Anyone tried the new Spritz reading method/apps?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the new "Spritz" reading method and its associated applications, exploring its effectiveness, user experiences, and potential advantages or drawbacks. Participants share their thoughts on the method's applicability to different types of reading, such as casual reading versus studying, and express varying levels of comfort with the technique.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants find the Spritz method interesting and effective for casual reading, noting its potential to increase reading speed.
  • Others express skepticism about the method, preferring traditional reading techniques that allow for comprehension of whole phrases rather than individual words.
  • A few participants mention the need for adjustments in reading speed, with one noting that they found the default speed too low.
  • Concerns are raised about the method's suitability for deep reading or studying, with some suggesting it may not be effective for complex material.
  • Several users share personal experiences, with mixed results regarding their comfort and speed when using the Spritz method.
  • One participant suggests a modification to the interface that would allow for better situational awareness while reading.
  • Some participants discuss the challenges of blinking while using the method, indicating a need to adapt their reading habits.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally express a mix of enthusiasm and skepticism regarding the Spritz method, with no clear consensus on its overall effectiveness or suitability for different reading tasks. Multiple competing views remain about its advantages and limitations.

Contextual Notes

Some participants mention personal reading habits and preferences that may influence their experiences with the Spritz method, indicating that individual differences could affect the perceived effectiveness of the technique.

Who May Find This Useful

Readers interested in new reading technologies, speed reading techniques, or those exploring alternative methods for processing text may find this discussion relevant.

berkeman
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Anyone tried the new "Spritz" reading method/apps?

Looks to be an interesting idea. Words are flashed in the same spot on the screen in succession, instead of you having to scan across the line to read. Has anybody tried this? I'd like to find a demo to see what it is like...

PC World Article -- http://www.pcworld.com/article/2105960/spritz-text-streaming-app-increases-reading-speed.html

Spritz Company Website -- http://www.spritzinc.com/the-science/

.
 
Computer science news on Phys.org
Found the demo -- click the button in the upper right of this page: http://www.spritzinc.com/about/

Interesting! :smile:
 
Last edited by a moderator:
It's great! But when are you supposed to blink?
 
Jilang said:
It's great! But when are you supposed to blink?

LOL. They do seem to pause for an extra beat after every sentence, so that's at least one time you could blink. There probably are some tricks to getting the most out of it...
 
I have seen demo, but I have not checked if I can read this way.

I have my doubts - I am used to seeing the whole phrase/statement and getting the meaning of it in one step, not by combining separated words. But then I am an old dog, so acquiring new tricks is not as easy as it was.
 
I've used this. For reading articles or novels or anything that doesn't require any deep thought it works really well. But for studying it's probably not very good.
 
I haven't seen this before. I really like it! Showed it to some coworkers, they thought it was cool too :cool:.
 
Borek said:
I have seen demo, but I have not checked if I can read this way.

I have my doubts - I am used to seeing the whole phrase/statement and getting the meaning of it in one step, not by combining separated words. But then I am an old dog, so acquiring new tricks is not as easy as it was.

I need to play with it more, but I think I'd prefer if there were a greyed-out version of the full text paragraph in the background in smaller text, and the zoomed-in current word in the middle of the screen over the top of the greyed background. That way you would still have situational awareness of where you were on the page and paragraph, but could have any advantages of the middle-screen word-at-a-time playback.
 
Did anyone try reading at the different speeds? Can it repeat a sentence? I have a headache now.:cry:
 
  • #10
Will we have the Spritz singing method?? I liked the old way better.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #11
The default reading speed was too low. I had to set it to 400wpm before it became comfortable. Yet, I actually finished reading the article the 'usual' way before I could finish 'Spritz'ing it.

After all that, the only thing I left with was...

...how much Frank looks like a younger John Kerry. :smile:
 
  • #12
Borek said:
I am used to seeing the whole phrase/statement and getting the meaning of it in one step, not by combining separated words.

I haven't played with the demo yet, but the idea doesn't make much sense to me. But then I'm quite happy reading music scores, where for a big orchestra score the page size might be A3 or 17x11 in, you have to take in the complete vertical extent of the page at once, and in "real time" you might be reading 3 or 4 pages a minute. (Not to mention simultaneously "re-formatting" all that visual information in real time into something that you can play with two hands on a keyboard, for the benefit of people who can't "hear the music" just by looking at the score.)
 
  • #13
I used to use software like this on my laptop. A started out at 700wpm and eventually got up to 1200. Problem was the technique wasn't very transferable and I didn't notice a measureable increase in reading normal texts.
 
  • #14
I'm trying to blink at the end of each sentence and also trying to blink one eye at a time so I don't miss the first word of the next sentence. Feels a bit odd though!
 
  • #15
Hum I read much faster the usual way, with Spritz 600wpm is already too fast and it doesn't get near my usual reading speed. Still fun and innovative for sure :smile:
 

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