Some Basic Speed Reading Techniques
Before we teach you any techniques, we need to assess your current speed. You will need a stopwatch or a watch with a second hand.
Read the following passage as you would normally and time how long you take.
Introduction
The human brain contains over one hundred billion cells, each of which can make countless interconnections with the cells around it. In terms of shear complexity and processing power the brain of each person on the surface of the planet out-performs the world's most powerful computers by millions of times. Despite possessing such an awesome bio-computer, most of the population are unable to store and retrieve relatively small amounts of information in their heads. Why is this?
It isn't that the brain is not capable of
this task - it's the way in which we use our brains that is at
fault. The ancient Greeks were the first to discover the basic
nature of memory. They found that by the application of simple
techniques called mnemonics (from the Greek word mnemon - meaning
mindful) they could dramatically increase the performance of their
memories. Greek history tells of how the poet Simonides, who is
often cited as the originator of memory systems, was invited to
chant a poem at a banquet in honour of a nobleman of Thessaly
called Scopas. Half way through the evening he was called out
to meet two men but minutes after his departure the roof collapsed,
tragically killing everyone present. The corpses were so badly
mutilated in the disaster that even relatives were unable to recognise
the
bodies. Simonides, however was able to remember the places at
which the guests had been sitting and directed relatives accordingly.
The Greeks discovered that the brain is very good at linking pieces of information together and that memory is largely an associative process. They also found that the use of the imagination, particularly visualising images, makes memories stronger and more permanent.
You are more likely to remember things that
are out of the ordinary, fantastic, bizarre or absurd. Humour
also makes things very memorable, especially visual or surreal
humour. Comedians such as Spike Milligan, the Monty Python team
and, more recently, Paul Merton are masters of surreal comedy
which is very
memorable. Exaggeration and distortion of proportions of things
makes them stand out in your memory. For example an egg which
two metres tall is much more memorable than a normal sized one.
Likewise, a car which is only the size of a pea is completely
ridiculous and so is more easily remembered. Movement of an
object attracts your attention and so also aids recall.
It is important to make use of the fact that as well as visual images the brain draws a wealth of information from your other senses : Tastes, smells, sounds and the texture and feel of things all add to the strength of memories. You have probably experienced this yourself when a particular texture, sound, taste, sight or smell has "brought back" memories of long since past events. Many of the great mnemonists of the past have used synaesthesia in memorising things. This is a blending or fusing of the senses. A particular individual in whom this was very strong was the Russian Jew, Solomon Veniaminovich Shereshevskii (hereafter referred to as S.) who is the subject of A. R. Luria's excellent book "The Mind of a Mnemonist". In a record of May 22 1939 Luria relates the following description...
"...I recognize a word not only by
the images it evokes but by a whole complex of feelings that image
arouses. It's hard to express ... it's not a matter of vision
or hearing but some over-all sense I get. Usually I experience
a word's taste and weight, and I don't have to make an effort
to remember it - the word seems to recall itself. But it's difficult
to describe. What I sense is something oily slipping through my
hand ... or I'm aware of a slight tickling in my left hand caused
by a mass of tiny, lightweight points. When it happens I simply
remember, without having to make the attempt..."
Taken from "The LEAF Memory System" © Phil Chambers 1995