• Metric

• Jumping backack

• bigger fixations

• increase speed

• speed limits

• use a guide

Scanning, skimming, skipping, set goals, ...

Variable speed

Metric

WPM = words per minute

200 WPM - avg reader

400 WPM - avg graduate / researcher

300 pages ~= 100 000 words

How to estimate your speed?

# words in a book = (words over 5 lines / 5) * (lines on a page) * (pages)

(online tests)

Do not jump back

Saccade

is a quick, simultaneous movement of both eyes between two or more phases of fixation in the same direction.

Sensory memory

is the shortest-term element of memory. It is the ability to retain impressions of sensory information after the original stimuli have ended.

Bigger fixations

fixation width: # words at once

fixation height: # lines at once

Increase speed

brain works at 1400 WPM

200 WPM - avg reader

->      1200 WPM

400 WPM - avg graduate / researcher

->      1000 WPM

DISTRACTION

Breaking speed limits

3850 WPM - 300 pages in 30 minutes

with 100% content remembered

concentrating increases brain's max WPM

Too difficult?

double speed

• you need half the time, forever

triple speed

• ...

Use a guide

Eye tracking

• finger

• pen

+ no jumping back

+ control over reading speed

+ focus

Eye patterns

Double line sweep

variable sweep

reverse sweep

ADVANCED

S

Zig-zag

Loop

vertical wave

double guide

lazy s

reverse direction does not matter when fixation size is large enough

Remarks

language matters: native language?

complexity matters: long sentences, difficult constructions?

familiarity matters: unknown words?

practice at a higher speed

todo: subvocalisation is a bottleneck?