Holy crap: "Spritzing" - unique speed-reading technology

[VulgarDisplay]

You can install the spreed add on to chrome. Pretty amazing. I was reading perfectly fine at 1000 wpm with it. It got easier as I went. 2 words is impossible to do for me, but at 1 word I can go really fast.

I wonder if there are benefits for memorization if you were to 5 times ultra fast speed read something vs. 1 time normal reading?

LOL n/m. Unless you pause the app it doesn't change the speed. 1000wpm is ridiculous lol.

 

[KeithP]

There is an iOS app that does this using Instapaper I believe. Called Read Quick http://readquickapp.com/

An Android version is suppose to be coming soon.

-KeithP

 

[arkcom]

You can install the spreed add on to chrome. Pretty amazing. I was reading perfectly fine at 1000 wpm with it. It got easier as I went. 2 words is impossible to do for me, but at 1 word I can go really fast.

I wonder if there are benefits for memorization if you were to 5 times ultra fast speed read something vs. 1 time normal reading?

LOL n/m. Unless you pause the app it doesn't change the speed. 1000wpm is ridiculous lol.

I could do 1000wpm 2 words at a time, but 1 word is just a blur.

 

[gorcorps]

I could see the spritz box thingy centered on a page, with the all printed out text in the back ground, perhaps even blurred, with a sort of shadow/highlight effect that moves as you read.

That way you can get a sense of "where you are on a page" as you go through peripheral vision.

If you have to move your eyes then you're not getting the benefit and won't reach the same speed. The whole point is to eliminate the eye movement normal reading requires.

 

[Kaido]

The thing is - I don't understand at 500 wpm.
Most of the stuff I read, I take half a day for 8 pages, just to make sure I understand what they're on about.

I think it's really content-dependent. If it's an email or a Harry Potter novel, I'm sure you could do 1000 WPM pretty easily, but if it's something technical like a textbook or research paper, it would depend entirely on how readable it is. Like, my math books wouldn't be digestible that fast, but my psychology textbook would be because they wrote it in a very readable, conversational manner.

 

[Kaido]

I read the whole George Zimmerman thread in 5 minutes.

Thanks, I needed a morning laugh

 

[Kaido]

"Technology"?

Yup, you cannot do this without technology. To begin with, some history:

Aren’t there lots of speed readers on the market already?

What you might have seen before is called RSVP (Rapid Serial Visual Presentation). It’s a technology created in the 70s, which streams words to a user one word at a time. However, the similarities between Spritz and RSVP pretty much end there.

We’ve performed years of research with streaming text and RSVP, determined what was wrong with the old approaches, and resolved those shortcomings with our patent-pending technology. The improvements in efficiency associated with presenting words to readers one at a time are staggering but well worth it so we created Spritz. We ask that you just give it a try before hatin’ on us.

Reading with RSVP is somewhat stressful and the reading speed is limited. Reasons therefore are the word alignment and display times. Briefly, RSVP still forces the eye to perform saccades (eye movements) while removing targeting these saccades by peripheral visioning. Spritz instead takes saccades out of the game by applying a new method of word alignment. Our technology is based on the science of how people read, how they learned to read when they were young, and what your eyes expect when you are reading. Check out our ‘The Science’ section for more information and stay tuned for updates, we are documenting continuously.

Then some info on ORP, saccade, and percentages:

Reading Basics

Traditional reading involves publishing text in lines and moving your eyes sequentially from word to word. For each word, the eye seeks a certain point within the word, which we call the “Optimal Recognition Point” or ORP. After your eyes find the ORP, your brain starts to process the meaning of the word that you’re viewing. With each new word, your eyes move, called a “saccade”, and then your eyes seek out the ORP for that word. Once the ORP is found, processing the word for meaning and context occurs and your eyes move to the next word. When your eyes encounter punctuation within and between sentences, your brain is prompted to assemble all of the words that you have read and processes them into a coherent thought.

When reading, only around 20% of your time is spent processing content. The remaining 80% is spent physically moving your eyes from word to word and scanning for the next ORP. With Spritz we help you get all that time back. For more in-depth scientific explanations on just about everything that you might want to know about how Spritz works, check out our Blog section.

Their blog has more information:

http://www.spritzinc.com/blog/

So basically, the original method - RSVP - doesn't align the ORP like Spritz does:

http://www.spritzinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/word_positioning_blog3.png

So it takes the work out of moving your eyes across the page (80%) and lets you focus on processing the content (traditionally 20%). The "technology", in this case, is an ORP word alignment algorithm combined with a digital display to flip words at a certain WPM speed.

 

[Kaido]

I'm picturing a web browser with a "spritz" widget up near the top, and kind of highlighting through the actual text of the webpage as it streams through and that could be pretty useful.

That's genius! Spritz is the first application that I've seen that has made a case for Google Glasses & Smart Watches. It'd be awesome to have a little Samsung smartwatch & read your emails quickly right on your wrist. Or if you're reading an Engadget article - either highlight a paragraph or click a "read with Spritz" icon & have it dim the background like those "lights out" Youtube plugins.

