background preloader

Scientific Speed Reading: How to Read 300% Faster in 20 Minutes

Scientific Speed Reading: How to Read 300% Faster in 20 Minutes
How much more could you get done if you completed all of your required reading in 1/3 or 1/5 the time? Increasing reading speed is a process of controlling fine motor movement—period. This post is a condensed overview of principles I taught to undergraduates at Princeton University in 1998 at a seminar called the “PX Project”. The below was written several years ago, so it’s worded like Ivy-Leaguer pompous-ass prose, but the results are substantial. Here’s how it works… The PX Project The PX Project, a single 3-hour cognitive experiment, produced an average increase in reading speed of 386%. It was tested with speakers of five languages, and even dyslexics were conditioned to read technical material at more than 3,000 words-per-minute (wpm), or 10 pages per minute. If you understand several basic principles of the human visual system, you can eliminate inefficiencies and increase speed while improving retention. First, several definitions and distinctions specific to the reading process:

How to Build a Memory Palace (with Sample) <img alt="Image titled Build a Memory Palace Step 1" src=" width="728" height="546" class="whcdn">1Edit step1Decide on a blueprint for your palace. While a memory palace can be a purely imagined place, it is easier to base it upon a place that exists in the real world and that you are familiar with or you can use some places of your favorite video game. A basic palace could be your bedroom, for example. Larger memory palaces can be based on your house, a cathedral, a walk to the corner store, or your town. <img alt="Image titled Build a Memory Palace Step 11" src=" width="728" height="546" class="whcdn">11Edit step11Build new palaces.

Speed Reading Software and tools: Eyercize Ways to Improve Human Intelligence This briefing is intended to pull into one convenient, single frame of reference a body of key information which currently is scattered across a great many different contexts. Until recently, even the possibility of any such information existing was, for essentially political reasons and funding reasons, denied by most of our institutions, together with most of our educators and psychologists, so that such findings as were made in various contexts and circumstances never got discussed across a broader context. Now that it is evident that the brain, and one's intelligence, are highly changeable and that a wide variety of conditions, arrangements and techniques may be employed to improve both brain functioning and intelligence to even a profound degree, we need to make a start on getting a lot of this key information organized to where you and other inquirers can more readily get at it, understand it, and use it. Menu of Methods Quick Interjection 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Critical literacy Critical literacy is the ability to read texts in an active, reflective manner in order to better understand power, inequality, and injustice in human relationships. For the purposes of critical literacy, text is defined as a “vehicle through which individuals communicate with one another using the codes and conventions of society”. The development of critical literacy skills enables people to interpret messages in the modern world through a critical lens and challenge the power relations within those messages. In this article History and theory of critical literacy The term “critical literacy” was developed by social critical theorists concerned with dismantling social injustice and inequalities. In Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Paulo Freire provides an example of how critical literacy is developed in an educational context. Critical literacy in practice Critical literacy and social action Critical literacy in the classroom Reading supplementary texts Classroom application Reading multiple texts

5 Steps to Learning How to Speed Read in 20 minutes Imagine how much time you would save if you could double, even triple, your reading speed. The average American reads between 200-300 words per minute (wpm), and has been reading at that same rate since their mid-teenage years. If you fall within this category, a 300 page novel takes you approximately 7-8 hours to read. In an interview, Bill Gates was once asked, “If you could have a superpower, what would it be?” Successful people read a lot. I had always considered myself a slow reader, and use to think there was nothing I could do about it. I learned that anyone can learn how to speed read. It’s not just for geniuses, and it’s not a myth. If you’re up for the challenge, here is a step-by-step guide to increasing your reading speed and becoming a boss: *To perform these exercises, I suggest using a large, hard cover book that lays flat when open (trust me, this will make these exercises much easier). 1. Now, choose a starting point and read at your normal speed for exactly 1 minute.

Reading Critically - Interrogating Texts Rogier van der Weyden, 1399 -1464. Altarpiece fragment, Mary Magdalene reading. National Gallery (Great Britain). Available through ArtSTOR Workshop of Rogier van der Weyden. Max Beckmann (1884-1950). Honore Daumier (1808-1879). Young Man Reading a Book (c.1570-1574). Suzuki Harunobo (1725-1770). Ms. How I Was Able to Ace Exams Without Studying Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Scott Young of ScottYoung.com. In high school, I rarely studied. Despite that, I graduated second in my class. Recently I had to write a law exam worth 100% of my final grade. Right now, I’m guessing most of you think I’m just an arrogant jerk. Why do Some People Learn Quickly? The fact is most of my feats are relatively mundane. The story isn’t about how great I am (I’m certainly not) or even about the fantastic accomplishments of other learners. It’s this different strategy, not just blind luck and arrogance, that separates rapid learners from those who struggle. Most sources say that the difference in IQ scores across a group is roughly half genes and half environment. However, despite those gifts, if rapid learners had a different strategy for learning than ordinary students, wouldn’t you want to know what it was? Rote memorization is based on the theory that if you look at information enough times it will magically be stored inside your head.

