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Path: utzoo!dciem!nrcaero!pesnta!idsvax!steiny
From: steiny@idsvax.UUCP (Don Steiny)
Newsgroups: net.cog-eng
Subject: Re: Re: Speed Reading
Message-ID: <175@idsvax.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 23-Jun-85 13:26:57 EDT
Article-I.D.: idsvax.175
Posted: Sun Jun 23 13:26:57 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 24-Jun-85 02:12:56 EDT
References: <1573@orca.UUCP> <292@ucdavis.UUCP> <910@sdcsla.UUCP>
Organization: Independent Consultant - C/UNIX, Natural Language
Lines: 28

>
> The technique is to open a window 1 character high and about 39 characters
> wide.    Then, take the text to be read and present it one word at a time,
> centered, in the window.  Present it fast.  600 words/minute = 100
> msec./word.   That's a good starting point.  The ideal method gives the
> reader a control of speed.  A knob (joystick -- mouse) can be used. Or you
> can use a key.  Space = speed up; non-space = slow down.
> 
> You can indeed read much faster this way, with comprehension.  
> 
>  Donald A. Norman

	Maybe there is a process like afterimages where the buffer
still contains the previous word when a new one comes in.
Did you try varying the pauses?   The experiment is not 
incompatible with the idea that fluent readers read phrases.
If you put in longer pauses at phrase boundries then perhaps
the over-all reading speed could be increased even more.

	600 WPM is not very fast, I  often read fiction at
1000 WMP +.   At 600 WPM, perhaps the physical image of the previous
word is  still on the screen so the reader makes sense of it
in phrases anyway.  

pesnta!idsvax!steiny
Don Steiny - Computational Linguistics
109 Torrey Pine Terr.  Santa Cruz, Calif. 95060
(408) 425-0832