Speed Reading Just a Gimmick

[CMF Newsman]

When you read, your eyes act like spotlights on a stage. The construction of your eyes only allows them to focus on one small area on the page at a time, so the idea of speed reading is bunk, according to several studies published in the Journal of Vision this month.

Although you might have the illusion that you see the whole page, you can actually only see small groups of letters at the point where your eyes are focused. Only eight or 10 letters fit in this tiny window, called the visual span. The rest of the letters are just a blur, said Gordon Legge, a vision researcher at the University of Minnesota.

So how does anyone ever finish a book as long as "War and Peace?" Readers make a series of eye movements while scanning the page, Legge said.

People typically make four eye movements per second, picking up about four or five words per second and 250 to 300 words per minute. That's a typical estimate for normal reading speed, Legge said.

complete story

[Longshot! [ Saint ]]

Oddly, I didn't get all of that.

[ScarlettP]

All I know is that most people seem to read a HECK of a lot faster than I do. But then, I always read for the pleasure and relaxation of it... not to rush to the end.

[Longshot! [ Saint ]]

(I feel the same way about books, and dining.)

(And something else, come to think of it.)

[Jay]

That's what all slow readers say

~J

scarlettp said:

All I know is that most people seem to read a HECK of a lot faster than I do. But then, I always read for the pleasure and relaxation of it... not to rush to the end.