People who skim online articles are just as cultured as book snobs There’s no way around it, the headlines are disturbing. And they come, not from tabloids or click-bait blogs, but from papers published in scientific journals. They describe fish and birds responding with altered behavior and reproductive systems to antidepressants, diabetes medication, and other psychoactive or hormonally active drugs at concentrations found in the environment. They report on opioids, amphetamines, and other pharmaceuticals found in treated drinking water; antibiotics in groundwater capable of altering naturally occurring bacterial communities; and over-the-counter and prescription drugs found in water leaching from municipal landfills. And these are just some of many recent studies examining the countless pharmaceuticals that are now being found just about everywhere scientists have looked for them in the environment. Exactly how many drugs are in use and how many may be detectable in the environment is difficult to pinpoint. Where are these compounds coming from?

Scientific Speed Reading: How to Read 300% Faster in 20 Minutes (Photo: Dustin Diaz) How much more could you get done if you completed all of your required reading in 1/3 or 1/5 the time? Increasing reading speed is a process of controlling fine motor movement—period. This post is a condensed overview of principles I taught to undergraduates at Princeton University in 1998 at a seminar called the “PX Project.” The below was written several years ago, so it’s worded like Ivy Leaguer pompous-ass prose, but the results are substantial. In fact, while on an airplane in China two weeks ago, I helped Glenn McElhose increase his reading speed 34% in less than 5 minutes. I have never seen the method fail. The PX Project The PX Project, a single 3-hour cognitive experiment, produced an average increase in reading speed of 386%. It was tested with speakers of five languages, and even dyslexics were conditioned to read technical material at more than 3,000 words-per-minute (wpm), or 10 pages per minute. The Protocol 1) Trackers and Pacers (to address A and B above)

Learn How to Triple Your Reading Speed in 5 Minutes (Seriously) [VIDEO] This short (<5 minutes) video will teach you how to triple your reading speed in less than 20 minutes. It works nearly immediately, and there is zero loss in comprehension. No voodoo, no pseudoscience — just two tricks for optimizing eye movement. Some of you learn better with text, and some of you learn better with video. “Tim, thanks so much for this video. Have fun, and I’d love to hear your results in the comments. If you enjoy this, you might also like my posts on rapid language learning, or my interview with champion memory competitor, Ed Cooke.

How to never forget anything ever again Two years ago I was having breakfast with a man who was purportedly the most successful Jeopardy contestant ever — behind Ken Jennings (and the Watson supercomputer). As someone who is always interested in learning new things, I wanted to know how he was able to remember so much stuff. “Have you ever heard of spaced repetition?” he asked me. “This is going to blow your mind.” Since that moment, I’ve used spaced repetition nearly every day. I learned that spaced repetition is a learning technique that relies on something called the spacing effect. Think about how memory works for a second. Then you have long-term memory, which is where you store stuff like your name, your phone number, the address of the house you lived in when you were a kid, etc. But short-term memory and long-term memory are actually two ends of a spectrum. One of the most consistent ways that a new fact can move from short-term towards long-term memory is through repetition. There’s an app for that P.S.

How to Read Tough Science Passages - GMAT In the past, we’ve done some one-off review of parts of RC passages, but this time I’ve got a full one for you. In this article, we’ll look at how to get through this thing (and what to avoid). Next week, we’ll do a question or two. I chose this passage from the free set of questions that comes with GMATPrep (that is, it doesn’t actually show up in the practice CAT itself). It’s a longer passage, so give yourself approximately three minutes total to get through. The Passage A meteor stream is composed of dust particles that have been ejected from a parent comet at a variety of velocities. Here’s how to read When you’re reading an RC passage, think about: (1) What words or parts of the sentence are so complex that I’m going to ignore them for now? Below, I go through each paragraph, noting various things. I did technically read the strikeout text”my eyes looked at the words”but I actively avoided thinking about what they mean or how they fit into the overall message. Let’s try paragraph 1:

Memorizing a programming language using spaced repetition software I've been doing this for a year, and it's the most helpful learning technique I've found in 14 years of computer programming. Background: I'm an intermediate programmer. But later, when I worked along side a REAL programmer, I was blown away by their vocabulary! It made me think about how much I've learned then immediately forgotten, over the years. I wanted to deeply memorize the commands and techniques of the language, and not forget them, so that they stay at the forefront of my mind whenever I need them. Spaced Repetition: When you hear a new fact, it's forgotten pretty quickly unless it's brought back to the forefront of your mind repeatedly. You can do this haphazardly by immersing yourself in a language, for example, where the new words you learn will be brought up by chance occasionally. But memory research shows that the most effective and efficient time for a new fact to be remembered is right before you were about to forget it. As for programming, you get where I'm going with this.

Related: