I actually found out that reading slower was way more efficient in university. Reading fast leads to misunderstandings. Good authors pick their words precisely and by skimming through sentences you won't grasp what they're actually saying. And if you're not picking up what the author is saying you'll lack understanding. Same goes for fiction, you are supposed to experience the story, imagining the pictures, maybe stop and think about a sentence or a point being made. You can't do any of that when speed reading, and if you can't do that, there's no point of reading
I think there is one advantage that speed reading can have, that is to keep reading when you otherwise would be so bored that you get distracted in your thoughts. But that is really the only thing it did for me. I learnt speed reading and always thought I did it the wrong way because I felt my comprehension was lacking. Now I know it wasn't me, so thank you for this video.
@@andreyzhuchkov1882 I looked up techniques for speed reading in different places on the internet and implemented them. I cannot remember which ones, it has been some time ago. But it worked for me to remove the inner voice when reading and to not backtrack. For training I used a novel that I had already read. I followed my finger to train the not backtracking thing. But I don't use the finger or any physical aid anymore, it is too cumbersome. Usually I just look at the start of the line and the end of the line and that is enough to understand the sentence, given that the line is not too wide. My speed is not astronomical but way faster than before. But then, it is really the beating boredome aspect that I find the most useful, not necessarily the speed itself. The brain does not wander around if you keep it busy enough. For me it does not work for technical books or anything I want to learn thoroughly. I also should mention that I mostly read in English which is not my mother tongue, that makes it harder too. So I can only really use it for more simpler materials or news articles. Many novels have too many words I do not know yet and speed reading doesn't go well with that.
@@andreyzhuchkov1882 not sure if it will work for you but i just glide my eyes across the text line and understand the text. (i only use this for fictional books, so i dont know if it will work on school books)
honestly as someone who reads pretty quickly naturally i think the number one thing "speed readers" don't tell you is the way fast readers became fast readers was by spending a really long time reading a bunch of stuff. not by learning speed reading techniques and then applying them. i always read stuff in class like 3x faster than my peers and then i'm able to engage in discussion about said stuff without issue but i got this way because i just like reading things so i read all the time and it's basically my number one hobby and when you spend most of your time doing something you get good at it. like it's literally that simple.
I remember the time I bought and read a small book about speed reading. It was in Spanish (my native tongue) and it was clearly written by someone who was a cultured reader because of the references to books and texts that they chose throughout the book. In the introduction, there was a reference to a study that discovered birds see during the fixation that occurs between eye movements, which also happens to humans. The success of this type of thing lies in the ability to sell pseudoscience as an actual technique (there is a popular "guru" on UA-cam that comes to mind "quick";-), and how they are able to pass off half-truths to convey a completely false conclusion. When I tried to read a novel using this technique, it was laughable. The simplest point to raise with these types of people is their complete disregard for the fact that different texts present different types of difficulty, making it almost impossible to measure "speed" in any meaningful way.
You're not supposed to be reading novels with this technique, lol every time I've seen it they tell you it's specifically for non-fiction reading. Not saying the technique doesn't have downsides which is what I'm here to learn but you at the very least seem to have used it wrong right from the start.
@@Queue-NextUp That's absolutely wrong. In fact, when they "test" people to show this technique they pick fiction specifically. I've seen videos of people speed reading Harry Potter or some sort of crap like that (because it's way easier to understand and to respond questions about it). If they made the distinction between fiction and non fiction, they would be implicitly accepting that speed and understanding depends heavily on the content. Besides, if I can't use it to read what I like, then what's the point?
@@Jate0000 fiction books are literally meant to be imagined almost like a movie in your head, not rushed through. Otherwise, why are you even reading it? On the other hand non fiction books meant to give you SPECIFIC INFORMATION can be skimmed/speed read more easily because much of the words are not important and they're also more straight forward as they don't need to be interesting to keep readers, they just need to be informative. You can just aim to digest the important parts of a biology book, but everything is important in fiction because even the lines between the lines go towards setting the tone and keeping a reader engaged. Speed reading fiction is completely pointless, not to mention harder to do than nonfiction and a perfect example of "just because you can doesn't mean you should. "...
@@Queue-NextUp Ironically, you missed my point completely. What an idea of non fiction! I don't know what books of fiction you read by I don't think of them as "movies in your head".
@@Jate0000 they're not movies in your head genius but they are meant to be imagined and mentally stimulating. Anybody who doesn't picture what they're reading when reading a fiction book must be an idiot lol why even read fiction if you can't picture what you're reading?
I think that speed reading can be useful in certain situations. Sometimes, you're not reading to comprehend or learn, but to quickly review, such as with spec scritp reading. When you have so many scripts to get through in a day, you kinda need to get through them fast, and them being relatively short and quick reads I think it helps to speed read, stopping to slow down on a 2nd read if the work sticks out to you or when it's worth keeping rather than passing on. But nice to see info showing it's not as useful for learning and comprehension
From my studying on the subject, the idea is largely to apply it to nonfiction specifically like a stick shift in a car. It's there to help hone in on what you need to pay attention as much of teaching is adding snippets of new knowledge on top of a built foundation of understanding.
I feel like speed reading should never be promoted when learning second language. Understanding the sentence down to the vocabulary and grammar is so important, and I think subvocalizing also has its benefit.
I've seen exactly the opposite advice to your second point, some advice that we should not try to completely understand the vocabulary and grammar when learning a second language, that comes naturally with Immersion apparently.
@@theblinkingbrownie4654 To me, the most effective immersion is fun, comprehensive to a large degree, and feels as if you are living life in that target language. I agree, understanding the complete mechanics of a language isn't really practical to be fluent and is neither particularly fun for that matter, however if you want to precisely understand and dissect the meaning of a sentence there is no better time to do so than when you are analyzing text through reading. The words don't go anywhere, whereas if you are watching a tv show without subtitles or reading without ever asking questions, pretty much purely to reach word count, a lot flies over your head and therefore you wouldn't be able to think critically about what you are studying. I prefer to take my time reading in my target language and learn words and grammar that way, then I try to practice my listening through more immersive media, which is like a fun past time cause you can't be intensely studying all the time am I right? Hope that clarifies my thoughts on the topic of why I find thorough and careful reading to be important for language learning :)
Enjoyed the video. It improved my understanding of reading in general, and helped me to feel better about my reading speed and comprehension. I noticed there are some unpleasantly sharp “pops” in the video's audio. One of the worst is at 5:27. There are a few more before and after this; here are all that I've found, including the example previously mentioned: 3:00, 3:55, 5:07, 5:19, 5:275:32, 6:21. UA-cam, I believe, has some rudimentary built-in editing tools for uploaded videos. While I appreciate this video's been out for a while, it would considerably improve the listening experience if these pops could be removed or at least ameliorated, perhaps by momentarily reducing the volume at points they occur. Thank you.
