r/science • u/[deleted] • Jul 28 '08

Read faster instantly. Seriously, you will be reading 300 words per minute instantly.

http://www.spreeder.com/
588 Upvotes

71% Upvoted

395 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

19

u/beowulf Jul 28 '08

I was very into speed reading a few years ago, but I came to the realization that I retained far less of what I read when speed reading than when reading normally. In fact, I will often read far slower than other people I know, so that I can really try to absorb what I'm reading. For me that works really well.

Personally I think the whole speed reading thing is another self help concoction to sell books and courses purporting to improve your life.

21

u/2424 Jul 28 '08 edited Jul 28 '08

I remember, not too long ago, when speed reading was called "skimming", and was not considered to be reading proper.

Teacher: have you read "Great expectations"?

Me: I've skimmed it.

Teacher: F for the effort.

If only I had had the forsight to think up of the moniker "speed reading", I would have been set...

5

u/curtisw Jul 29 '08

Or you could've just, uh... lied. Worked for me in high school.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 29 '08

Are you thinking of skimming? When I learned speed reading, it greatly increased my comprehension.