Speed Readers

[Shwaleti]

So I have been learning about speed reading in order to try and increase my speed. I was wondering if there is anyone here who can read really fast? And what techniques do you use to do it? Do you use your peripheral vision a lot and how hard is it to exercise it?

[Blackichan]

When I was a kid I used to do it quite a bit in class and when I read books. I just sort of scanned through the sentences. Now I try not to because I find I don't really enjoy the read as much if I'm just ripping through it.

[nerve]

I read about 5 words per minute. sorry :(

[tommo]

IMO it's a load of shit. Unless you're reading Spot the dog, you aren't going to be able to process the story line with the speed some people claim to be able to read at. If you can comprehend a story line while reading a page every 5 seconds, you need a better book.

[Shwaleti]

I think its possible to be able to read quickly and be bale to understand it. I mean its very easy to test people make them read a set amount of words and then test them on it. but to Blackichan i was thinking more actually reading not just scanning i think there is a difference.

[The Invisible Man]

I do it without thinking, and end up missing the best parts of the book. (Record is 100 pages of The Talisman an hour) Don't take it up, it sucks.

[mindwanderer]

I mentioned in another thread how in my private school by grade 5ish everybody in my class had grade 12+ reading comprehension. Of course comprehending what you're reading doesn't mean you read it fast... but we read pretty fast at my school. I go through a book under 1000 pages in a 'few' days... depending how busy I am. I've been reading since I was really young, so unfortunately I don't even know what makes me read fast. I mentioned in the other thread how in grade 6 we read Bram Stoker's Dracula and The Three Musketeers. So, unfortunately I can't really help you... I'm a good reader by practice I guess. "The Rainman" however could read several pages per MINUTE and retain almost 100% of the info on the page... for the rest of his life! Most people read a single page in a minute or so, and retain about half of what happened for a few hours, maybe days, afterwards. Autism can be a blessing in disguise for some... or not... whatever.

[mindwanderer]

IMO it's a load of shit. Unless you're reading Spot the dog, you aren't going to be able to process the story line with the speed some people claim to be able to read at. If you can comprehend a story line while reading a page every 5 seconds, you need a better book. LOL! Calm down guy... first of all, it IS possible... seeing as people do it. I don't see why it should matter to you much at all how fast people read, and what they can retain. Were you made fun of for being a weak reader in middle school or something? It's unnatural to be so passionate about something so trivial... and to be completely wrong. It happens, deal with it. Just because you can't or people you know can't doesn't mean it doesn't happen. I have a friend with near photographics memory, who can look at anything, picture, paragraph, or whatever, and recall it nearly perfectly... for days afterwards as well. There are speed readers... and they're amazing. Take a pill that chills.

[guitarboy]

I can read 50 pages of a good book (i.e the hobbit) WHILE COMPREHENDING EVERYTHING in about and hour. i think I go about 400 wpm. I used one of those programs that helps you read faster in elementary school, but i don't think they're that reliable. same as typing, i don't type with all my fingers but i go about 50-70 wpm, while most people that type with four fingers go 30-40 I'm just special though. oh, and when i'm inebriated, like right now, it's a bit more difficult,

[khh]

I read pretty fast, but I tend to (subconsciously) guess on words and sentences, not really reading all they say. It works pretty good most of the time, though of course you sometimes have to read back a bit because you guessed wrong and suddenly nothing makes sense :p The only way I know to get better at reading is to just read more, though. Practise makes perfect, they say.

[Siиdяed]

Depends on the book in terms of style and so on. Some writers invite fast-paced reading (most contemporary American authors like Palahnuik or King) whilst at the other end some force a slow and precise reading (Eliot, say). I wouldn't bother with learning techniques for speed reading, regardless of how effective they are. Just sit back and enjoy the book.

[Marvo]

IMO it's a load of shit. Unless you're reading Spot the dog, you aren't going to be able to process the story line with the speed some people claim to be able to read at. If you can comprehend a story line while reading a page every 5 seconds, you need a better book. A friend of mine can read at a rate of 700 words per minute or so, and he can explain what he read afterwards, in detail. It certainly is possible.