"Such an insightful and honest video! Thank you for sharing the information about speed reading in such a clear and logical manner. It has helped me understand better why many speed reading techniques fail and why slow, comprehensive reading is more important. I will continue to practice careful reading to ensure better comprehension. Thank you so much!"
This gentleman hit the nail on the head. We want effective reading and efficient reading. However, one must accede for the former first; without value - effectiveness - efficiency means nothing. Think of a guy painting a wall. He paints the wall with less than a gallon of paint but there are alot of streak lines and unevenness in the paint. Therefore we can come to conclusion he did save paint and painted it really fast and so he is efficient. In another case say the same fellow painted a similar wall. 5his tike he uses a gallon and a quarter, he rakes 2 hours and the wall is evenly painted with zero steak marks - the wall now is one if quality aka value. Hence we can say he is effective. If we can strike a balance we can come up with an effective but efficient way of reading hence learning. I hope this adds value to this vid.
I'm starting to think that the best way to get better and faster at reading is just to read read read lol. Obviously expanding visual field and improving focus (so your mind wanders less) while reading is important, but it seems like if one is pausing or backtracking, it is often for a good reason (to briefly reflect or comprehend what one has just read).
I feel like one reason people feel like speed reading "works" at first is that most people can read a little faster if they try--in the same way most people can run a little faster than they think they can. And I can even believe that modest improvements are possible without a drop in comprehension, because those early gains are more about consciously directing your attention, not any magic method.
Combining speed reading with the SQ3R method and mind mapping can significantly enhance your reading efficiency and comprehension. The biggest problem with slow or normal reading it let your mind start wondering outside the subject. My recommended is to read for ideas and context, rather than reading word by word. Speed Reading Techniques I used as follow Before Reading: I use the survey step of SQ3R to create a basic structure for my mind map. During Reading: I apply speed reading techniques to quickly gather information. As i find answers to my questions, add them to my mind map. After Reading: I use the recite step to verbally summarize what you've learned and refine my mind map. I may also share it with others for discussion. Review Periodically: I go back to my mind map to refresh my memory and reinforce learning.
I agree with you. When I was trying to figure study skills to improve to use it when studying something and learn new stuff just for fun, I stumbled upon the many guys on UA-cam like the Baldy one here in this video shown, the Mindvalley guys, other guys, and experiment with those tricks myself, I noticed it doesn't work I'd rather read and comprehend slower than the tricks. Some time later, I stumbled upon your video in recommendations, which proved my view. 😂 Nice video
One subjectively useful thing I took away from a speed reading course was to relax my focus. I naturally tend to tightly focus in on each individual word, which a) is a slow process and b) removes the context of the words. Subjectively, if I force myself to relax my focus a bit, such that I am not just seeing one word at a time (except when stumbleing on a complicated/new word), I pick up the meaning of the sentence much faster. I believe this fits with what you say, as this increases awareness of the semantic connection between words while not breaking individual word comprehension. Would you agree?
In a similar spirit, I found it helps with faster text comprehension if I reduce the font size or increase the distance to the page/display such that more words fit into my eyes' focus. This might not be universal advice, but for my reading speed this produced noticable improvements.
In the end both interventions enable seeing (semantically relevant) groups of words in one glance instead of word by word - my speed reading teacher called this "chunking".
I think for any type of learning (school, personal, work) speed reading is an effective way to skim over the material before actually reading. Flying through a chapter of your textbook to get a baseline for what you will be learning, then go back and read the chapter at a normal pace will help you understand concepts at a deeper level. Which will save you study time in the long run
Maybe people think they are lazy and that a speed reading course would smack them into shape so they are actually focused on reading instead of being distracted by other things?
i couldnt agree more with this video. i truly feel like speed reading especially educational books rather then fiction books you really dont comprehend much infomation at all. none fiction books are not meant to be speed read. i prefer taking my time not matter how long a book takes me
I think that "speed reading" is an interesting idea. But what really matters is understanding better or faster. I generally skim and then read slower. And when skimming I usually don't actively even try to read every sentence or word. Rather, I read the first and last sentence of any paragraph while trying to pick out any words or concepts that seem particularly important. As well as separate the work into sections if it doesn't already have clear ones. For some forms of super-wordy academic writing the built in sections can help as well. But, in many cases the sentence structure is so passive and bureaucratic that I often have to rearrange sentences to figure out the main points. Once I have those, I can keep those and mind and use the framework to understand what the details are actually saying. Overall, for me skimming is just about getting a structure for understanding before reading thoroughly. For things like novels, where I am mainly focused on the narrative, and what is happening in the story, I can read pretty fast. I think a lot of that comes down to consistency. If you are even reading 200-280 WPM that is pretty fast from my perspective. If you could keep that up consistently that is enough to read a full novel in 4-6 hours. If a novel is written well with good flow. I often can read an 100k word novel in about 2-3 hours. As at a certain point, it kind of ebbs and flows naturally as you read. However, if there is something confusing or unclear, then that immediately slows down how fast I can read normally. Overall, I thing there are two main forms of writing that are "good" from an understanding perspective. The better of the two, is when things are written clearly, but densely. But, not so dense as to be hard to decypher. That naturally leads to people slowing down to think about it. But, with a tight style. You don't need anywhere near as many words to say the same thing. So even with a slower speed of reading it is faster to understand. the other is to say things in a simple way that flows well. That may take more words. But, it makes reading very easy. Since you can just glide over the text and the sentences work together well to create a clear big picture.
I catch myself doing inefficient things regularly ... going back to reread a paragraph in which I was thinking about something else. I feel like my speed would increase significantly if I could cut down on these unhelpful behaviors.
Something I’d be curious to see are the results of any studies where the time reading and rereading spent by speed readers and non-speed readers is the same, so it’s an apples-to-apples comparison on the time variable. I get this isn’t what the technique of speed reading is about, but for me would be the strongest data analytic case for comprehension efficiency suffering due to speed reading.
Well Jim Kwik can teach people how to speed and fully understand all the complex details of any full book you read in a day. So clearly you don’t have to read slowly and in depth to be able to understand absorb everything.
Memoriad event hosted in Las Vegas. There are some true speed readers 300-1000 wpm with tested retention and timed. A few memory competitions have speed reading events. UA-cam has some old videos that show the events. A lot of winners are not english speakers. Pretty amazing.
To remedy the problem of speed reader apps reducing comprehension, I think if they brought up a word's surrounding paragraph when they paused (which I haven't seen in any apps), the benefit might be salvageable. To me it seems the most important aspect of speed reading is the ergonomics of the application, and not really the hyper-fast wpm that people crank up to.
What about the speed reader concept of eliminating subvocalization? Does this actually help someone's reading abilities? Does this technique also impact comprehension?
