Speed Reading

[Notthemama1984]

What are your thoughts on speed reading? DTS is offering a speed reading course and am contemplating on taking it. At face value it seems beneficial to be able to read faster, but I am not sure if it is just a bunch of hype or something legit.

Thanks in advance

 

[AThornquist]

I don't know, man. I taught myself how to speed read and I'm talking several pages a minute. The downside is that my comprehension plummeted. It must only be at 3 or 4 percent now. Why pay money to do what you could at home?

 

[awretchsavedbygrace]

Whatever the case, you cant speed read everything. Not for me. I rather take my time and take in every word.

 

[Andres]

you should take it so we will know whether or not to waste our money and time.

 

[Notthemama1984]

you should take it so we will know whether or not to waste our money and time.

 

[Osage Bluestem]

I can speed read novels and non serious stuff after a few pages to get into a rythmn. It is word recognition. Phonetic reading is always slow. Word recognition is faster. I don't try to read serious stuff fast like that though because it requires thought.

 

[Tim]

The first question to ask is whether you are happy with your level of comprehension at your present reading speed. Personally, I am not happy with my own comprehension, so I wouldn't think that I would benefit from increasing my 'eye speed'. You might be different, though.

 

[JBaldwin]

Most of the speed reading courses I've heard of are nothing more than hype. Have you ever tried running you finger back and forth just below the line you are reading as you're reading? I know it sounds silly, but it really helps me to keep my eyes focused on what I'm reading, and my concentration, speed and retention goes way up when I do this. The best thing is, I didn't pay to take a course to learn how to do it.

 

[CharlieJ]

Assuming that the course is legitimate, I would strongly recommend you take it. Contrary to popular opinion, true speed reading is not skimming or sacrificing comprehension for some useless "speed" measurement. Rather, speed reading is eliminating bad habits and reinforcing good habits so as to optimize your reading ability. When you read faster by reinforcing good habits, you simultaneously increase comprehension. Have you ever listened to a lecture in which the speaker spoke a little on the slow side? Generally, you will have a harder time paying attention because your brain is working faster than the incoming information; there is dead time. The same is true in reading. By increasing reading speed, you decrease dead time in your brain and improve concentration.

A good speed reading course will teach you the physical side of reading. The angle of the page, width of the page, size of the font, and type of lighting all contribute to your reading speed. Of course, the material largely determines your reading speed, and you will never be able to read philosophy at the same speed as a novel, but you can improve your ability to read both. Some speed reading courses also include tips on how to efficiently mark pages or take notes for increased comprehension.

It takes practice. I have a few times in my life hit 1000+ WPM with near-perfect comprehension. Normally I don't touch that, but I'd wager I'm still above even an above-average reader. One of my seminary profs said we should expect to digest Van Til at about 15 pages per hour. I think I was doing about a page a minute and got something like a 98% on the exam. Do the speed reading.

 

[Notthemama1984]

Seeing how DTS is putting the course on, I would have to think it is legit and not some fly by night guy.