Anyone have any experiences with sped reding?

I have rediscovered a long lost attraction to reading and I was wondering if these couses worked?

My sister can read a 350 page book in an hour or so. While I have my doubts, she foes put them away very fast.

Thoughts?

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Enough about me, how are you doing?

Speed reading can be valuable for those who read one word at a time.

The techniques involved in reading groups of words and, sometimes, entire sentences, will result in more speed.

However, there is a limit. Once you get over 500 words per minute, or so, there is a distinct possibility that you will lose the facts of what you are reading.

This has been shown to be true in several tests on people who read very fast. The do get the essence of the book/magazine/article, but, the details cannot be repeated accurately.

It all depends on what the material is. If you are reading for pleasure, the faster you can read, the more pleasurable it will be. Retaining the details of a novel is not all that important.

But, if you are reading non-fiction, such as a dossier on hydrocracking of oils, you are not going to read such an article at 1000 words per minute and retain much of it, IMHO.

There are some ways to train yourself to look at larger sections of the page and still comprehend all the content. You needn't focus on just one word at a time.
A friend of mine used the 'reading genius' course a few years ago. we made big fun of him...
I read so fast it's annoying. Whole Harry Potter series in less than a week. I just start to get attached and the stupid book is over!
k

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I speed read every time I open the 99% of the mail. Dosen't take a second to know the content; sometimes I know what it says without opening the envelope. Isn't that speed reading? However, I don't think I could enjoy a book as much if I didn't s l o w d o w n.
Mark

Woody Allen said it best. Something like, "I took a speedreading course. Read 'War and Peace' in two hours. It was about Russians."

My 2cents: don't bother to speed-read if you consider the details of what you're reading to be important. Techniques I've seen have involved trying to get the jist of sentences/paragraphs by only reading parts of each.

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1987 190e 2.3 - The donor car's up and running, only mods are Euros and a Sony headunit. My Dad's runabout now.

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Thanks. I guess I'll slow down.

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Enough about me, how are you doing?

Steven Wright said he looked the way he did because he was "a victim of a speed reading accident" so be careful trying to read too fast!

It would be interesting for you to read a book that your sister has read and then ask her questions about certain events in the book that you deem important and see if she thinks the same or even "remembers" the event. Then you might decide that the jist/gest is important to you or you may want to enjoy details more.

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Nello Tare

1982 300D (266,001 mi.) looking and running great

Previously owned:
1976 450 SLC
1983 300D
1976 300D
also
1982 Jaguar XJ6 (loved, but gone)

If you have to read lots of material in the daily course of your work, e.g., in email, news on the web, general web surfing, then you will naturally learn to speed-read. I've taken a speed-reading course when I was younger, but I don't know if I'm reading fast now because of, or inspite of, that course.

Similarly, I naturally learned to type fast in the course of using the computer at work. I can, for example, attribute some of my typing skills to my years of programming.

Regarding comprehension, I've found that my comprehension on a material I've just read is directly proportional to my interest in the topic at hand. For example, I can read quickly, comprehend and recall accurately minute details of an article about my favorite car.

I used to speed read at a horrendous rate. During high school, my summer job for the school included recalibrating the reading machines in the reading lab. I think I had 60 or 80 machines, a day each if there was no repairs.

When school started, the reading teacher heard I was consuming a book a day, or more, had me test. It was like 2k words a minute (over 3 on the machines) with 80 % comprehension.

Per my eye doctor that was one reason I was almost 50, with 30 years of computer printouts, screens and PCs before I needed glasses.

But I started reading technical manuals, and you can't speed read them, so I can still read quickly but nowhere what I could.

I don't really think you can learn that later in life, I was 15 / 16 when I learned.

AND if you are reading for enjoyment, take your time.

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KLK, MCSE

1990 500SL

I was always taught to respect my elders.
I don't have to respect too many people anymore.

The more you read on the same subject, the faster you read and the quicker you understand. It's because you build on, pass over or retain different parts of the information depending on your current background knowledge.

Each day I read 3 newspapers, a magazine or sometimes two, 5-7 forums with 20 new messages each, 50-100 emails... all in an hour and a half. Much of it is dual multi-tasking over an extended lunch for efficiency.

I don't even consider it speed reading, but my wife and others are constantly amazed at my comprehension. For me it's no great deal... just a matter of getting it all in as quickly as possible. I don't even do the 'center' scan or any other form of speed reading assistance - I just get the eyeballs out and work through it.

I think you're born with a certain level of comprehension - it's not learned... a bit like musical and maths genuises on another level.

Ken Silver
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