You completely painted this as a black and white issue and it's simply not. There are obviously going to be margins with anything and finding the best balance should be the goal. Idk about ALL of the speed reading techniques, but using a guide (pen) definitely helps a lot and at minimal loss of comprehension. Also you showed a 10% loss of comprehension at one point (without context of how much faster they were reading btw) while saying there was a massive loss in comprehension but that is not massive, especially if you're reading the same thing 2-3x as fast, thats actually a pretty good tradeoff for most people... You should avoid taking stances in extremes and actually try to be unbiased when you evaluate things. You clearly didn't plan from the start to give any of the speed reading techniques a fair shake.
I really appreciate your taking the time to make this video. Thanks for setting the record straight. I've always thought of myself as a "slow reader" and when I would read about those speedreaders who could read an entire book in 45 minutes, I couldn't help but compare myself adversely. Then, I read an excellent article which came out in 2016 called "So Much to Read, So Little Time" from the journal Psychological Science in the Public Interest. It basically made many of the same points which you're making here. I realized that those advocating speed reading either genuinely believed that they had achieved a superior level of skill although they had no objective measure to substantiate that claim, or they were trying to sell a program. I now plod along at my own speed, unconcerned with artificial comparisons.
There is a very easy and efficient speed reading technique I use. I don't read. Most books barely contain any significant amount of relevant information. You just need to identify those pieces and read only them. Books have structure and you can use this structure to skip all the water.
I think the way I typically parse text is somewhat analogous to speed reading. I scan down the page looking first for the most uncommon words and for transition words that helps me get a very very rough idea of what seems to be going on. I then look at the area around those words I’ve identified, which can happen in really any order my mind decides on. In most cases I feel like I can use pattern recognition to reconstruct what got into my head, but a decent amount of time I do end up have to go back multiple times. I’ve been doing this since around first grade, so I feel like I don’t really know how else to read text aside from it. It is probably detrimental to how I process long form texts now, but it definitely helped me stay more mentally engaged while reading “age appropriate” literature as a kid.
I don’t think it’s particularly useful though, because I definitely don’t move through chemistry textbooks at that pace. I just tend to breeze through leisure reading on autopilot and it takes quite a bit of effort to maintain the plot line of the book.
All things considered, I feel like I have missed out on a lot of language development because I never learned how to read normally. I rely a lot on predicting based on what immediately jumps out of the page at me so that often limits the pace at which I proceed in more complex texts with ideas I am increasingly unfamiliar with
Hi Benjamin, what do you think about what the 'speed readers' say about reducing subvocalisation in order to read faster and not lose comprehension? Do you think there's any point in reducing subvocalisation at all when we read or write?
I don't have strong opinions. My understanding is that subvocalization is kind of like reading the words quietly to yourself. It's possible that subvocalization "slows" things down, but it's also possible that subvocalization is characteristic of a less advanced reader (or, in some cases, necessary for the person to be able to read) and that reducing subvocalization is not really the route to faster reading (even if "non-vocalizers" read faster than "subvocalizers"), if that makes sense. I would need to look into it more to have an informed opinion. I often talk to myself while reading, but that's not the same thing - at least, I don't think it is.
I was fascinated by speed reading/learning as a kid, but most of that literature is pure trash :( We still know so little about learning as humanity... I remember going through Cambridge Handbook of Expertise and Expert Performance and the chapter on math was sth like "oh yeah, there were these math geniuses, they did basic calculation very fast" :D What is in your opinion a best resource on learning techniques that actually work?
Ha! A long time ago, I got my boss to devote part of the office budget to buying that book for me. Great book. But yes, a lot of the early expertise research was more devoted to observing differences between novices and experts rather than figuring out the learning part. I usually recommend two books: The ABCs of How We Learn and Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning. Both written by experienced researchers in the field, pitched to a general audience. The National Academy of Sciences (US) has also published two books on learning (aptly titled "How People Learn" and "How People Learn II"). They are more academic, but decent at giving a picture of the breadth of research on learning. You have to wade past a lot of generic, general statements to find some of the interesting stuff, though.
I feel that applying some of the techniques of speed reading, it helps my attention level to stay better for longer. The thing is, it only really works if the speed is kept quite low. The most reasonable speed of reading can quickly be found by pen and backtracking and lingering with the pen seems more deliberate. This is of course not how speed reading is markedet, but perhaps it is how it should be. Can you make a new video about "attention reading"?
If you haven't seen this one (ua-cam.com/video/WRjsOU6mOp4/v-deo.html), I try to illustrate how a deeper kind of reading tends to work, at least for me. I'm also planning a video on learning from a book, but neither one is quite what you're asking for. Perhaps I will go more in-depth on reading in the future, because people do ask about it from time to time. : )
Hi Ben, great videos and I love them. I have learned so much from you. I have a quick question. Have you read the book reading with the right brain? What do you think about that book and what do you say in this video?
I'm learning speed reading so I'm better at video games. Speed reading would be good for like going through a ton of text to find what you're specifically looking for faster. Theres a lot of junk text in video games.
Why is the maximum WPM so low? I just took a lot of the top Google results for "speed reading test" and my lowest score was 320 wpm 100% comprehension, I even got 600 wpm 100% comprehension on the yellow one
The faster I ever read, with near 100% comprehension and retention, was 630 wpm, in a novel. Anything above that, in deep reading, and my comprehension and retention suffered.
My first question would be how are you measuring your reading speed? In a laboratory setting it's easier to do - measuring it on your own is more challenging. For instance, I have no idea what my reading speed is. I have a lot of experience reading - especially reading academic and legal texts - and I read for understanding. Whatever my speed is, it works okay for me. If it's not causing a problem for you (in terms of inordinate amounts of time spent reading or not comprehending things well), then I wouldn't worry about your speed. The second question would be what kinds of texts are you reading when you measure your reading speed? Texts vary dramatically in difficulty. If reading seems to be a real problem that you're accurately measuring, then I would consider talking to someone who specializes in reading difficulties. Dyslexia is very common, but there are other challenges that can make reading more difficult and if you can diagnose what the problem is, then you might be able to find some way of reading more fluidly.
@@benjaminkeep Thanks your concern . I measured by just seeing time spend on reading then selecting the text and pasting it on word doc to count number of words I am med school so subject like surgery , oncology , radiology . in that context I can't be too slow 🦥 and we have to cover large amount of topic every day . ... I want to achieve around 180 word count with is said to scientific possible without losing comprehension
Gotcha. When reading dense material, I wouldn't be too surprised to see lower reading speeds, but I don't know enough to talk in terms of specific WPM. Sorry to not be more helpful. If you figure out what's going, give us an update!
This dude is just here to bait people. He was not objective at all in his assessment. Acting as if there's no middle ground at all and speed reading in any way, shape, or form will ruin your ability to understand what you read.
