Quote:
Originally Posted by RougeUnderoos
I don't believe "speed reading" is helpful if you want to properly comprehend what you are reading. If you want to completely understand or retain the material then you can't skim over it or read it as fast as possible. No matter what strategy or course you take, you will miss most of it.
If the idea is to go into work and truthfully say "I've read the material" and offer some broad or vague observations then it can work (which I know people do and it works), but if you have to take a test or you are reading fiction it won't be very helpful and could be counterproductive.
Sorry to be such a Debbie Downer about it, but I have spent some time teaching people reading comprehension skills and speed-reading is the exact opposite of what I tried to teach them. For adults especially, much of the time was spent trying to convince them that faster does not equal better.
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Thanks Rouge.
I am ot using this to study for tests, instead I am merely hoping to get through the volumes of books I have picked up and am behind in... not to mention the thousands more I am sure I will be interested in reading.
Basically, I want to get more done with the little time I have for reading.
It is interesting that you say that comprehension goes down. From what I have read and heard on the subject, we are artifically limited due to the phonetic based learning system most of us are taught how to read with. No matter how fast you get, you still sound the words out in your head, and thus you are limited to how fast the muscles in your voice box moves. Using this idea, speed reading merely trains you to get away from that limitation, and your retention/comprehension isn't impacted either way.. as those factors are controlled by something else entirely.
CGY
Speed Reading
