FIRST SEARCHES: TIM FERRIS & OTHER BASICS
Doing what any casually inquisitive person does these days, I Googled "speed reading," and one of the first pages that looked promising was this one by Tim Ferris:
http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2009/07/30/speed-reading-and-accelerated-learning/
(In case the linked article ever disappears from the internet, I have recopied the body of the text below.)
Tim Ferris expounds on a number of very interesting topics, and I gather speed reading coincides with his life philosophy rather nicely.
The gist of his commentary is to explain in brief how to speed read. One thing I found mentioned on many sites as I began these searches is that speed reading, rather than subtracting comprehension, actually improves comprehension. This initially seems hard to believe on the face of it. However, I think if I were forced to read far below my comfortable speed, plodding along like a first grader, I would be very loath to pay much attention to what I was doing and become distracted; while I imagined that reading at high speeds along with necessary high concentration may in fact premit one to become more fixedly engaged to the material and allow the reader to remember more, even much more. I would later find the latter to be true.
Ferris' article explains how to test one's current speed, and then relates the primary bad habits that most readers have and the techniques one can learn to train those bad habits away. It's a very good article and I recommend it to anyone starting out.
For my part, I tested my reading speed as he recommended, and used the book that had initially got me on this whole project, Killing Kennedy, which afforded fairly easy reading on a topic that, although unfamiliar, was easy enough to grasp. I tested my reading a few times, and I came out with 214 WPM (words per minute). As I had always suspected, this is a little below average.
The bad habits that Ferris and nearly all speed reading guides mention: subvocalization, fixation, regression, and limited field of vision. I encourage you to read his article for more detail, but to summarize (along with some thoughts from other sources I'll link to later on):
Subvocalization is sounding out words subconsciously in one's head, often with the mouth and tongue moving slightly. At the very least, one hears the words rather clearly in one's head. While it seemed inconceivable to me at first that I could read a passage without hearing the sound of the words in my mind, I was won over by two thoughts: first, that if one subvocalizes all one's reading, one is limited in reading speed to talking speed (a video that I'll link to in a later post notes that notoriously fast-talking New Yorkers actually read faster on average than most), which is called informally the "sound barrier" of reading, and that the goal is to go "supersonic," a speed which evidently occurs around 600 WPM; second, that whenever a story is told verbally — like a person talking to you directly, on a radio show, or a chacter in a movie recounting an event — one hears the words aurally, and then is immediately presented in the mind's eye with an imagination of what that story is conveying; and if one is subvocalizing, the exact same thing is occuring, with the added step that the reader is looking at the page, then turning the words into sound imagined in the mind, and then from hearing that "internal audio" spoken within imagines the scenes and ideas depicted — but, what if you could just look at the words and see the images instantly? without the middle man of subvocalizing — an amazing thought!
Fixation is where the eye stops in its progression over a line. Eye movement fixes that are restricted to one or maybe two words at a time are inefficient. Movement must be steady and rapid, with fewer per line.
Regression is going back to re-read a word or a line. This subtracts from WPM time de facto.
Limited field of vision means that one's peripheral vision is insuffient to observe more than a word or two at a time. But with some training, one can extend peripheral vision to take in whole chunks of words at a time.
All these bad habits are really just the training wheels we received as children learning to read in the first grade: sounding out words phonetically to read outloud. The reality is, once we learn to read "silently," that same word-by-word sounding is going on in our heads, and we never advance our technique in any structured way. While other disciplines, like physical conditioning, skill at a sport, or ability to speak a foreign language, have an outward appearance where the the effects of technique are visible, one's reading, being inherently internal, is not an obvious thing for people to seek to master or improve, which further explains the dirth of information about the subject.
The quintessential solution is to have a tracker or pacer — a finger, a hand, or the end of a pen, which you use to "underline" the words as fast as you like to go, and guide your eyes to do the efficient thing. Using the techniques and training recommended by Ferris, I ended up with a considerably higher reading speed of near 400 WPM!
Thus I was already able to double my formally testudinal reading pace in just a few minutes of training! Already I was blazing through the pages of Killing Kennedy, at a rate of no less than one page per minute, where just the day before I would need two or three minutes to a page. In my extremely limited free time over the next two days (exactly how many minutes or hours altogether I cannot say), I consumed the entire biography proudly and was able to return it to the person who lent it to me. I was initially worried it would have taken me at least a couple weeks to knock it out.
INITIAL OBSERVATIONS
It definitely takes concentration to speed read! It wasn't coming naturally yet — the old 200 WPM pace is much more comfortable. Yet the same can be said of athletics: an able bodied individual who has barely run a day in his life will be a reluctant runner — moving quickly doesn't not come natural to him either; but an energetic Olympian will enjoy jogging from location to location because their muscles are conditioned for the activity and perform without effort; psychologically, running may be less effort when possible because it's less tedious. My own experience with athletic training and early stage speed reading informs this analogy, and it rings true.