Ferris is just a sock head regurgitating other people's ideas and making them seem like his own. Many of the techniques he presents were around in the 70s and 80s. Everyone is different and each will need to find what works for their situation. For me chunking works as well as understanding sentence structure. Main ideas are usually followed by support. Anecdotes are okay but many are just authors going off on a tangent. Quiet environment creating a bubble is a must. I learned about sniper bubble in the military. It's just you the rifle and the target. Nothing else matters or exists...
feel like speed writing prevents you from learning how to write properly. big part of writing is reading how other people write and just appreciating "how the sentence/paragraph is structured. That just doesn't happen at 600wpms.
I tried speed reading when I was studying computing about twenty years ago. It didn't work. However my mother was probably the fastest reader I have ever seen. She could read two novels in a day, and still tell you exactly what the book was about. I've never seen anyone do that before or since. I could never understand how she could read so fast, and she didn't know anything about speed reading.
Interest of the book can dramatically increase the speed of reading. An intense story line can make a difference. The level of vocabulary also can vary
i've been doing alittle "speed reading" research, and i found a suspicious video that im almost convinced was sped up. also they stated, "i can speed read" which makes me even more so. oddly enough thats right before i found this video🤣
The only time I speed read is when I think the papper on which the text is printed on is more worth than the actual text itself, Aka book you just had to read at school.
i tried to speed read a math text once, and as a person unfamiliar w the subject the words quickly lost meaning lol. glad to find that it's not a missed shortcut 😬 on the flipside, j sung usually mentions that pre-structuring on previous knowledge\keywords the upcoming text helps to map concepts and highlight as you read. i've found only one book of my uni texts that does that (keyword list) and it helped me a lot to overcome my anxiety on the subject. it's also very easy way to build flashcards, with the exact knowledge of what you need and what's fluff. Do you think that a tool to extract keywords for dummies may be a subject for your videos? i can think of skimming (which confuses me a lot) or per-book methods (chapter and section titles, example boxes ..) i am interested on your take!
I don't have any current plans for making a video on previewing texts before reading them, but it can be a good idea for sure. You might think of reading like excavation: take things in in layers, making adjustments and small decisions along the way.
sounds about right. There is probably some built in speed limit that humans can basically see a word and conceptualize it. All the tricks in the world will not change it if it is a biological thing that a person needs ... whatever amount on nanoseconds to see and identify something. Reading or otherwise.
I suspect the people touting speed reading only read easy material such as self help. We already know most of the content (common sense like “be on time”, “prioritize”), and the genre uses simpler words on purpose to make them more approachable. If this is the material, then of course you can read it quickly, and there are no consequences to misreading it - it’s just common sense life advice. However, the approach falls apart when reading more difficult material, or content that WILL have consequences like a textbook for university, or a user manual for potentially lethal machinery.
I don’t think speed reading is right or wrong. It just depends on my mood and the material. If the author is telling me the color of the kitchen table, then I’m like yeah that doesn’t add anything. But if there are more relevant plot points, then I’ll slow down. A reading life is kind of like a dating life, you’re going to do different activities depending on the person you’re seeing, and similarly different books depending on their fiction or nonfiction genres need to be read differently.
Some time ago i was interested in speed reading it is one of the most controversial and overrated subjects in my opionion It is possible to read faster but what the actual intention is behind reading is much more important
I never found “speed reading” to be very useful. I read a lot of technical documentation and understanding EVERY word is important. I do read for pleasure as well and I always find myself missing information. Personally, I think anyone who claims they 3x their reading speed through speed reading is BSing.
interesting, so you read and create meaning, around five to seven years ago i was an avid reader of non-fiction books. And essentially the way to convey meaning in those books were by providing lots of redundant examples. And the actual meaning to be conveyed of course could have been summarised in far less words. Well guess what the best speed reading advice turns out to be...drumming sounds... not to read a book at all. Well to be fair this video is not the most exhaustive dismantling of speed reading ever, just brushing the surface actually and already condemning the practioners and the thing itself.
I largely agree tho comprehension test are abound with problems. We will always be selective about what we remember and pay attention to and what is inconsequential or boring. Basically skimming is just the logical extreme of this, searching for keywords of interest to fastforward to the part you want, because sadly most texts for most people are mostly useless (see every comment of praise ever on a video that "gets to the point"). It's a function of what the author can assume about your existing knowledge and how well they write. I'm a very slow and methodical reader for things I like, and a very lazy reader otherwise.
For sure. If you're looking for a specific word or idea, you're going to do something different than if you're really trying to understand the material. It's implying that you can speed read without loss of comprehension that's a problem.
I’ve seen a professor “speed read” in person. It was humbling and made me feel stupid. It took him about 2 min to read my 14 page essay. He was able to summarize the ideas in detail, correct the grammar and make suggestions on how to organize the themes better. He used his pen as a pacing device. Was he some kind of genius or did he learn it? I would like to possess that kind of power.
@ApatheticPerson he summarized IN DETAIL and corrected all his grammar errors, dude. lol. Yes, he "skimmed" it but he still somehow took in all the details, which was his point.
I actually found out that reading slower was way more efficient in university. Reading fast leads to misunderstandings. Good authors pick their words precisely and by skimming through sentences you won't grasp what they're actually saying. And if you're not picking up what the author is saying you'll lack understanding. Same goes for fiction, you are supposed to experience the story, imagining the pictures, maybe stop and think about a sentence or a point being made. You can't do any of that when speed reading, and if you can't do that, there's no point of reading
I think there is one advantage that speed reading can have, that is to keep reading when you otherwise would be so bored that you get distracted in your thoughts. But that is really the only thing it did for me.
I learnt speed reading and always thought I did it the wrong way because I felt my comprehension was lacking. Now I know it wasn't me, so thank you for this video.
how did you learn to speed read? Did you achive the satori status of gulping pages at one glance?
@@andreyzhuchkov1882 I looked up techniques for speed reading in different places on the internet and implemented them. I cannot remember which ones, it has been some time ago.
But it worked for me to remove the inner voice when reading and to not backtrack. For training I used a novel that I had already read. I followed my finger to train the not backtracking thing. But I don't use the finger or any physical aid anymore, it is too cumbersome. Usually I just look at the start of the line and the end of the line and that is enough to understand the sentence, given that the line is not too wide. My speed is not astronomical but way faster than before. But then, it is really the beating boredome aspect that I find the most useful, not necessarily the speed itself. The brain does not wander around if you keep it busy enough.
For me it does not work for technical books or anything I want to learn thoroughly. I also should mention that I mostly read in English which is not my mother tongue, that makes it harder too. So I can only really use it for more simpler materials or news articles. Many novels have too many words I do not know yet and speed reading doesn't go well with that.