[Shaelyn]

From what I know the point is to be able spot out key words... So, practice only looking for words that look or seem important in everyday life. Make a habit of skipping over words such as the, and, or, like, ect, in adds, magazines, posters... I am just guessing. I have only had brief discussions over the topic but it seems logical to practice thata way. =) @tommo: It is possible. Don't knock it until you have done the research and/or actually know what you are talking about.

[lucidreamsavy]

I'm a fairly slow reader . When we'd have to read a short story in class, no matter how hard I'd try, I'd be one of the last to finish . LUCKILY I don't have to do that much anymore. I can read just fine...but not fast .

[Odd_Nonposter]

I have a reasonably high reading comprehension level, or at least that was how I was tested in fifth grade. Their scale had me at 1200-1440 on a "lexile" scale, equivalent to 12+ grade level and higher than some teachers. I was reading Michael Crichton and Arthur C. Clarke while some of my peers were struggling with some picture books at that time. Nevertheless, I do not consider myself a fast reader. I'm closer to average. But when I try to scan or skim, I miss a lot of the pleasure I get from reading. Not only that, I absorb elements of authors' writing styles more effectively when I read more slowly, which I consider a valuable byproduct of reading. I'm not blaming anybody that tries to read quickly; there are certainly advantages to being able to finish huge tomes in a short amount of time. In some drier material, even I can't help but skim. But for me, I lose so much when I do.

[Replicon]

IMO it's a load of shit. Unless you're reading Spot the dog, you aren't going to be able to process the story line with the speed some people claim to be able to read at. If you can comprehend a story line while reading a page every 5 seconds, you need a better book. Why is this so hard to believe? I mean, when you start reading a new language, you have to look at every word carefully before moving on to the next. Then, you eventually can immediately identify words without having to look at the internals... you just look at the word. And then, you start to immediately identify sentence fragments... and that's where most people stop. I don't see any reason why you couldn't evolve it even more.

[mindwanderer]

I have a reasonably high reading comprehension level, or at least that was how I was tested in fifth grade. Their scale had me at 1200-1440 on a "lexile" scale, equivalent to 12+ grade level and higher than some teachers. I was reading Michael Crichton and Arthur C. Clarke while some of my peers were struggling with some picture books at that time. Nevertheless, I do not consider myself a fast reader. I'm closer to average. But when I try to scan or skim, I miss a lot of the pleasure I get from reading. Not only that, I absorb elements of authors' writing styles more effectively when I read more slowly, which I consider a valuable byproduct of reading. I'm not blaming anybody that tries to read quickly; there are certainly advantages to being able to finish huge tomes in a short amount of time. In some drier material, even I can't help but skim. But for me, I lose so much when I do. Me too! Though I came from private school, so 99% of the kids in that school were reading that level by grade 5. You're lucky enough to be born with it (I assume) but my mum had to pay an arm and a leg for me to get there!

[tommo]

LOL! Calm down guy... first of all, it IS possible... seeing as people do it. I don't see why it should matter to you much at all how fast people read, and what they can retain. Were you made fun of for being a weak reader in middle school or something? It's unnatural to be so passionate about something so trivial... and to be completely wrong. It happens, deal with it. Just because you can't or people you know can't doesn't mean it doesn't happen. I have a friend with near photographics memory, who can look at anything, picture, paragraph, or whatever, and recall it nearly perfectly... for days afterwards as well. There are speed readers... and they're amazing. Take a pill that chills. I am calm. You're talking about people with photographic memories/idiot savants. Barely anybody has a photographic memory or is an idiot savant. Thus I'm assuming the OP doesn't and isn't, so there's no point mentioning an exception to a rule. As most people have pointed out here, if they speed read, they miss half the fun of reading a good book. Which is what I was saying. From what I know the point is to be able spot out key words... So, practice only looking for words that look or seem important in everyday life. Make a habit of skipping over words such as the, and, or, like, ect, in adds, magazines, posters... I am just guessing. I have only had brief discussions over the topic but it seems logical to practice thata way. =) @tommo: It is possible. Don't knock it until you have done the research and/or actually know what you are talking about. I've done enough research. What you say makes sense. But ads, posters etc. already generally keep these words out, because it allows you to read them faster. However that is an ad, a good book, like I'm reading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, I have to THINK about the things the dude is saying. So speed reading isn't going to help at all. It's not a matter of reading the words quickly, you'd also have to learn how to think incredibly quickly too. And I doubt many people could think about philosophical things for example at the speed of 700 wpm. Some people think really really fast, they could maybe do it. Other people just naturally think slowly and they couldn't. I don't know if you can train that up though, but I don't think it's even worth it. Everything doesn't have to be about speed. Just read the book and enjoy it, you've got time....

