Discussion Forum > Speed Reading. Experiences and courses?
Dear Paul
Thanks for your query. I've met people who claim to have got a lot out of the PhotoReading Whole Mind System, but I've never been able to make it work myself. Mind you, I've only read the book; I've never been on one of the courses.
Nevertheless there is an immense amount of good stuff in the Photoreading book about how to prepare for and follow up on one's reading.
My own personal view is that just learning to read faster is not on its own much use. Learning to be selective both in what you read and how you read it is much more likely to bear fruit. It does of course depend what sort of book you are reading. I wouldn't want to skim a novel - reading it slowly is part of the enjoyment.
I've never been on any sort of Speed Reading course, so I can't recommend any from my own experience.
Does anyone else have any recommendations for Paul?
Thanks for your query. I've met people who claim to have got a lot out of the PhotoReading Whole Mind System, but I've never been able to make it work myself. Mind you, I've only read the book; I've never been on one of the courses.
Nevertheless there is an immense amount of good stuff in the Photoreading book about how to prepare for and follow up on one's reading.
My own personal view is that just learning to read faster is not on its own much use. Learning to be selective both in what you read and how you read it is much more likely to bear fruit. It does of course depend what sort of book you are reading. I wouldn't want to skim a novel - reading it slowly is part of the enjoyment.
I've never been on any sort of Speed Reading course, so I can't recommend any from my own experience.
Does anyone else have any recommendations for Paul?
January 7, 2008 at 16:34 |
Mark Forster
Mark Forster
Hi Paul
When I was 14 years of age, I took a speed reading course where they flashed progressively larger amounts of reading and also progressively shorter periods of time to read it. Two great things happened:
1. your focal point can encompass entire paragraphs in less than a second
2. in that flash scan, you learn how to both summarize and quickly attach keywords to describe entire ideas.
It was GREAT for school work. I could read all my books for the yearin the first week, and write areas down that needed further development. (of course, not higher mathematics, physics or memorizing courses such as anatomy, etc)
It teaches an unparalleled confidence and quick long-term memory. It also trains your brain to quickly assimilate and tag principles and cross-reference.
If you wanted to cheat, you could read the entire course book 20 minutes before the exam and regurgitate in back onto the test! (Great for boring yet required courses. This also allowed you extra time to better hone your actual important skills and knowledge rather than waiting your valuable brain and time on the required but not needed classes! )
Minus: Whilst doing that, I'd highlight key words and summaries in the margins.........hard to resell my university texts unless the buyer was also a speed reader! LOL!
It's MOST DEFINITELY worth the effort. I would definitely tag it one of the most important skills I've ever learned! Brain injuries took it away again...
learningasIgo
When I was 14 years of age, I took a speed reading course where they flashed progressively larger amounts of reading and also progressively shorter periods of time to read it. Two great things happened:
1. your focal point can encompass entire paragraphs in less than a second
2. in that flash scan, you learn how to both summarize and quickly attach keywords to describe entire ideas.
It was GREAT for school work. I could read all my books for the yearin the first week, and write areas down that needed further development. (of course, not higher mathematics, physics or memorizing courses such as anatomy, etc)
It teaches an unparalleled confidence and quick long-term memory. It also trains your brain to quickly assimilate and tag principles and cross-reference.
If you wanted to cheat, you could read the entire course book 20 minutes before the exam and regurgitate in back onto the test! (Great for boring yet required courses. This also allowed you extra time to better hone your actual important skills and knowledge rather than waiting your valuable brain and time on the required but not needed classes! )
Minus: Whilst doing that, I'd highlight key words and summaries in the margins.........hard to resell my university texts unless the buyer was also a speed reader! LOL!
It's MOST DEFINITELY worth the effort. I would definitely tag it one of the most important skills I've ever learned! Brain injuries took it away again...
learningasIgo
January 8, 2008 at 14:26 |
learning as I go
learning as I go
Hi Paul
I forgot to mention. The course was an hour a day, 5 days a week for either 3 or 6 months (I forgot as I took it in the early 1960's! LOL!). We were advised to practice at home an additional 30minutes with a timer and a highlighter. On my father's advice, I kept up the practising for an entire year to really drum it into my head. Once the skill was in place, it only got better!
Even when you're reading for pleasure, you'll find that your brain will continue to summarize and tag which actually makes the book even richer and more long lived in your memory if that's what you want. It also will dump out information that you don't want to keep.
These skills also come in handy when outlining projects, writing articles, etc....It's a very effective set of both retention and evaluation skills.
It also dovetails nicely with planning skills as well. It is a wonderful course.
I'm sure that in this day and age, the course is available on computer. It's definitely worth a year of 30 minutes daily to have a much stronger reading and memory system.
I do wish that it was a required course for every student.
learning as I go
I forgot to mention. The course was an hour a day, 5 days a week for either 3 or 6 months (I forgot as I took it in the early 1960's! LOL!). We were advised to practice at home an additional 30minutes with a timer and a highlighter. On my father's advice, I kept up the practising for an entire year to really drum it into my head. Once the skill was in place, it only got better!
Even when you're reading for pleasure, you'll find that your brain will continue to summarize and tag which actually makes the book even richer and more long lived in your memory if that's what you want. It also will dump out information that you don't want to keep.
These skills also come in handy when outlining projects, writing articles, etc....It's a very effective set of both retention and evaluation skills.
It also dovetails nicely with planning skills as well. It is a wonderful course.
I'm sure that in this day and age, the course is available on computer. It's definitely worth a year of 30 minutes daily to have a much stronger reading and memory system.
I do wish that it was a required course for every student.
learning as I go
January 8, 2008 at 14:46 |
learning as I go
learning as I go
What do you think about Speed Reading? Is there a particular course you can recommend?
I've seen an advert for the PhotoReading Whole Mind System which claims to increase reading speeds by well over 10 times...
I always seem to have a lot of books that I want to read and benefit from! Is Speed Reading worth while pursuing?
Thanks,
Paul.