I like reading and I read relatively quickly, depending upon what I am reading.
I don't read as quickly as my dad, but fast enough I suppose.
So a friend started in on speed reading, as he reads slowly and wants to read many things; makes sense.
So I started looking into it also.
It is something I've looked at before, but never bothered with. I find the methods interesting, but not compelling.
However, in the most recent examination I encountered a book talking about the way in which we read. And that slows down many people.
What the book said, in part, was that we subvocalise the words and that the act of `saying' the words in our head slows us down.
Rather than doing this, we should be able to understand the word by recognizing it, like a picture almost, and thereby be able to read faster.
This was interesting, because I do read that way. When I read to myself, I hear the words in my mind. If I get into a book, I see the scenes also. But it's the `saying' of the words that slows things down.
So I've tried it a little. One trick they give it counting, out loud at first and then subvocal, in order to supplant the `saying' of the words in our head while reading. Interesting.
I'll have to see how it goes. It is very different letting the words be understood rather than read. So far so good though.
Posted by hugin at Mayo 29, 2003 10:54 AMSame thing with reading music. In order to "sight-read" well, you have to get past hearing/seeing/playing things on e note at a time.
(there's an idea there somewhere, probably academically/financially useful)
Let me know how it goes - I could use a speed-up in the acquisition of information.
Very interesting. I've often caught myself unconciously speed reading. I zip through a page very quickly absorbing the story and then realize I didn't take time to actually read the words... I'll have to try the counting thing though. Let me know how it goes. :)
Posted by: Melissa on Mayo 29, 2003 02:23 PMThat's the interesting part of it, is that because we are taught to read phonetically, we do so when it isn't needed. There will be words we don't recognize that will require us to do so but for the most part we visually recognize the word.
I didn't want to use some speed reading techniques because they would deal with changes in the way the information was taken in. This doesn't work well with story driven text though.
I imagine the next bottleneck is the taking in of the information, useful or otherwise. As we are reducing the number of times that we are exposed to the text.
Instead of seeing the words, reading them and hearing them as we say them, we will only be seeing and reading them. Not sure how that will play out in terms of quality of reading.
Still it is interesting, we are keeping a very basic track of our progress bi-weekly with a random book reading each time.
Posted by: Hugin on Mayo 29, 2003 02:38 PMit's odd because though i know that reading out loud in my head probably slows me down quite a bit. i prefer reading that way. I prefer 'hearing the voices' of the characters and the 'narrator'' it fills out the story for me. Also it gives the sense that you are not only reading the story, but are listening to it. almost as if i was curled up someone was telling me the story.
Posted by: munin on Mayo 29, 2003 07:11 PM