[Bizarre Jester]

the more you read, you will naturally beable to read faster. Speed reading isn't always a good thing. It becomes easier to forget details. You may also find that it causes a lot of eyestrain (I did). It's good to look away and/or take a break if you get eye strain.

[speakyourdreams]

I think it's important to understand that there's an old habit most of us have when we read--an internal voice. The philosophy behind speed reading states that most people read with an internal voice, which slows them down, and that the practice of speed reading includes "deprogramming" this voice and letting the visual cortext take in all the text. Speed reading books also encourage the reader to scan the text with a hand to guide the eye through sentences, and later chunks, of text. Moreover, many of the nonfiction books we read are filled with examples reinforcing what we already read; speed reading books encourage one to look for the meat of the text and to scan through the secondary stuff that merely backs up the main point. That said, especially the last point of prioritizing what one focuses on during reading, Tommo made a good point in an earlier post. He wrote that while reading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance he has to reflect on the philosophy of the text, and that he can't speed read it. I agree. I'm going to read a book like "The Seven Ways to Success" (I'm just making that up but I think there might be a title like that out there) faster than Nietzsche's The Genealogy of Morals, simply because the former is going to have a clear, bullet-like format and the latter is a philosophical journey requiring analysis of translation and ideas that can't be summarized so easily. We already speed read to some degree, and know when to turn it off or on. I think that the techniques of speed reading simply build upon what we already do. However, getting rid of the internal voice might suit us all well. It's not true that slow reading equals stronger memory of the material. In fact, faster, visual reading corresponds with greater retention.--So states my speed reading book, which cites psychological studies to back this point. --Tim

[Abra]

I can read incredibly obscenely fast sometimes. But most of the time I'm pretty slow. It's weird, right. I know. I'm trying to work out a pattern

[tommo]

I think it's important to understand that there's an old habit most of us have when we read--an internal voice. The philosophy behind speed reading states that most people read with an internal voice, which slows them down, and that the practice of speed reading includes "deprogramming" this voice and letting the visual cortext .... Hm that's a good point. I read how this guy just learned to stop his internal voice by practicing for like a few seconds and then just slowly building up the time he wouldn't use it until it was gone. Suppose you could use the same thing except while reading. IT definitely does slow your thinking down. If you analyse it, you realise that all you're doing is mentally verbalising everything you've already thought about. We for some reason think it makes us remember things more but it doesn't. Alternatively you can go out of society and any human contact for a few weeks where you won't talk, until it's gone.

[Shaelyn]

Hm that's a good point. I read how this guy just learned to stop his internal voice by practicing for like a few seconds and then just slowly building up the time he wouldn't use it until it was gone. Suppose you could use the same thing except while reading. IT definitely does slow your thinking down. If you analyse it, you realise that all you're doing is mentally verbalising everything you've already thought about. We for some reason think it makes us remember things more but it doesn't. Alternatively you can go out of society and any human contact for a few weeks where you won't talk, until it's gone. I have attempted to stop the internal voice but it tends to speak on its own. lOl. It makes since but it is really hard to actually do. Its one of those easier said than done things. I move my tongue to form the words when I read as well which does make it a lot slower but it seems easier to process.

[tommo]

I have attempted to stop the internal voice but it tends to speak on its own. lOl. It makes since but it is really hard to actually do. Its one of those easier said than done things. I move my tongue to form the words when I read as well which does make it a lot slower but it seems easier to process. It's really not that hard. And trust me it's not easier to process while using it. Not at all. You just think it is because you've been doing it for so long. I sometimes do the same thing, have to move my tongue for words with like 't' or 'd' etc. in it. If you meditate, it becomes easier to stop this internal voice. Not that I've stopped it completely, but I can if I stop focusing on it. Eventually if you do that enough it will stop altogether. Just training basically.

[Amoeba]

I read very slowly, I find if I read any faster than about 0.5 words a second it just goes in one eye (ear?) and out the other. I can't process it until I slow right down. I also read a lot of sentences twice because I didn't process it properly the first time.