Speed Reading

Another useful tool for learning is speed reading. You’ll need to wade through a lot of material very quickly whenever you read for classes. Like most people reading this manual, you’re probably reading every single word in succession. Nicholas Schaffzin’s Reading Smart is what I used to break this habit. There are plenty of other books on speed reading, but they all teach the same principle. Instead of looking at words as individuals, you should divide each line into three parts, glance at the sections, and then use your peripheral vision to pick up everything.

As an example, Figure 1.1 contains an excerpt from Herman Melville’s Moby Dick. Read the paragraph as you would normally. Now move to Figure 1.2 and read the section again—this time by glancing at the bullets. At first this technique seems pretty odd. You’ll need some time to adjust to the new style of reading. The more you practice, however, the better you’ll get at speed reading. My own pace has doubled ever since I adapted to this method. Again, I only give a summarized explanation of how speed reading works. I strongly suggest that you pick up a book on the subject and learn from it.

Figure 1.1: Read this section as you normally would

Call me Ishmael. Some years ago—never mind how long precisely—having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world. It is a way I have of driving off the spleen and regulating the circulation. Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people’s hats off—then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can.

Figure 1.2: Now read it again using only the bullets

Call me Ishmael. ∙ Some years ago—never ∙ mind how long precisely—having ∙ little or no money in my ∙ purse, and nothing particular to interest ∙ me on shore, I thought ∙ I would sail about a little and see the ∙ watery part of the world. ∙ It is a way I have of driving ∙ off the spleen and regulating ∙ the circulation. Whenever I find ∙ myself growing grim about ∙ the mouth; whenever it is a damp, ∙ drizzly November in my soul; ∙ whenever I find myself involuntarily ∙ pausing before coffin ∙ warehouses, and bringing up the rear ∙ of every funeral I meet; ∙ and especially whenever my hypos ∙ get such an upper hand of me, ∙ that it requires a strong moral ∙ principle to prevent me ∙ from deliberately stepping into the ∙ street, and methodically ∙ knocking people’s hats off—then, I ∙ account it high time to get to sea ∙ as soon as I can.