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I Was Wrong About Speed Reading (2015)

scotthyoung.com

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Re: I Was Wrong About Speed Reading (2015)

#141

Post by toxik »

amatecha wrote: post #120
pmoriarty wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Beyond slowing down, a real challenge for many of us in this age of distraction is to keep one's attention focused on a single text for extended periods of time. I know I struggle with this myself despite being a life-long reader from the pre-Internet days who used to have no trouble staying focused through a full book.

To support your point: I read the first sentence of your comment, then scrolled further down to start reading other comments! hahah ;)

I think this is just your brain autocompleting the rest of the sentence. You probably aren't even reading this second sentence, because you already know how I'm going to justify the claim of "brain autocompletion."

Though new paragraphs, or otherwise unexpected characteristics like long groupings of numbers such as 747-838-919-884, stick out and pique our interest.

I think a lot of good writing lies in playing with your internal "branch predictor" as it were.

Re: I Was Wrong About Speed Reading (2015)

#142

Post by pixelrevision »

emodendroket wrote: post #130
roel_v wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it possible to reverse this without giving up phones completely? I can't even sit through a 1.5h movie any more :/

Buying a Kindle made me read way more.

I’ll second this. If you are struggling to stick with a novel then get some short stories to remind your brain why you used to like to read.

Re: I Was Wrong About Speed Reading (2015)

#144

Post by bshacklett »

FooHentai wrote: post #106

I'm what I've come to call a 'slow thinker'. My perception speed is normal, but the gray matter ticks over at a very slow rate of knots and my comprehension of what I'm seeing/hearing/feeling unpacks over the course of several seconds. I've noticed I often have an initial reaction to things, then a 'slow reaction' that is sometimes quite different and factors in more things I know. It's like it takes some time to 'di…

This sounds a lot like System 1 and System 2 as described by Thinking, Fast and Slow https://www.amazon.com/dp/0374533555/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_i...

Veritasium did a great job summarizing the idea: https://youtu.be/UBVV8pch1dM

Re: I Was Wrong About Speed Reading (2015)

#145

Post by crashbunny »

FooHentai wrote: post #106

I'm what I've come to call a 'slow thinker'. My perception speed is normal, but the gray matter ticks over at a very slow rate of knots and my comprehension of what I'm seeing/hearing/feeling unpacks over the course of several seconds. I've noticed I often have an initial reaction to things, then a 'slow reaction' that is sometimes quite different and factors in more things I know. It's like it takes some time to 'di…

I recognise a lot of what you write in myself.

My initial reaction in a stressful situation I often regretted, it wasn't a calm and considered response but a knee jerk reaction. Meditation has really helped me. Lets me respond initially in a thoughtful and considered way and it's a lot quicker that having a spike in emotion and saying WHAT!, then sorry, then trying to calm down and think and respond.

Re: I Was Wrong About Speed Reading (2015)

#146

Post by EncryptEntropy »

lostlogin wrote: post #65
StavrosK wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I read a book that could literally be summed up in a sentence (it was called "the asshole rule" or something similar, and the gist was "don't hire assholes"). There was nothing at all in addition to that, except for a bunch of feel-good anecdotes and specious data that misrepresented correlation for causation. I hated it so much that I made a (now defunct) website where I would post summaries of these books so people…

Content bloat with needless crap seems to have happened to novels, movies and tv shows. It’s interesting to read penguin classics - maybe they don’t represent their respective eras, but they are usually (very subjectively) quite short.

Don’t forget music, tutorials, HN long winded comments, and every single other form of medium in which someone is selling you something.

Re: I Was Wrong About Speed Reading (2015)

#147

Post by EncryptEntropy »

About three years ago a buddy of mine suggested that listening to course lectures or general podcasts/audiobooks/Youtube tutorials saved him a massive amount of time counted in hours by simply putting the playback speed of everything he listened to as high as he could muster. At least 1.5x for Youtube videos, often time he listens to podcasts and books in 2x. I argued that this is tantamount to speed reading and that he’s losing half the comprehension anyway, may as well slow it. I’ve tried it and believe it’s about as successful as speed reading.

Re: I Was Wrong About Speed Reading (2015)

#148

Post by weeksie »

Reedx wrote: post #11

Reading speed strikes me similarly to typing speed when it comes to programming. It's fun to read/type fast, but it's not really the bottleneck.

Being quick on the keyboard is about reducing friction. The faster I can physically manipulate an idea in space and the more automatic it is, the less cognitive overhead I have to waste on the process. If you work with a keyboard you will be well served by mastering that tool.

Re: I Was Wrong About Speed Reading (2015)

#149

Post by dorfsmay »

Reedx wrote: post #11

Reading speed strikes me similarly to typing speed when it comes to programming. It's fun to read/type fast, but it's not really the bottleneck.

I disagree, reading speed at full comprehension level can slow you down and accelerate everything you do.

I'm an extremely slow reader and that has been a major bottleneck in my life, it has slowed me down in everything I do and everything I've been interested in.

Bill Gates is rumored to read several books per weeks and fully understand and remember most details. That in itself isn't enough to have made him who he is, but I'm sure it helps. If I could get one thing from him that's what I'd pick, yes over money and programing abilities, reading slowly is that delibitating.

Re: I Was Wrong About Speed Reading (2015)

#150

Post by dorfsmay »

Reedx wrote: post #31
quickthrower2 wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The best way to speed read is if the writer reduces the number of words required to communicate and educate. Of course this takes extra effort, and is also goes against human perception of value. E.g. if you reduced Tim Ferris's book to a single sheet of A4 you could get the point across, but who's going to pay $20 or so for a sheet of A4? Well some execs might pay $2000 - but you won't sell millions of copies like t…

That's something I've been wondering about. How many non-fiction books could be reduced by 90% and still communicate 90% of the ideas? I feel like we're losing a lot of time and potential due to filler pages.

Yes, in that sense Wikipedia is one of the greatest human achievement. I wish it had been around when I grew up!
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