@@andreyzhuchkov1882 not sure if it will work for you but i just glide my eyes across the text line and understand the text. (i only use this for fictional books, so i dont know if it will work on school books)
@@andreyzhuchkov1882
Unfortunately, I need two seconds per page. Literally.
honestly as someone who reads pretty quickly naturally i think the number one thing "speed readers" don't tell you is the way fast readers became fast readers was by spending a really long time reading a bunch of stuff. not by learning speed reading techniques and then applying them. i always read stuff in class like 3x faster than my peers and then i'm able to engage in discussion about said stuff without issue but i got this way because i just like reading things so i read all the time and it's basically my number one hobby and when you spend most of your time doing something you get good at it. like it's literally that simple.
my question to u is if u still have an internal monologue while reading so fast?
I remember the time I bought and read a small book about speed reading. It was in Spanish (my native tongue) and it was clearly written by someone who was a cultured reader because of the references to books and texts that they chose throughout the book. In the introduction, there was a reference to a study that discovered birds see during the fixation that occurs between eye movements, which also happens to humans. The success of this type of thing lies in the ability to sell pseudoscience as an actual technique (there is a popular "guru" on UA-cam that comes to mind "quick";-), and how they are able to pass off half-truths to convey a completely false conclusion. When I tried to read a novel using this technique, it was laughable. The simplest point to raise with these types of people is their complete disregard for the fact that different texts present different types of difficulty, making it almost impossible to measure "speed" in any meaningful way.
You're not supposed to be reading novels with this technique, lol every time I've seen it they tell you it's specifically for non-fiction reading. Not saying the technique doesn't have downsides which is what I'm here to learn but you at the very least seem to have used it wrong right from the start.
@@Queue-NextUp That's absolutely wrong. In fact, when they "test" people to show this technique they pick fiction specifically. I've seen videos of people speed reading Harry Potter or some sort of crap like that (because it's way easier to understand and to respond questions about it). If they made the distinction between fiction and non fiction, they would be implicitly accepting that speed and understanding depends heavily on the content. Besides, if I can't use it to read what I like, then what's the point?
@@Jate0000 fiction books are literally meant to be imagined almost like a movie in your head, not rushed through. Otherwise, why are you even reading it? On the other hand non fiction books meant to give you SPECIFIC INFORMATION can be skimmed/speed read more easily because much of the words are not important and they're also more straight forward as they don't need to be interesting to keep readers, they just need to be informative. You can just aim to digest the important parts of a biology book, but everything is important in fiction because even the lines between the lines go towards setting the tone and keeping a reader engaged. Speed reading fiction is completely pointless, not to mention harder to do than nonfiction and a perfect example of "just because you can doesn't mean you should. "...
@@Queue-NextUp Ironically, you missed my point completely. What an idea of non fiction! I don't know what books of fiction you read by I don't think of them as "movies in your head".
@@Jate0000 they're not movies in your head genius but they are meant to be imagined and mentally stimulating. Anybody who doesn't picture what they're reading when reading a fiction book must be an idiot lol why even read fiction if you can't picture what you're reading?
I think that speed reading can be useful in certain situations. Sometimes, you're not reading to comprehend or learn, but to quickly review, such as with spec scritp reading. When you have so many scripts to get through in a day, you kinda need to get through them fast, and them being relatively short and quick reads I think it helps to speed read, stopping to slow down on a 2nd read if the work sticks out to you or when it's worth keeping rather than passing on. But nice to see info showing it's not as useful for learning and comprehension
Facts’ual
From my studying on the subject, the idea is largely to apply it to nonfiction specifically like a stick shift in a car. It's there to help hone in on what you need to pay attention as much of teaching is adding snippets of new knowledge on top of a built foundation of understanding.
I feel like speed reading should never be promoted when learning second language. Understanding the sentence down to the vocabulary and grammar is so important, and I think subvocalizing also has its benefit.
I've seen exactly the opposite advice to your second point, some advice that we should not try to completely understand the vocabulary and grammar when learning a second language, that comes naturally with Immersion apparently.
@@theblinkingbrownie4654 To me, the most effective immersion is fun, comprehensive to a large degree, and feels as if you are living life in that target language. I agree, understanding the complete mechanics of a language isn't really practical to be fluent and is neither particularly fun for that matter, however if you want to precisely understand and dissect the meaning of a sentence there is no better time to do so than when you are analyzing text through reading. The words don't go anywhere, whereas if you are watching a tv show without subtitles or reading without ever asking questions, pretty much purely to reach word count, a lot flies over your head and therefore you wouldn't be able to think critically about what you are studying. I prefer to take my time reading in my target language and learn words and grammar that way, then I try to practice my listening through more immersive media, which is like a fun past time cause you can't be intensely studying all the time am I right? Hope that clarifies my thoughts on the topic of why I find thorough and careful reading to be important for language learning :)
It's only a matter of time before thie channel is extremely huge and popular. Keep the videos coming!
Appreciate the kinds words!
Enjoyed the video. It improved my understanding of reading in general, and helped me to feel better about my reading speed and comprehension.
I noticed there are some unpleasantly sharp “pops” in the video's audio. One of the worst is at 5:27. There are a few more before and after this; here are all that I've found, including the example previously mentioned: 3:00, 3:55, 5:07, 5:19, 5:27 5:32, 6:21.
UA-cam, I believe, has some rudimentary built-in editing tools for uploaded videos. While I appreciate this video's been out for a while, it would considerably improve the listening experience if these pops could be removed or at least ameliorated, perhaps by momentarily reducing the volume at points they occur.
Thank you.
"Such an insightful and honest video! Thank you for sharing the information about speed reading in such a clear and logical manner. It has helped me understand better why many speed reading techniques fail and why slow, comprehensive reading is more important. I will continue to practice careful reading to ensure better comprehension. Thank you so much!"
Some speed reading techniques helped me to faster find the relevant parts of a book which I then read in normal speed. Thanks for the video, though!
This gentleman hit the nail on the head. We want effective reading and efficient reading. However, one must accede for the former first; without value - effectiveness - efficiency means nothing. Think of a guy painting a wall. He paints the wall with less than a gallon of paint but there are alot of streak lines and unevenness in the paint. Therefore we can come to conclusion he did save paint and painted it really fast and so he is efficient. In another case say the same fellow painted a similar wall. 5his tike he uses a gallon and a quarter, he rakes 2 hours and the wall is evenly painted with zero steak marks - the wall now is one if quality aka value. Hence we can say he is effective.
If we can strike a balance we can come up with an effective but efficient way of reading hence learning.
I hope this adds value to this vid.
I'm starting to think that the best way to get better and faster at reading is just to read read read lol. Obviously expanding visual field and improving focus (so your mind wanders less) while reading is important, but it seems like if one is pausing or backtracking, it is often for a good reason (to briefly reflect or comprehend what one has just read).
I feel like one reason people feel like speed reading "works" at first is that most people can read a little faster if they try--in the same way most people can run a little faster than they think they can. And I can even believe that modest improvements are possible without a drop in comprehension, because those early gains are more about consciously directing your attention, not any magic method.
