[Hitch]

Originally Posted by Turtle91

I guess I'm not sure why the "golden number" would apply to reading devices. I get how it applies to pictures...as in, I understand the concept... but I've seen great pics that don't conform to that rule. I think it is more a training aid to get the photographer to think about composition...

I don't see how getting up to 60-66 characters on a line really makes a difference??

?? Whether it's paper or electronic is irrelevant. It's eye-flicks. The whole thing, created long before the type of testing, etc., that we have today, turns out to be related to how often the eye flicks from the end of one line to the beginning of the next. If the rhythm is off, if it's too fast or too slow, the person reading will "feel" as though they are either bored or antsy or irritated. Apparently, each eye flick sends a certain tiny amount of a transmitter or neurochemical, whatever, to the brain, related to the satisfaction from the reading. If it happens too rapidly, or too slowly, the reader becomes dissatisfied with the read, perceiving it to be for different reasons.

That's unrelated to paper or digital.

I use my phone to read, exclusively. I typically have it in landscape, but that is so the tables that are often in the books display nicely. It feels like the same width as an old style paperback book - maybe even a little wider. Although, my eyes have reached that 42+ years old range and I find myself making the font a little larger, I don't notice that there are fewer characters on the line. I just get to the end and my eyes move to the next line. I also use auto-scroll so I don't worry about page flipping/swiping. I don't notice anything until I get to the end of a chapter... unless, of course there is some atrocious grammar/spelling that jars me out of the story.

Well, obviously, there ARE fewer characters on the line, unless you can explain to me how your font could be larger, the screen the same size, and the character count NOT reduce?

Using scrolling or swiping has no impact on the flick.

FWIW, I counted the number of characters in a line and it is about 45-50.

Okay, well...then presumably, that number suits you--do you read for long periods of time this way, or not?

I simply find it fascinating that the golden number was considered and followed, long before anyone knew that eye flicks sent neurochemicals or dopamine or whatever-the-heck to the brain. If you think about it, publishers would normally be inclined to put as MUCH text on the line as they could, to reduce printing costs and optimize profit--but still, they stick with 60-66-character lines for novel-length books.

Hitch