How Fast Can You Read with Spreeder?

[Daniel Y.]

http://www.spreeder.com/

Tell me what you think. I'm currently reading stuff at the 550 WPM mark, but it's going to take awhile for my comprehension to catch up (I was doing about 200 WPM before the program). Subvocalization be damned!

PS I can't wait to read at 800+ WPM.

 

[OrbitalPower]

I think that is "reading with a headache." I don't think my comprehension would ever catch up because if I miss a word it throws the whole thing off and I don't know what I'm reading. Also, with quotes and citations and so on it's just annoying, as sometimes you like to actually check the footnote at the bottom of the page.

Further still, I still "hear" the word in my mind no matter how fast it goes, or, until it becomes a blur.

"Advocates of speed reading generally claim that subvocalization "places extra burden on the cognitive resources, thus, slowing the reading down." These claims are currently backed only by controversial, sometimes non-existent scientific research; in some cases, concepts are drawn from pseudoscience and urban myths about the brain. Speedreading courses often prescribe lengthy practices to eliminate subvocalizing when reading. Normal reading instructors often simply apply remedial teaching to a reader who subvocalizes to the degree that they make visible movements on the lips, jaw, or throat.[2]

It may be impossible to totally eliminate subvocalization because people learn to read by associating the sight of words with their spoken sounds. Sound associations for words are indelibly imprinted on the nervous system—even of deaf people, since they will have associated the word with the mechanism for causing the sound or a sign in a particular sign language. Subvocalizing is an inherent part of reading and understanding a word, and micro-muscle tests suggest that subvocalizing is impossible to eliminate. Attempting to stop subvocalizing is potentially harmful to comprehension, learning, and memory. At the more powerful reading rates (100-300 words per minute), subvocalizing can be used to improve comprehension.
"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subvocalization

 

[redargon]

http://www.spreeder.com/

Tell me what you think. I'm currently reading stuff at the 550 WPM mark, but it's going to take awhile for my comprehension to catch up (I was doing about 200 WPM before the program). Subvocalization be damned!

PS I can't wait to read at 800+ WPM.

I've tried lots of different methods and it's always the comprehension that let's me down. Do you expect your comprehension to improve at your new speeds and how long do you think it will take to catch up? I'm always looking for a new way to read faster.

I read at about 250WPM for pleasure, 100WPM for technical docs and I scan at about a page every 5 seconds for researching or looking for info or something I knew was in there somewhere

I even tried photo reading which claims to give you up to 1 page per second with incredible comprehension, but that didn't really work and I really tried too. I even did the meditation and all the other strange steps to get it to work. I did notice an increase in the intensity of my dreams and my ability to remember them after photoreading some books though. That was cool, so I sometimes do it as a way to dream experiment.

keep us updated on your progress and maybe some speed vs comprehension figures over time to see how well it works.

 

[Daniel Y.]

I think that is "reading with a headache." I don't think my comprehension would ever catch up because if I miss a word it throws the whole thing off and I don't know what I'm reading. Also, with quotes and citations and so on it's just annoying, as sometimes you like to actually check the footnote at the bottom of the page.

Further still, I still "hear" the word in my mind no matter how fast it goes, or, until it becomes a blur.

"Advocates of speed reading generally claim that subvocalization "places extra burden on the cognitive resources, thus, slowing the reading down." These claims are currently backed only by controversial, sometimes non-existent scientific research; in some cases, concepts are drawn from pseudoscience and urban myths about the brain. Speedreading courses often prescribe lengthy practices to eliminate subvocalizing when reading. Normal reading instructors often simply apply remedial teaching to a reader who subvocalizes to the degree that they make visible movements on the lips, jaw, or throat.[2]

It may be impossible to totally eliminate subvocalization because people learn to read by associating the sight of words with their spoken sounds. Sound associations for words are indelibly imprinted on the nervous system—even of deaf people, since they will have associated the word with the mechanism for causing the sound or a sign in a particular sign language. Subvocalizing is an inherent part of reading and understanding a word, and micro-muscle tests suggest that subvocalizing is impossible to eliminate. Attempting to stop subvocalizing is potentially harmful to comprehension, learning, and memory. At the more powerful reading rates (100-300 words per minute), subvocalizing can be used to improve comprehension.
"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subvocalization

Look at an article, in your head count 1, 2, 3, 4 over and over, and read while you keep thinking "1, 2, 3, 4", this should dramatically improve the speeds at which you can read. It has worked for everyone I've tried it with - I'm betting you won't be an exception.

 

[Daniel Y.]

I've tried lots of different methods and it's always the comprehension that let's me down. Do you expect your comprehension to improve at your new speeds and how long do you think it will take to catch up? I'm always looking for a new way to read faster.

I read at about 250WPM for pleasure, 100WPM for technical docs and I scan at about a page every 5 seconds for researching or looking for info or something I knew was in there somewhere

I even tried photo reading which claims to give you up to 1 page per second with incredible comprehension, but that didn't really work and I really tried too. I even did the meditation and all the other strange steps to get it to work. I did notice an increase in the intensity of my dreams and my ability to remember them after photoreading some books though. That was cool, so I sometimes do it as a way to dream experiment.

keep us updated on your progress and maybe some speed vs comprehension figures over time to see how well it works.

As you continue to read at the higher WPM speed your mind will get used to the new rate and comprehend the material as fully as your old habits.

PhotoReading is a sham. It's SQ3R with an added bogus 'glance at the page' step.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

A testimonial from a satisfied customer.

I took a speed-reading course and read War and Peace in twenty minutes. It involves Russia.