I can believe that, too.
i agree! there’s definitely a grey area
Thank you for this video! Your introductory example was helpful. Although most of what I read doesn’t look like that, the illustration was helpful.
thank you for your videos, please never stop them 🙏
I feel much better about myself now.
Thanks
Literally everytime I think about a certain interesting topic, you make a video on it, I love it hahhaha, great video!
Thanks!
If only there was a way to read fast and comprehend it, like improving brain processing speed and power
Combining speed reading with the SQ3R method and mind mapping can significantly enhance your reading efficiency and comprehension.
The biggest problem with slow or normal reading it let your mind start wondering outside the subject. My recommended is to read for ideas and context, rather than reading word by word.
Speed Reading Techniques I used as follow
Before Reading: I use the survey step of SQ3R to create a basic structure for my mind map.
During Reading: I apply speed reading techniques to quickly gather information. As i find answers to my questions, add them to my mind map.
After Reading: I use the recite step to verbally summarize what you've learned and refine my mind map. I may also share it with others for discussion.
Review Periodically: I go back to my mind map to refresh my memory and reinforce learning.
Great you shared very important info
I agree with you. When I was trying to figure study skills to improve to use it when studying something and learn new stuff just for fun, I stumbled upon the many guys on UA-cam like the Baldy one here in this video shown, the Mindvalley guys, other guys, and experiment with those tricks myself, I noticed it doesn't work I'd rather read and comprehend slower than the tricks.
Some time later, I stumbled upon your video in recommendations, which proved my view.
😂
Nice video
Lol baldy, it's a hat.
Many good comments here. One thing I do to read more quickly is to read by phrases, as phrases often contain one complete idea.
great video. to the point.
One subjectively useful thing I took away from a speed reading course was to relax my focus. I naturally tend to tightly focus in on each individual word, which a) is a slow process and b) removes the context of the words. Subjectively, if I force myself to relax my focus a bit, such that I am not just seeing one word at a time (except when stumbleing on a complicated/new word), I pick up the meaning of the sentence much faster.
I believe this fits with what you say, as this increases awareness of the semantic connection between words while not breaking individual word comprehension. Would you agree?
In a similar spirit, I found it helps with faster text comprehension if I reduce the font size or increase the distance to the page/display such that more words fit into my eyes' focus. This might not be universal advice, but for my reading speed this produced noticable improvements.
In the end both interventions enable seeing (semantically relevant) groups of words in one glance instead of word by word - my speed reading teacher called this "chunking".
Yeah, look up the different focus areas of the eyes if you haven't.
I think for any type of learning (school, personal, work) speed reading is an effective way to skim over the material before actually reading. Flying through a chapter of your textbook to get a baseline for what you will be learning, then go back and read the chapter at a normal pace will help you understand concepts at a deeper level. Which will save you study time in the long run
Maybe people think they are lazy and that a speed reading course would smack them into shape so they are actually focused on reading instead of being distracted by other things?
i couldnt agree more with this video. i truly feel like speed reading especially educational books rather then fiction books you really dont comprehend much infomation at all. none fiction books are not meant to be speed read. i prefer taking my time not matter how long a book takes me
There are sound glitches otherwise good video.
I think that "speed reading" is an interesting idea. But what really matters is understanding better or faster.
I generally skim and then read slower. And when skimming I usually don't actively even try to read every sentence or word. Rather, I read the first and last sentence of any paragraph while trying to pick out any words or concepts that seem particularly important.
As well as separate the work into sections if it doesn't already have clear ones.
For some forms of super-wordy academic writing the built in sections can help as well. But, in many cases the sentence structure is so passive and bureaucratic that I often have to rearrange sentences to figure out the main points. Once I have those, I can keep those and mind and use the framework to understand what the details are actually saying.
Overall, for me skimming is just about getting a structure for understanding before reading thoroughly.
For things like novels, where I am mainly focused on the narrative, and what is happening in the story, I can read pretty fast. I think a lot of that comes down to consistency.
If you are even reading 200-280 WPM that is pretty fast from my perspective. If you could keep that up consistently that is enough to read a full novel in 4-6 hours.
If a novel is written well with good flow. I often can read an 100k word novel in about 2-3 hours. As at a certain point, it kind of ebbs and flows naturally as you read. However, if there is something confusing or unclear, then that immediately slows down how fast I can read normally.
Overall, I thing there are two main forms of writing that are "good" from an understanding perspective. The better of the two, is when things are written clearly, but densely. But, not so dense as to be hard to decypher. That naturally leads to people slowing down to think about it. But, with a tight style. You don't need anywhere near as many words to say the same thing. So even with a slower speed of reading it is faster to understand.
the other is to say things in a simple way that flows well. That may take more words. But, it makes reading very easy. Since you can just glide over the text and the sentences work together well to create a clear big picture.
That's 500-800 wpm.. I really wish i could read a new novel daily. Or even just half a novel.
your video really helpful to me, thank you so much
Thank you
"I can look at sheets of paper for very short amounts of time."
Excellent content! Thank you :)
I catch myself doing inefficient things regularly ... going back to reread a paragraph in which I was thinking about something else. I feel like my speed would increase significantly if I could cut down on these unhelpful behaviors.
Thanks!
Something I’d be curious to see are the results of any studies where the time reading and rereading spent by speed readers and non-speed readers is the same, so it’s an apples-to-apples comparison on the time variable. I get this isn’t what the technique of speed reading is about, but for me would be the strongest data analytic case for comprehension efficiency suffering due to speed reading.
Well Jim Kwik can teach people how to speed and fully understand all the complex details of any full book you read in a day. So clearly you don’t have to read slowly and in depth to be able to understand absorb everything.
Memoriad event hosted in Las Vegas. There are some true speed readers 300-1000 wpm with tested retention and timed. A few memory competitions have speed reading events. UA-cam has some old videos that show the events. A lot of winners are not english speakers. Pretty amazing.
To remedy the problem of speed reader apps reducing comprehension, I think if they brought up a word's surrounding paragraph when they paused (which I haven't seen in any apps), the benefit might be salvageable.
To me it seems the most important aspect of speed reading is the ergonomics of the application, and not really the hyper-fast wpm that people crank up to.
What about the speed reader concept of eliminating subvocalization? Does this actually help someone's reading abilities? Does this technique also impact comprehension?
You completely painted this as a black and white issue and it's simply not. There are obviously going to be margins with anything and finding the best balance should be the goal. Idk about ALL of the speed reading techniques, but using a guide (pen) definitely helps a lot and at minimal loss of comprehension. Also you showed a 10% loss of comprehension at one point (without context of how much faster they were reading btw) while saying there was a massive loss in comprehension but that is not massive, especially if you're reading the same thing 2-3x as fast, thats actually a pretty good tradeoff for most people... You should avoid taking stances in extremes and actually try to be unbiased when you evaluate things. You clearly didn't plan from the start to give any of the speed reading techniques a fair shake.