I imagine that, comparable to running versus walking, there will be times when reading "subsonic" will be preferable -- such as when the reader encounters a poem or an especially vivid quotation, material that implores the reader to savor the sound (real or imagined) of the spoken word. To extend the analogy, somewhat playfully I admit, to aircraft capable of supersonic cruise speeds, although these jets have been manufactured to fly beyond the sound barrier, sometimes agile maneuvers require slower speeds, and like any reusable vehicle they must eventually slow down and stop. The art and skill of speed reading will be to balance techniques and speeds appropriate to the material.
When it comes to the actual experience of speed reading, the most important question of comprehension is worth addressing chiefly: I am happy to report that I understood everything and recall the whole book comparably with what a slow speed result must have been. Although tempted, I would compel myself not to regress. Once in a while I would really need to, having failed to imprint the text in my brain for an instant. But as I applied the practice of non-regression faithfully, I found that my cognition, starved of the habit, would automatically grasp information the first time round. Truly a remarkable change.
Again I am reminded of the early stages of athletic training since the high intensity of concentration necessitated frequent breaks. The rather limited pockets of free time available to me in which to read generally made this easy, but when afforded the opportunity for longer periods of focus I would need to rest my eyes more than usual (as the eye muscles are utilized rather vigorously), as well as rest my mind — I believe that taking a moment to rest and stare off into the distance allows for moments of reflexion, permitting the information stored in short term memory to be processed and stored more readily in the brain. The blitz across the page is quite exhilarating, and being able to look away as the images are recalled and recorded is very helpful.
The next post will relate an incredibly helpful tool for speed reading training and how I came to find it.
(The below is copied from this link: http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2009/07/30/speed-reading-and-accelerated-learning/ )
*****
Scientific Speed Reading: How to Read 300% Faster in 20 Minutes
Written by Tim Ferriss
How much more could you get done if you completed all of your required reading in 1/3 or 1/5 the time?
Increasing reading speed is a process of controlling fine motor movement—period.
This post is a condensed overview of principles I taught to undergraduates at Princeton University in 1998 at a seminar called the “PX Project”. The below was written several years ago, so it’s worded like Ivy-Leaguer pompous-ass prose, but the results are substantial. In fact, while on an airplane in China two weeks ago, I helped Glenn McElhose increase his reading speed 34% in less than 5 minutes.
I have never seen the method fail. Here’s how it works…
The PX Project
The PX Project, a single 3-hour cognitive experiment, produced an average increase in reading speed of 386%.
It was tested with speakers of five languages, and even dyslexics were conditioned to read technical material at more than 3,000 words-per-minute (wpm), or 10 pages per minute. One page every 6 seconds. By comparison, the average reading speed in the US is 200-300 wpm (1/2 to 1 page per minute), with the top 1% of the population reading over 400 wpm…
If you understand several basic principles of the human visual system, you can eliminate inefficiencies and increase speed while improving retention.
To perform the exercises in this post and see the results, you will need: a book of 200+ pages that can lay flat when open, a pen, and a timer (a stop watch with alarm or kitchen timer is ideal). You should complete the 20 minutes of exercises in one session.
First, several definitions and distinctions specific to the reading process:
A) Synopsis: You must minimize the number and duration of fixations per line to increase speed.
You do not read in a straight line, but rather in a sequence of saccadic movements (jumps). Each of these saccades ends with a fixation, or a temporary snapshot of the text within you focus area (approx. the size of a quarter at 8 inches from reading surface). Each fixation will last ¼ to ½ seconds in the untrained subject. To demonstrate this, close one eye, place a fingertip on top of that eyelid, and then slowly scan a straight horizontal line with your other eye-you will feel distinct and separate movements and periods of fixation.
B) Synopsis: You must eliminate regression and back-skipping to increase speed.
The untrained subject engages in regression (conscious rereading) and back-skipping (subconscious rereading via misplacement of fixation) for up to 30% of total reading time.
C) Synopsis: You must use conditioning drills to increase horizontal peripheral vision span and the number of words registered per fixation.
Untrained subjects use central focus but not horizontal peripheral vision span during reading, foregoing up to 50% of their words per fixation (the number of words that can be perceived and “read” in each fixation).
The Protocol
You will 1) learn technique, 2) learn to apply techniques with speed through conditioning, then 3) learn to test yourself with reading for comprehension.
These are separate, and your adaptation to the sequencing depends on keeping them separate. Do not worry about comprehension if you are learning to apply a motor skill with speed, for example. The adaptive sequence is: technique ‘ technique with speed ‘ comprehensive reading testing.
As a general rule, you will need to practice technique at 3x the speed of your ultimate target reading speed. Thus, if you currently read at 300 wpm and your target reading speed is 900 wpm, you will need to practice technique at 1,800 words-per-minute, or 6 pages per minute (10 seconds per page).
