Speeding up your reading

[bigandclever]

A clever way of speeding up reading for the masses?

blurb nicked from a webpage said:

what Spritz does differently (and brilliantly) is manipulate the format of the words to more appropriately line them up with the eye’s natural motion of reading. The “Optimal Recognition Point” (ORP) is slightly left of the center of each word, and is the precise point at which our brain deciphers each jumble of letters. The unique aspect of Spritz is that it identifies the ORP of each word, makes that letter red and presents all of the ORPs at the same space on the screen. In this way, our eyes don’t move at all as we see the words, and we can therefore process information instantaneously rather than spend time decoding each word.

For example ...

250 words per minute



500 words per minute



I'm definitely missing some of the words at 500 per minute, my brain can't cope But, ignoring the pleasure of reading for reading's sake, this seems a clever way of getting through more information, more quickly and (supposedly) without affecting comprehension.

http://www.spritzinc.com/the-science/

[RizzoTheRat]

I saw this last night, and struggled at 500 wpm. Then I reread the slower ones and went back to the 500 wpm and found it a bit easier. Reading it now it seem easier still so I guess you could get used to it.

I'm not 100% sure of the use though, I tend read either novels for enjoyment, or technical stuff for work. I can't see the point of reading a novel any faster as I'll just need to find a new one when I finish, and for technical stuff I often need to think about it rather than just absorb the words.

[talksthetorque]

Down to 125wpm as I had to read it four times to identify that a few words are given in the wrong order near the end and the word 'time' seems to be missing.

[singlecoil]

RizzoTheRat said:

I saw this last night, and struggled at 500 wpm. Then I reread the slower ones and went back to the 500 wpm and found it a bit easier. Reading it now it seem easier still so I guess you could get used to it.

I'm not 100% sure of the use though, I tend read either novels for enjoyment, or technical stuff for work. I can't see the point of reading a novel any faster as I'll just need to find a new one when I finish, and for technical stuff I often need to think about it rather than just absorb the words.

This is very true. I find when reading technical stuff that I can very easily tune out, and read the words without comprehending them. I need to use tricks to make sure the meaning of the words goes in, such as carrying out the task being described (when using software, for instance) or making notes or, if it's my own book, highlighting key words and phrases.

[bigandclever]

talksthetorque said:

Down to 125wpm as I had to read it four times to identify that a few words are given in the wrong order near the end and the word 'time' seems to be missing.

I've been sad enough to use an app to check that there were words missed out and it wasn't just me missing them. There were a few omissions ... my suggested missing words in []

with only [a] small [amount] of spritzing
the [time] to [give] it [a] try
and [telling] everyone that

That'd speed things up, can't imagine it helps comprehension though.

[Impasse]

It's no good for me. I can't run my finger along the bottom of the words as I sound them out.

[Hoofy]

Have I understood this right? It's of no use to me if I pick up a real book?

And to read something, if I'm short on time, I'd have to pass it through some kind of software?

If I'm short on time, I'll just get my computer to read to me whilst I'm doing something else, then!

[blindswelledrat]

Hoofy said:

Have I understood this right? It's of no use to me if I pick up a real book?

And to read something, if I'm short on time, I'd have to pass it through some kind of software?

If I'm short on time, I'll just get my computer to read to me whilst I'm doing something else, then!

Does seem to be the case. At first I thought it taught you to read quicker but instead it doesn't. Just means you don't have to move your eyes so you can process it quicker. What a completely pointless load of bks.

[talksthetorque]

If you use it for erotic novels will it give you premature ejaculation?

[Hoofy]

blindswelledrat said:

What a completely pointless load of bks.

I was attempting to remain polite.

[Hoofy]

Impasse said:

It's no good for me. I can't run my finger along the bottom of the words as I sound them out.

Just hold your finger under the word. It runs the words along the top of your finger. Magic!

[Cotty]

How do you scroll back if you want to re-read the previous line.

[Art0ir]

Idea needs some work, the concept is awesome though.

[GetCarter]

500 seems piss easy here. Got it first time. Maybe it's my internet connection

ETA... two others here just got it straight up... what's the problem folks?

Maybe being old sts, we've just read so much more than you young people, so word shapes just hit the spot. I don't think I'd have a problem at 750+ ... 500 is easy peezy

Edited by GetCarter on Friday 7th March 14:17

[RobbieKB]

I'm not sure when I'd use this. When I read fiction I do it to relax, not sit there concentrating, eyes fixed and irises juddering like a sniper on cocaine. When I read academic texts, it's not something you can breeze over to get the gist of; it usually takes a few reads to grasp the argument. Perhaps this might be useful for news articles I guess.

Very interesting concept nonetheless.

[Bullett]

Interesting.

I have the opposite view. I have to read lots of technical documents searching for specific solutions and problems for projects I am on. Searching for key words often works but is not always possible. And skimming mean I miss stuff.
I would use this to read documents more fully in less time as context is often key. It would also stop me getting distracted if I'm not finding what I want.

[GTIR]

I thought this thread was about improving traffic flow in Reading town centre.

Am disappoint.

[Bullett]

GTIR said:

I thought this thread was about improving traffic flow in Reading town centre.

Am disappoint.

That is a problem beyond the ability of current knowledge.

[GetCarter]

Having lived in Reading, the only way of speeding any improvement is to get out.

[LordGrover]

Like it. After just a few minutes 'speeding up', 600 wpm is easy.
However, I found that after just a minutes my (tired) eyes were strained. I feel unable to even blink so ended up staring which isn't very nice.