Comments on: Everyone’s Talking About…

By: Jeremy Dunck

Jeremy Dunck — Mon, 14 Feb 2005 18:05:21 +0000

I started using a computer (Apple ][e) when I was about 10.

I did not become a touch typist until I was about 16, when I discovered MUDs, and had incentive to both read and write at the same time, and enjoyed the experience while I was at it.

I hover around 60 wpm now; not screamingly fast, but definitely faster than most of my peers.

By: Meri

Meri — Sun, 13 Feb 2005 19:31:29 +0000

The key thing I meant is that people shouldn’t be held up by the medium they are using to express their thoughts. In a corporate setting the “henpecker” typist (slowly seeking and then hitting with just one finger) is still a worryingly frequent sight!

By: Rich

Rich — Sun, 13 Feb 2005 17:09:02 +0000

I’m pretty sure that even though I’m a slow reader and typist I can still read and type much faster than I can think. Certainly, when writing code or prose I do a lot more thinking than typing, and much of the time I find the same is true of reading.(Maybe I’m an even slower thinker…) Perhaps the subjective impression of the relative speed of one’s thinking, reading and writing is really a measure of how worthwhile a challenge is being posed by whatever is being read or written.

I could sometimes do with being able to type more slowly, especially when directly modifying live mission-critical databases using SQL (yes, I know I shouldn’t be doing this) – it’s very easy to fall into the trap of thinking that because one has finished typing one has also finished thinking!

By: Meri

Meri — Thu, 10 Feb 2005 08:36:30 +0000

Personally, I was lucky enough to be taught speedreading at an early age (i.e. in high school). We had a computer program (dos-based — ran off floppies, but I can’t remember the name of it!) that helped you read faster, but tested your comprehension each time and wouldn’t let you progress to a faster speed until you had reached 80% comprehension. The fastest I ever achieved with 100% comprehension was 1500 wpm, but 7 years later my reading speed when I’m not trying is around 800 wpm and I can skim with high comprehension if I need to.

In terms of what speed-reading course I’d recommend now, I’m honestly just not familiar with any commercial ones. Wikipedia’s article on speed-reading seems to be along the right tracks though. The key thing is to choose a course that focuses on retaining comprehension as well as increasing speed (i.e. not just a skimming course).

By: Jeremy Dunck

Jeremy Dunck — Thu, 10 Feb 2005 04:50:23 +0000

Meri, can you recommend a particular speed reading course?

I’m very much interested in improving my reading speed; comprehension and retention is still very important to me, though.