We will cover two main techniques in this introduction:
1) Trackers and Pacers (to address A and B above)
2) Perceptual Expansion (to address C)
First – Determining Baseline
To determine your current reading speed, take your practice book (which should lay flat when open on a table) and count the number of words in 5 lines. Divide this number of words by 5, and you have your average number of words-per-line.
Example: 62 words/5 lines = 12.4, which you round to 12 words-per-line
Next, count the number of text lines on 5 pages and divide by 5 to arrive at the average number of lines per page. Multiply this by average number of words-per-line, and you have your average number of words per page.
Example: 154 lines/5 pages = 30.8, rounded to 31 lines per page x 12 words-per-line = 372 words per page
Mark your first line and read with a timer for 1 minute exactly-do not read faster than normal, and read for comprehension. After exactly one minute, multiply the number of lines by your average words-per-line to determine your current words-per-minute (wpm) rate.
Second – Trackers and Pacers
Regression, back-skipping, and the duration of fixations can be minimized by using a tracker and pacer. To illustrate the importance of a tracker-did you use a pen or finger when counting the number of words or lines in above baseline calculations? If you did, it was for the purpose of tracking-using a visual aid to guide fixation efficiency and accuracy. Nowhere is this more relevant than in conditioning reading speed by eliminating such inefficiencies.
For the purposes of this article, we will use a pen. Holding the pen in your dominant hand, you will underline each line (with the cap on), keeping your eye fixation above the tip of the pen. This will not only serve as a tracker, but it will also serve as a pacer for maintaining consistent speed and decreasing fixation duration. You may hold it as you would when writing, but it is recommended that you hold it under your hand, flat against the page.
1) Technique (2 minutes):
Practice using the pen as a tracker and pacer. Underline each line, focusing above the tip of the pen. DO NOT CONCERN YOURSELF WITH COMPREHENSION. Keep each line to a maximum of 1 second, and increase the speed with each subsequent page. Read, but under no circumstances should you take longer than 1 second per line.
2) Speed (3 minutes):
Repeat the technique, keeping each line to no more than ½ second (2 lines for a single “one-one-thousand”). Some will comprehend nothing, which is to be expected. Maintain speed and technique-you are conditioning your perceptual reflexes, and this is a speed exercise designed to facilitate adaptations in your system. Do not decrease speed. ½ second per line for 3 minutes; focus above the pen and concentrate on technique with speed. Focus on the exercise, and do not daydream.
Third – Perceptual Expansion
If you focus on the center of your computer screen (focus relating to the focal area of the fovea in within the eye), you can still perceive and register the sides of the screen. Training peripheral vision to register more effectively can increase reading speed over 300%. Untrained readers use up to ½ of their peripheral field on margins by moving from 1st word to last, spending 25-50% of their time “reading” margins with no content.
To illustrate, let us take the hypothetical one line: “Once upon a time, students enjoyed reading four hours a day.” If you were able to begin your reading at “time” and finish the line at “four”, you would eliminate 6 of 11 words, more than doubling your reading speed. This concept is easy to implement and combine with the tracking and pacing you’ve already practiced.
1) Technique (1 minute):
Use the pen to track and pace at a consistent speed of one line per second. Begin 1 word in from the first word of each line, and end 1 word in from the last word.
DO NOT CONCERN YOURSELF WITH COMPREHENSION. Keep each line to a maximum of 1 second, and increase the speed with each subsequent page. Read, but under no circumstances should you take longer than 1 second per line.
2) Technique (1 minute):
Use the pen to track and pace at a consistent speed of one line per second. Begin 2 words in from the first word of each line, and end 2 words in from the last word.
3) Speed (3 minutes):
Begin at least 3 words in from the first word of each line, and end 3 words in from the last word. Repeat the technique, keeping each line to no more than ½ second (2 lines for a single “one-one-thousand”).
Some will comprehend nothing, which is to be expected. Maintain speed and technique-you are conditioning your perceptual reflexes, and this is a speed exercise designed to facilitate adaptations in your system. Do not decrease speed. ½ second per line for 3 minutes; focus above the pen and concentrate on technique with speed. Focus on the exercise, and do not daydream.
Fourth – Calculate New WPM Reading Speed
Mark your first line and read with a timer for 1 minute exactly- Read at your fastest comprehension rate. Multiply the number of lines by your previously determined average words-per-line to get determine your new words-per-minute (wpm) rate.
Congratulations on completing your cursory overview of some of the techniques that can be used to accelerate human cognition (defined as the processing and use of information).
Final recommendations: If used for study, it is recommended that you not read 3 assignments in the time it would take you to read one, but rather, read the same assignment 3 times for exposure and recall improvement, depending on relevancy to testing.
Happy trails, page blazers.
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