I really appreciate your taking the time to make this video. Thanks for setting the record straight.
I've always thought of myself as a "slow reader" and when I would read about those speedreaders who could read an entire book in 45 minutes, I couldn't help but compare myself adversely. Then, I read an excellent article which came out in 2016 called "So Much to Read, So Little Time" from the journal Psychological Science in the Public Interest. It basically made many of the same points which you're making here. I realized that those advocating speed reading either genuinely believed that they had achieved a superior level of skill although they had no objective measure to substantiate that claim, or they were trying to sell a program. I now plod along at my own speed, unconcerned with artificial comparisons.
Great video
There is a very easy and efficient speed reading technique I use. I don't read. Most books barely contain any significant amount of relevant information. You just need to identify those pieces and read only them. Books have structure and you can use this structure to skip all the water.
I don’t read either. TV is twice as fast 😎
Thank you! Now I fell more human!
I-I read so slow, I couldn't read the text even after rewinding 3 times at 3:45
I think the way I typically parse text is somewhat analogous to speed reading. I scan down the page looking first for the most uncommon words and for transition words that helps me get a very very rough idea of what seems to be going on. I then look at the area around those words I’ve identified, which can happen in really any order my mind decides on. In most cases I feel like I can use pattern recognition to reconstruct what got into my head, but a decent amount of time I do end up have to go back multiple times. I’ve been doing this since around first grade, so I feel like I don’t really know how else to read text aside from it. It is probably detrimental to how I process long form texts now, but it definitely helped me stay more mentally engaged while reading “age appropriate” literature as a kid.
I measured using a test through my browser and I got 85% comprehension across 4 tests at ~600 wpm on medium difficulty
I don’t think it’s particularly useful though, because I definitely don’t move through chemistry textbooks at that pace. I just tend to breeze through leisure reading on autopilot and it takes quite a bit of effort to maintain the plot line of the book.
All things considered, I feel like I have missed out on a lot of language development because I never learned how to read normally. I rely a lot on predicting based on what immediately jumps out of the page at me so that often limits the pace at which I proceed in more complex texts with ideas I am increasingly unfamiliar with
What do you think about sub-vocalization? Do you do it?
Did you write any books on this topic?
Hi Benjamin, what do you think about what the 'speed readers' say about reducing subvocalisation in order to read faster and not lose comprehension? Do you think there's any point in reducing subvocalisation at all when we read or write?
I don't have strong opinions. My understanding is that subvocalization is kind of like reading the words quietly to yourself. It's possible that subvocalization "slows" things down, but it's also possible that subvocalization is characteristic of a less advanced reader (or, in some cases, necessary for the person to be able to read) and that reducing subvocalization is not really the route to faster reading (even if "non-vocalizers" read faster than "subvocalizers"), if that makes sense.
I would need to look into it more to have an informed opinion.
I often talk to myself while reading, but that's not the same thing - at least, I don't think it is.
I was fascinated by speed reading/learning as a kid, but most of that literature is pure trash :(
We still know so little about learning as humanity...
I remember going through Cambridge Handbook of Expertise and Expert Performance and the chapter on math was sth like "oh yeah, there were these math geniuses, they did basic calculation very fast" :D
What is in your opinion a best resource on learning techniques that actually work?
Ha! A long time ago, I got my boss to devote part of the office budget to buying that book for me. Great book. But yes, a lot of the early expertise research was more devoted to observing differences between novices and experts rather than figuring out the learning part.
I usually recommend two books: The ABCs of How We Learn and Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning. Both written by experienced researchers in the field, pitched to a general audience.
The National Academy of Sciences (US) has also published two books on learning (aptly titled "How People Learn" and "How People Learn II"). They are more academic, but decent at giving a picture of the breadth of research on learning. You have to wade past a lot of generic, general statements to find some of the interesting stuff, though.
That was so realistic 💐👍🏻
Im really curious about how this concept applies to listening to material at 2x speed
I feel that applying some of the techniques of speed reading, it helps my attention level to stay better for longer. The thing is, it only really works if the speed is kept quite low. The most reasonable speed of reading can quickly be found by pen and backtracking and lingering with the pen seems more deliberate. This is of course not how speed reading is markedet, but perhaps it is how it should be.
Can you make a new video about "attention reading"?
If you haven't seen this one (ua-cam.com/video/WRjsOU6mOp4/v-deo.html), I try to illustrate how a deeper kind of reading tends to work, at least for me. I'm also planning a video on learning from a book, but neither one is quite what you're asking for. Perhaps I will go more in-depth on reading in the future, because people do ask about it from time to time. : )
Being able to read fast enough to keep the narrative going in yiur stm can be important
Hi Ben, great videos and I love them. I have learned so much from you. I have a quick question. Have you read the book reading with the right brain? What do you think about that book and what do you say in this video?
Sorry, have not read it!
I am speed reading and I found that I barely remember something. Speed reading make me not concentrate more to remember.
I'm learning speed reading so I'm better at video games. Speed reading would be good for like going through a ton of text to find what you're specifically looking for faster. Theres a lot of junk text in video games.
Benjamin, what would you say your approx WPM Reading speed is
Thanks
I have no idea. But I don't think it's a very interesting metric.
Why is the maximum WPM so low? I just took a lot of the top Google results for "speed reading test" and my lowest score was 320 wpm 100% comprehension, I even got 600 wpm 100% comprehension on the yellow one
You’re the man! Post your address and I’ll send you a cookie in the post for being such a genius.
(off topic) but are PDFs EPUBS MOBIS etc. Accurate or should you get the official book instead?
I doubt there's any universal rule - I get books however I can!
speed reading maybe only works for exams?
The faster I ever read, with near 100% comprehension and retention, was 630 wpm, in a novel. Anything above that, in deep reading, and my comprehension and retention suffered.
Thanks for the video
My reading speed is currently 89-112 word , even after pre-clinical years haven't gone up any tip or opinion on that ?
My first question would be how are you measuring your reading speed? In a laboratory setting it's easier to do - measuring it on your own is more challenging.
For instance, I have no idea what my reading speed is. I have a lot of experience reading - especially reading academic and legal texts - and I read for understanding. Whatever my speed is, it works okay for me. If it's not causing a problem for you (in terms of inordinate amounts of time spent reading or not comprehending things well), then I wouldn't worry about your speed.
The second question would be what kinds of texts are you reading when you measure your reading speed? Texts vary dramatically in difficulty.
If reading seems to be a real problem that you're accurately measuring, then I would consider talking to someone who specializes in reading difficulties. Dyslexia is very common, but there are other challenges that can make reading more difficult and if you can diagnose what the problem is, then you might be able to find some way of reading more fluidly.
@@benjaminkeep
Thanks your concern .
