1---
2title: "Reading Methods & RSVP"
3date: 2020-02-13T21:57:28-05:00
4author: Amolith
5description: Methods we unconsciously use when reading and ways to increase both speed and comprehension
6cover: /assets/pngs/book.png
7categories:
8 - Technology
9tags:
10 - Productivity
11 - Reading
12 - TIL
13---
14
15## Reading methods
16Today, I learned that there are three primary ways people read. The
17first and most common is *mental reading* and this is when you "say" the
18words in your head as if you were speaking them.[^1] I find this useful
19when writing because it's as if I'm *actually* speaking them; picking
20out sentences and phrases that don't sound quite right is easier. In
21writing courses, the instructor's advice is often to read your work
22aloud and see how it sounds as mistakes, word choices, and grammatical
23errors are typically much more prominent. Personally, I find doing it in
24my head sufficient though. Mental reading is the slowest method but also
25where your comprehension is at its peak; you are forced to slow down and
26that gives your brain more time to process the information it's being
27fed. The average speed is 250 WPM.[^2]
28
29The second method is called *auditory reading* and it's just listening
30to words spoken by a person or a TTS[^3] engine. Because listening is
31generally more passive, it's much easier to completely miss individual
32words while still understanding the meaning of the phrase or passage.
33This is significantly faster than mental reading at an average of around
34450 WPM. However, comprehension takes a hit because you have less time
35to process the information.
36
37*Visual reading* is the last and fastest. The concept may be kind of
38hard to grasp at first but the next paragraph about Stutter will
39hopefully make it clearer. Visual reading is understanding the meaning
40of the word without having to hear it or say it in your head,
41recognising it based on its shape and the letters it's comprised of.
42Comprehension is at its lowest here but speed peaks. The *average*
43reader who uses this method can consume 700 words per minute. To put
44that in perspective, it's 2.8x faster than mental reading. While
45comprehension is low, it is not nonexistent. The best way to understand
46what I mean is to try it for yourself.
47
48**Note:** [Some
49sources](https://steemit.com/content/@jacor/speed-reading-a-wonderful-skill-to-obtain)
50say that, with practise and when done correctly, there is no difference
51in comprehension, rather the opposite; you retain information
52*significantly* better when speed reading properly. This is where I
53would recommend actually doing it and deciding for yourself.
54
55## Stutter
56[Stutter](https://github.com/jamestomasino/stutter) is a Firefox and
57Chrome extension that brings RSVP[^4] to your browser and lets you
58develop visual reading skills. It specifically makes use of *peripheral
59reading* and displays a single word at time but moves through them at
60rapid pace. It highlights a single character of the current word just to
61the left of the centre. This is because a word can usually be recognised
62by its first few characters; the rest aren't as important. The highlight
63remains in a fixed position so you never have to move your eyes. Because
64of that, Stutter is able to display new words much more quickly; the
65average reader can usually comfortably start at 500 WPM but it is
66possible to reach speeds of over 1200 WPM with regular practise. I
67haven't gotten that far yet :wink:
68
69For more information on speed reading, the [Wikipedia
70page](https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_reading) (where I got most of my
71information) is really interesting and well-worth a read.
72
73## Edits
74* [@caltlgin](https://masto.nixnet.xyz/@caltlgin) recommended
75 [flrdr,](https://octobanana.com/software/fltrdr) a TUI tool for
76 reading with RSVP
77
78[^1]: The technical term is
79 *[subvocalisation](https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Subvocalization)*
80[^2]: Words per minute
81[^3]: [Text-to-speech](https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Speech_synthesis)
82[^4]: *[Rapid serial visual
83 presentation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapid_serial_visual_presentation)*