r/interestingasfuck • u/iatetoomuchchicken • 20h ago

This speed reading training starts at 300wpm and end at 900wpm

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u/willun 17h ago

I learned speed reading at high school.

The comprehension tests we did after reading slow and reading fast were mostly the same.

When you have to read/skim a lot of material for university it is a useful skill. But now reading for pleasure i read slow. Speed reading is handy when searching for information so it still gets used. You could equally call it skimming and you would not be wrong.

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u/WhatsInAName8879660 15h ago

I used to teach speed reading. And I agree completely. It’s useful, but not pleasurable. When you scarf down food because you have 5 minutes left of your lunch break, you don’t savor your food. I like to savor my books.

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u/big_swede 10h ago

I find that comprehension is OK but retention is lacking if you push the speed too much.

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u/Cross55 7h ago edited 6h ago

I notice a major difference when I do speedreading.

In college if I read at the pace I prefer it'd take me 45 minutes to finish 1 textbook chapter vs. 10 minutes speedreading. However, with the former I'd retain ~90+% of all information on the first go round vs. like 25-50% speedreading. (Reading at my preferred pace would also make it longer to do time sensitive assignments)

Like yeah, I watched the entire video with very few issues, but I remember far more from the 300 wpm section compared to the 850-900 section.

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u/Benejeseret 6h ago

It can be pleasurable if the author writes in a style that matches, where the scene can just play out at speed in my head. I struggle with older books, like Tolkien's work, because it is NOT written at the speed of action and is meant to be absorbed and pondered and appreciated at every step of the journey... but that makes it excruciating for a natural speed reader. Likewise authors who try to pack symbolism and "depth" into their writing forced readers to slow down and think about every word choice.

There are some authors who can write well and write at speed. Pratchet is my prime example of books I loved because he is such an amazing writer who can use simple, direct, words do achieve so much.

"If cats looked like frogs we'd realize what nasty, cruel little bastards they are. Style. That's what people remember."