![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() First, they asked people to identify the differences between three subtly different objects while their brains were scanned. In 2011 neuroscientists from Japan and the US claimed to have found a way to enhance the digestion of basic knowledge. In other words, there are fundamental constraints on the speed at which we can take in new information, says Andrews.īut perhaps reading isn’t the only way to ‘upload’ information to the brain. Research suggests that comprehension tends to drop drastically when people try to process more than about 500 words per minute. These techniques work for some people, but push them too far and the gaps between the words you catch become so large that the text becomes impossible to understand. Andrews says that people using these speed-reading techniques are only ever processing an incomplete version of the text. PhotoReading, for instance, is a trademarked system in which the reader takes multiple ‘passes’ over a book, starting with the chapter headings and adding more and more detail with each pass. In fact, other speed-reading techniques also generally require the reader to fill in the gaps they miss. “The more they know already, the greater the degree of that fragmentary information they’ll pick up.” “I would argue that what people are doing is not actually understanding what the author has written but picking up words and phrases,” says Andrews. Providing the style of writing is familiar, a Spritz reader’s brain might still have some ability to guess any missing words and work out the meaning of a text. This may be because Spritz readers are subconsciously relying on their prior knowledge or experience to fill in any words they miss. These cues are missing from the written words presented by Spritz, which might make comprehension trickier.īut comprehension is not necessarily impossible, as fans of Spritz might argue. But if we fail to catch a word in speech we can use other cues such as intonation or the speaker’s hand gestures to fill in the gap and work out what’s being said. Spritz is asking us to process the written word at a similar pace to how we do speech, Andrews told BBC Future. Unfamiliar and long words, in particular, take more time to recognise and understand. In an analysis published after Spritz hit the headlines this year, she said that it’s the time it takes to comprehend words that can slow us down. But Sally Andrews, a professor of cognitive psychology at the University of Sydney, says that effective speed-reading isn’t quite that simple. Try Spritz for yourself, and you might agree with the company’s claims. For no extra effort, reading becomes much faster. By focusing on that box, the reader can identify each new word without having to shift their gaze. The people behind a new app called Spritz realised that the easiest way to do that is by flashing the words up, one after another, in the same small box. Many speed-reading methods involve making sure that new words are always in just the right place for the fovea to recognise. The trouble is that sometimes the new word we’re focusing on isn’t quite centred on the fovea, which slows down our ability to recognise and read it. As we read, we shift our focus from word to word – an eye motion called a saccade. The theory behind all speed-reading techniques involves getting words more efficiently to the fovea, a tiny section at the centre of the retina that gives us the sharp vision we need to accurately identify shapes, including letters. What’s the truth about speed-reading, and can technology really help? Sound too good to be true? Some academics would agree. That means you could read War and Peace in around 9 hours, and Moby Dick in a mere three-and-a-half. Some companies selling speed-reading apps have claimed recently they can help anyone exceed 1,000 words per minute. How quickly can you read? Are you the sort of person who finishes the daily newspaper before breakfast? Catches up with the gossip on social media in mere minutes? Races through the latest bestseller in a single sitting? Most of us manage to read about 200 words per minute – but in theory, we could train ourselves to digest information faster. ![]()
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