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How
fast can you think? Certainly much faster than you can speak!
At the moment, you are reading about as
fast as you are able to speak (with full sub-vocalization).
This being true, you certainly read slower than your thinking speed.
Experts have no way of "benchmarking" human thinking speeds. Every one
of us more than 6 billion humans think at slightly different speeds. In fact, our
thinking speeds vary with the time of day or stage of our lives. Nobody can say
for sure how fast we are thinking at any one moment in time. One thing is certain
- the act of reading forces the human brain to think at very slow speeds.
Your
brain is simply teaming with electrical energy right now. Those electrical
signals move at fantastic speeds. Yet, your reading process 'downloads'
information to your brain at only a few hundred words per minute.
You just cannot help but lose
concentration to more interesting thoughts.
In fact, your mind drifts elsewhere more often when you read a technical report
or study than when you read an exciting book. Late at night, your concentration
time is much shorter than first thing in the morning.
Now, consider why a movie or television show can hold your attention much longer
than a book can.
The answer lies in the speed at which your brain can process information
(printed or imaged) and the speed at which you allow that information to be
'downloaded' to your brain. As an experiment to show you how quickly your brain
becomes bored, try watching the next action thriller movie one frame at a
time. Or, try reading ONE WORD PER MINUTE.
Slow reading is
the reason why your mind drifts to other more interesting thoughts
while you are reading. It just craves faster, more stimulating thought.
You will learn to increase the
speed at which you 'download' words to your brain without skipping or skimming
any of them. In fact, this will increase to the point
where your reading speed more closely matches your thinking
speed.
The payback: your concentration time will be longer - your mind
stays better occupied with the the words you are reading. Now continue to read about the other
bad reading habits.
Home
Regression
Sub-vocalization
Word-by-word
Skimming
Word reversal
Poor memory
TurboRead Copyright 2011
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