Speed reading and information retention
Speed reading can help you skim to content, which is useful at times. However, speed reading cannot help you read faster and retain more information.
- Our eyes are designed only to see a tiny portion of our visual field with the precision needed to recognise a letter in a 10 to 12 point font. Everything outside that small area is blurry. The idea promoted by speed reading that we can use our peripheral vision to see whole sentences is biologically impossible.
- While we spend most of our time reading forward, our eyes often go back to reread some text. This is the way our brain links content together. Speed reading attempts to help you read faster by showing one word at a time. This has a bad impact on overall comprehension.
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Speed reading
- Speed reading promises to help anyone read at speeds of above 1000 words per minute with full comprehension.
- The average college-level reader read at the speed of 200-400 words per minute.
- In 1959, Evelyn Wood launched Reading Dynamics, said to increase a reader's speed ...
Human Body X Speed Reading
The fovea is a small high visual acuity area in the retina. Our eyes are seriously limited in their precision outside said area.
We can take in only a word or so at each glance, and a little bit about the words on either side.
Multiple experiments confirm that speed reading
The case for slow reading
Instead of aiming for speed, we should optimise for comprehension and retention.
- Slow reading has a positive impact on your anxiety levels.
- It may help you read more, as you can take the time to enjoy what you read.
- It will ...
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