing my partner (whereas even a small book light was disruptive). I've read mostly fiction but nothing like scientific papers, so I'm not sure how that translates, but definitely I find it's a good reading experience. It's also easy on the eyes on a way black-on-white PDFs cannot be. The key though with all of this is that the text is formatted appropriately for the medium. White backgrounds on backlight screens are just as hard to read as if you had white text on black paper. I don't doubt it's hard to isolate the effects of format and medium, but they're tied in a way that you can't ignore one and study the other, imho.
perfunctory 8y ago
Related book I found very interesting https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shallows_(book) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shallows_(book). I always felt this way but after reading this book I doubled down on reading on paper.
plg 8y ago
What was the effect size?
ivan_ah 8y ago
Direct link to proper PDF from sci-hub: https://sci-hub.tw/10.1016/j.ijer.2012.12.002 https://sci-hub.tw/10.1016/j.ijer.2012.12.002 My personal experience is very much aligned with the findings of this paper. I lose A LOT of IQ points when I'm reading on screen. It's the general medium difference, but also ability to concentrate, the context where I'll be reading, and general attitude. As others have mentioned eInk partially mitigates some of these differences, but not all. Paper has still a big role to play if we want effective learning.
raudaschl 8y ago
Also worth reading (though in Japanese) - Effect of Reading a Book on a Tablet Computer on Cerebral Blood Flow in the Prefrontal Cortex (2018) - https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jjh/73/1/73_39/_pdf/-char/en https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jjh/73/1/73_39/_pdf/-ch... Showed increased brain activity (increase in regional cerebral blood flow) was observed following reading a novel on a tablet computer compared with that after reading a printed book.
- ivan_ah 8y ago
  Specifically for pixels-disturbing-sleep problem there is this very useful app: https://justgetflux.com/ https://justgetflux.com/ But can we conclude from this that pixels disturb brain in general? Maybe the increased brain blood flow is good during waking hours?

40 points by azizsaya 8y ago

I was always printing out texts larger than a few pages. I felt like it's easier. Now I know it's not my personal trait.

bryanrasmussen 8y ago

what about on an eInk display.

gregmac 8y ago

Did this compare pdfs formatted for 8.5x11? Ironically, I cannot effectively read this on my phone because the formatting requires constant horizontal scrolling, though I find the same issue with reading documents like this (that don't wrap/reflow) on a regular computer screen. I guess I'm wondering does this study compare the medium (paper vs screen) or whether it's easier to read when formatting matches the medium (a document formatted for paper read on paper vs screen)?

i_am_proteus 8y ago
Even if it compares the format, formatting for the printed page (Letter and A4 being ubiquitous) is a solved problem, and formatting for digital devices is still a work in progress. I read a lot of academic papers and have yet to find a digital reader that beats a printer.
- criddell 8y ago
  Have you ever tried any of Sony's digital paper devices? https://www.sony.com/electronics/digital-paper-notepads/dpt-series https://www.sony.com/electronics/digital-paper-notepads/dpt-...
  - snaky 8y ago
    Or Onyx Boox Max 2.
  - i_am_proteus 8y ago
    I have not! Reviews I read were mixed, availability seems spotty, and the cost has been a deterrent. I'm not ready to spend two years of paper/toner budget on not-quite-ready technology. I do intend to look at the next generation "big e-ink" tablets, whenever they hit the street.
    - criddell 8y ago
      There's another I read about on Boing Boing called Remarkable Paper Tablet and it looks pretty good.
criddell 8y ago
I didn't read the whole thing, but scrolling was definitely one of the problems they identified. Text on paper is fixed in position and that seems to help comprehension compared to text that scrolls electronically. It seems like if they had compared equivalently sized e-ink screen and paper, many of the differences would have gone away.
- gregmac 8y ago
  When I read on a computer, my ideal width seems to be around 1/3 of a 1080p monitor. I usually have my browser window sized at about 2/3 of the screen width. On phone, most sites that have even a remotely responsive design are easy enough to read. I've also read at least a dozen Epub format books on my phone in the past few months, and frankly the convenience has got me back into reading in a way I haven't in years. My reader renders text as orange(ish)-on-black, and the big thing is I can read in bed at night without disturbing my partner (whereas even a small book light was disruptive). I've read mostly fiction but nothing like scientific papers, so I'm not sure how that translates, but definitely I find it's a good reading experience. It's also easy on the eyes on a way black-on-white PDFs cannot be. The key though with all of this is that the text is formatted appropriately for the medium. White backgrounds on backlight screens are just as hard to read as if you had white text on black paper. I don't doubt it's hard to isolate the effects of format and medium, but they're tied in a way that you can't ignore one and study the other, imho.

perfunctory 8y ago

Related book I found very interesting https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shallows_(book) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shallows_(book). I always felt this way but after reading this book I doubled down on reading on paper.

plg 8y ago

What was the effect size?

ivan_ah 8y ago

Direct link to proper PDF from sci-hub: https://sci-hub.tw/10.1016/j.ijer.2012.12.002 https://sci-hub.tw/10.1016/j.ijer.2012.12.002 My personal experience is very much aligned with the findings of this paper. I lose A LOT of IQ points when I'm reading on screen. It's the general medium difference, but also ability to concentrate, the context where I'll be reading, and general attitude. As others have mentioned eInk partially mitigates some of these differences, but not all. Paper has still a big role to play if we want effective learning.

raudaschl 8y ago

Also worth reading (though in Japanese) - Effect of Reading a Book on a Tablet Computer on Cerebral Blood Flow in the Prefrontal Cortex (2018) - https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jjh/73/1/73_39/_pdf/-char/en https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jjh/73/1/73_39/_pdf/-ch... Showed increased brain activity (increase in regional cerebral blood flow) was observed following reading a novel on a tablet computer compared with that after reading a printed book.

ivan_ah 8y ago
Specifically for pixels-disturbing-sleep problem there is this very useful app: https://justgetflux.com/ https://justgetflux.com/ But can we conclude from this that pixels disturb brain in general? Maybe the increased brain blood flow is good during waking hours?