Speed Reading - It's Mostly Bullshit (Or Is It?)

I don't purposely "speed read" but I do read very fast. If I'm relaxing on a beach for vacation, finishing a GoT sized book in a day (or even an afternoon) is completely feasible for me. Especially if it is a book I'm really into, the more I like a book the more I want to tear through it.

But I do either comprehend or retain less information. I can't tell you how many times I've re-read a book only to pick up something I missed the first time because I sped past it. While missing out on some things isn't ideal, it is kind of a wash because it does increase the re-readability of books for me. I pretty much revisit the entire GoT series whenever a new book is due out (so not very often) and there is still a little surprise or two hiding in there for me because I missed or didn't retain it on a previous reading.

It isn't something I do on purpose and sometimes I wish I would slow myself down but at least for fiction it ruins my immersion if I try to adjust from my natural reading pace.

Not bullshit, just a technique. Works very well for some things. I don't see why in the world you would read something like a technical manual in depth. And on the other hand I don't see how you could speed read something with an aberrant structure and walk away with any sort of comprehension at all.

But there is a reason why they taught you how to write the way they taught you how to write back in 1st grade. Topic sentence, supporting sentences, paragraph break. I've always thought of it in my own brain as "scanning" rather than reading. It's what it feels like. Looking for the part that I'm interested in, comprehending it, and then that may lead me backwards or forwards in the text.

I was taught speed reading in HS. It was a required course. Not bullshit and very useful.

Soygen_sl said:

A required course? That's interesting. What country do you live in? Was it a private school?

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Private school in Monterey, CA., USA. We were taught a method in the 9th grade, that would have been circa 1970. Books were all the rage back then. (I'm old). I still use it today if I need to look something up, not necessarily if I'm reading a novel, although I can devour those fairly quickly, also.

We do this regularly in graduate school.

lanx_sl said:

sounds like you took
Evelyn Wood (teacher) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

her system seems to be the progenitor for other systems.

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I think you're right. It's been a while, but I do know that when I need turbo mode, I scan the page with my hands and read top to bottom more than left to right like the wiki article describes.

Tuco_sl said:

Speed reading isn't bullshit, but a lot of the techniques used to maximize your WPM result in a lower comprehension rate. Chunking and removing vocalization is really important.

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This.

The problem is subvocalization. Whether you realize it or not, we all "say" the words aloud in our head, as if we were reading a bedtime story to our own brain. This is what makes what we view as "normal" reading speed so gosh darn slow: Your eyes can totally buzz across those lines 300 percent quicker while still delivering the same information, but your thoughts insist on dragging their feet as they bumble along, painstakingly thinking each and every word "out loud" inside your head. Using the timer to force yourself to go faster will also force you to stop subvocalizing.

5 So-Called Signs of Genius That Any Idiot Can Learn | Cracked.com
Scientific Speed Reading: How to Read 300% Faster in 20 Minutes | The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss

100% retention is a bold statement.