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JeanPierre · 08-22-2018, 03:34 PM

I am surprised to see that this myth about "speed reading" is still so prevalent in 2018.

I am particularly amused by the structure of that poll, with "201 - 300 wpm (8th grade level)" listed, which would seem to encourage users to be dishonest in their responses. 201 is the lowest rate that has been listed, and it comes with a judgment that this is the level that children read at on a site where, presumably, most users are adults, but for whom English may be a second language.

For those that have been taken in by what is, as stated, abusively framed marketing propaganda, I would encourage you to read the following articles and search for "reading speed" on scholar.google.com.

https://www.wired.com/2017/01/make-r...ing-wont-help/
https://www.scotthyoung.com/blog/201...-reading-redo/

I would also recommend the book "How to Read a Book" by Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren to everyone.

When it comes to reading speeds, the skill of quickly skimming familiar or irrelevant information is an important one. However, when it comes to sustained reading speeds, the only texts that are worth reading at speed are those not worth reading in the first place.

08-22-2018, 03:34 PM	#30
JeanPierre Zealot Posts: 137 Karma: 398492 Join Date: Apr 2018 Device: Kobo Aura One	I am surprised to see that this myth about "speed reading" is still so prevalent in 2018. I am particularly amused by the structure of that poll, with "201 - 300 wpm (8th grade level)" listed, which would seem to encourage users to be dishonest in their responses. 201 is the lowest rate that has been listed, and it comes with a judgment that this is the level that children read at on a site where, presumably, most users are adults, but for whom English may be a second language. For those that have been taken in by what is, as stated, abusively framed marketing propaganda, I would encourage you to read the following articles and search for "reading speed" on scholar.google.com. https://www.wired.com/2017/01/make-r...ing-wont-help/ https://www.scotthyoung.com/blog/201...-reading-redo/ I would also recommend the book "How to Read a Book" by Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren to everyone. When it comes to reading speeds, the skill of quickly skimming familiar or irrelevant information is an important one. However, when it comes to sustained reading speeds, the only texts that are worth reading at speed are those not worth reading in the first place.