I measured by just seeing time spend on reading then selecting the text and pasting it on word doc to count number of words
I am med school so subject like surgery , oncology , radiology . in that context I can't be too slow 🦥 and we have to cover large amount of topic every day .
... I want to achieve around 180 word count with is said to scientific possible without losing comprehension
Gotcha. When reading dense material, I wouldn't be too surprised to see lower reading speeds, but I don't know enough to talk in terms of specific WPM. Sorry to not be more helpful. If you figure out what's going, give us an update!
Give up on reading. Stick to pictures.
I never got into speed reading because every method I've tried always made me not enjoy reading
"it's just a math problem" is the same specific, yet vague comment that Dr. Keep talks about in his 5 myths of Learning video.
This dude is just here to bait people. He was not objective at all in his assessment. Acting as if there's no middle ground at all and speed reading in any way, shape, or form will ruin your ability to understand what you read.
Ferris is just a sock head regurgitating other people's ideas and making them seem like his own.
Many of the techniques he presents were around in the 70s and 80s.
Everyone is different and each will need to find what works for their situation.
For me chunking works as well as understanding sentence structure. Main ideas are usually followed by support.
Anecdotes are okay but many are just authors going off on a tangent.
Quiet environment creating a bubble is a must.
I learned about sniper bubble in the military. It's just you the rifle and the target. Nothing else matters or exists...
feel like speed writing prevents you from learning how to write properly.
big part of writing is reading how other people write and just appreciating "how the sentence/paragraph is structured. That just doesn't happen at 600wpms.
Could not agree more.
God you saved me from thsi myth thank yo uvery much i dont know how to praise you 🙌 🙏🏻 ❤️
I tried speed reading when I was studying computing about twenty years ago. It didn't work. However my mother was probably the fastest reader I have ever seen. She could read two novels in a day, and still tell you exactly what the book was about. I've never seen anyone do that before or since. I could never understand how she could read so fast, and she didn't know anything about speed reading.
Interest of the book can dramatically increase the speed of reading. An intense story line can make a difference. The level of vocabulary also can vary
i've been doing alittle "speed reading" research, and i found a suspicious video that im almost convinced was sped up. also they stated, "i can speed read" which makes me even more so. oddly enough thats right before i found this video🤣
The only time I speed read is when I think the papper on which the text is printed on is more worth than the actual text itself, Aka book you just had to read at school.
i tried to speed read a math text once, and as a person unfamiliar w the subject the words quickly lost meaning lol. glad to find that it's not a missed shortcut 😬
on the flipside, j sung usually mentions that pre-structuring on previous knowledge\keywords the upcoming text helps to map concepts and highlight as you read. i've found only one book of my uni texts that does that (keyword list) and it helped me a lot to overcome my anxiety on the subject. it's also very easy way to build flashcards, with the exact knowledge of what you need and what's fluff. Do you think that a tool to extract keywords for dummies may be a subject for your videos? i can think of skimming (which confuses me a lot) or per-book methods (chapter and section titles, example boxes ..) i am interested on your take!
I don't have any current plans for making a video on previewing texts before reading them, but it can be a good idea for sure. You might think of reading like excavation: take things in in layers, making adjustments and small decisions along the way.
There’s a happy medium for sure. A lot of people don’t read bc they’re not getting information fast enough.
have an ai voice read to you.
@@summerwinter89
Have a screen reader read it to you at 600%.
sounds about right. There is probably some built in speed limit that humans can basically see a word and conceptualize it. All the tricks in the world will not change it if it is a biological thing that a person needs ... whatever amount on nanoseconds to see and identify something. Reading or otherwise.
I suspect the people touting speed reading only read easy material such as self help. We already know most of the content (common sense like “be on time”, “prioritize”), and the genre uses simpler words on purpose to make them more approachable. If this is the material, then of course you can read it quickly, and there are no consequences to misreading it - it’s just common sense life advice. However, the approach falls apart when reading more difficult material, or content that WILL have consequences like a textbook for university, or a user manual for potentially lethal machinery.
for me reading english as foreigner teach me to reading in my native language(indonesia).
If it sounds too good to be true it usual is.
I don’t think speed reading is right or wrong. It just depends on my mood and the material. If the author is telling me the color of the kitchen table, then I’m like yeah that doesn’t add anything. But if there are more relevant plot points, then I’ll slow down. A reading life is kind of like a dating life, you’re going to do different activities depending on the person you’re seeing, and similarly different books depending on their fiction or nonfiction genres need to be read differently.
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I wonder how well a speed-reader would comprehend "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" haha
Some time ago i was interested in speed reading
it is one of the most controversial and overrated subjects in my opionion
It is possible to read faster but what the actual intention is behind reading is much more important
Isn't speed reading about using your senses more aggressively? Slow reading perhaps is being too fearful and cautious.
Tim Feriss. LMFAO!
I never found “speed reading” to be very useful. I read a lot of technical documentation and understanding EVERY word is important. I do read for pleasure as well and I always find myself missing information. Personally, I think anyone who claims they 3x their reading speed through speed reading is BSing.
interesting, so you read and create meaning, around five to seven years ago i was an avid reader of non-fiction books. And essentially the way to convey meaning in those books were by providing lots of redundant examples. And the actual meaning to be conveyed of course could have been summarised in far less words. Well guess what the best speed reading advice turns out to be...drumming sounds... not to read a book at all.
Well to be fair this video is not the most exhaustive dismantling of speed reading ever, just brushing the surface actually and already condemning the practioners and the thing itself.
You have been reported to Evelyn Wood, Inc.
Speed readers use schemas for comprehension.
I'd prefer not to, sir.
I largely agree tho comprehension test are abound with problems. We will always be selective about what we remember and pay attention to and what is inconsequential or boring. Basically skimming is just the logical extreme of this, searching for keywords of interest to fastforward to the part you want, because sadly most texts for most people are mostly useless (see every comment of praise ever on a video that "gets to the point"). It's a function of what the author can assume about your existing knowledge and how well they write.
I'm a very slow and methodical reader for things I like, and a very lazy reader otherwise.
For sure. If you're looking for a specific word or idea, you're going to do something different than if you're really trying to understand the material. It's implying that you can speed read without loss of comprehension that's a problem.
comprehension from speed reading is selling snake oil
I’ve seen a professor “speed read” in person. It was humbling and made me feel stupid. It took him about 2 min to read my 14 page essay. He was able to summarize the ideas in detail, correct the grammar and make suggestions on how to organize the themes better.
He used his pen as a pacing device.
Was he some kind of genius or did he learn it? I would like to possess that kind of power.
I don't know how long a page was, but he was probably skimming them.
@ApatheticPerson he summarized IN DETAIL and corrected all his grammar errors, dude. lol. Yes, he "skimmed" it but he still somehow took in all the details, which was his point.
I watched this video on 2X. 99% of YT videos are doo dooz.
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