 

[Train]

If you have to move your eyes then you're not getting the benefit and won't reach the same speed. The whole point is to eliminate the eye movement normal reading requires.

I think you misunderstood what I was saying. I'm not talking about moving your eyes at all.

 

[mnewsham]

My grandma did speed reading in college and used to be able to do ~1400WPM with 75-80% comprehension.

Honestly if you're not checking for comprehension though I doubt how useful this tool is, it might be a good tool for getting through text books or something you just want an overview of but don't need the nitty gritty details.

 

[darkewaffle]

I suppose it could be useful for something like text messages or maybe fictional stories, but I feel like for factual material being able to reference earlier passages is more important than speed.

 

[Gibsons]

Might work great for fiction, it was kind of fun doing it. But how do you go back to a part you missed?

Don't see it working for technical stuff at all though. There are some things I read where I'll spend full minutes (or more) on just a sentence or two. e.g.

"Interestingly, in three patients (no. 10, 14, 16), DNMT3Amut was detected in CMPs but not HSCs/MPPs, an outcome consistent with the existence of DNMT3Amut-bearing HSCs below our detection limit that generated a clonally expanded CMP population, or possibly the existence of a preceding lesion in HSCs/MPPs with later acquisition of DNMT3Amut in CMPs."

 

[TheUnk]

This works great. I tried spreed and it's not the same. It doesn't split up long words, pause for commas or periods, or have the red indicator / lines that seem to make a huge difference.

Comprehension really will depend on the content. After going at 500wpm on all their pages it started to feel more like it was talking to me rather than me reading it. Eventually you stop trying to say the words in your head too.

 

[Maleficus]

Cool post, I'd never heard of this. Thanks for the headsup

 

[vshah]

i thought that was when the dudes at the mall sprayed you with cologne

 

[Kaido]

My grandma did speed reading in college and used to be able to do ~1400WPM with 75-80% comprehension.

Honestly if you're not checking for comprehension though I doubt how useful this tool is, it might be a good tool for getting through text books or something you just want an overview of but don't need the nitty gritty details.

I think they said retention was at least equal to traditional reading.

 

[Markbnj]

My grandma did speed reading in college and used to be able to do ~1400WPM with 75-80% comprehension.

Honestly if you're not checking for comprehension though I doubt how useful this tool is, it might be a good tool for getting through text books or something you just want an overview of but don't need the nitty gritty details.

I don't think those older speed reading techniques fall into the same category. As far as I know they were based on recognizing word groups and skimming using a pointer aid (finger, very often). This streaming approach is quite different.

 

[CZroe]

Now I finally found the time to read the greatest joke ever! Better Nate than lever?! Bwa ha ha ha ha! That's RICH!

 

[HardcoreRobot]

seen this before (that flashing words is faster than reading traditionally).
no problems with 500wpm, except for the proper nouns. dont think i get good processing on those

 

[Ban Bot]

Very cool. After some googling http://spreeder.com/ is similar, maybe not as advanced, but you can paste in any text and give it a try. Nice!

 

[KidNiki1]

i had speed reading classes back in grade school, so i have always been a fairly fast reader. had no issues with 500 wpm other than that i got image burn in. like, i was on the spritz website, and i used the spritz app on the page to read the FAQ and i read it all easily, but when i looked away, i could see the shadow of the spritz box in my vision for a few minutes. i can see that being kind of annoying.

 

[Markbnj]

i had speed reading classes back in grade school, so i have always been a fairly fast reader. had no issues with 500 wpm other than that i got image burn in. like, i was on the spritz website, and i used the spritz app on the page to read the FAQ and i read it all easily, but when i looked away, i could see the shadow of the spritz box in my vision for a few minutes. i can see that being kind of annoying.

There's something to this. I also noticed there was a certain strain involved with focusing on that one light area. It might be that moving your eyes around is actually more relaxing over a long period of time than focusing on a specific place, and then there is the lack of page breaks, when your eyes get a moment to defocus and relax.

 

[M0oG0oGaiPan]

i was a skeptic but i tried the spreeder site. would be good for skimming articles that im semi interested in.

 

[luv2liv]

You can install the spreed add on to chrome. Pretty amazing. I was reading perfectly fine at 1000 wpm with it. It got easier as I went. 2 words is impossible to do for me, but at 1 word I can go really fast.

I wonder if there are benefits for memorization if you were to 5 times ultra fast speed read something vs. 1 time normal reading?

LOL n/m. Unless you pause the app it doesn't change the speed. 1000wpm is ridiculous lol.

thanks!!! just installed and i love it. read at engadget.com and its awesome.
somebody need to make an app on android N.O.W. and im sure somebody here can do it

 

[Kaido]

You can install the spreed add on to chrome. Pretty amazing. I was reading perfectly fine at 1000 wpm with it. It got easier as I went. 2 words is impossible to do for me, but at 1 word I can go really fast.

Awesome thanks! My brain is not fast enough for 500 WPM on Spreed haha.