How to Speed Read (And Think Faster)

By Adam Sinicki

The idea behind speed reading is an incredibly useful one - to be able to flick through the pages of a book as quickly as possible and absord all the information would make you a master of most subjects. It would also be massively useful for a variety of jobs and studying. That's why I looked into it (not because of the studying, because I want to know EVERYTHING). Read on (speedily or otherwise) to find out what I learned.
Basically when we count or read we have to 'sound out' the words or numbers in our brain in order to register them; the basic idea behind speed reading then is that you learn to flick your eyes across text and take it in without needing to make the sounds. 'Absorbing' the information without repeating it. The idea is that by making the sounds in your head you are slowlying yourself down and so to read more quickly you need to sound these out faster, or preferably not at all. For a large unreasonable fee, 'Gurus' teach their book buyers/course attendees to do this by practising running their eyes across text then testing themselves several times a day until they good at reading without sounding out the words (I'm a sandwich guru). If you want to try it then get yourself a non-fiction text book and sit it on your lap. Now run your eyes across the text (you can trace the words with your fingers if you like) but try not to form the words with your inner voice, instead try to 'absorb the meaning' but don't put too much effort in. Now after you've read a page or so try searching your mind for certain questions - what was the section about? Who was the author? What is the average weight for a male sheep?? At first you should find you're shit at it (or you're a freak). But practice daily and you shuold find yourself improving. Let me know how you do.
This has lead to mixed reports and it appears that it works for some and not others. Even the supporters however recommend that you don't try and use it for novels as you just don't absorb as much information.
This does however highlight the interesting link between language and thought. Studies have regularly shown that concepts that don't exist in the language of a culture cannot be grasped by those who speak it. More interestingly, different languages have been shown to solve problems more quickly than others.
If you're asked a question that requires some thought, you need to sound out your own reasoning in your mind. It stands to reason then that if you're using longer words and more clumsy grammar you will take longer to come to a conclusion. If you were to develop a 'mental shorthand' then you could essentialy 'think quicker'. Plus, how cool would you be having your own code language just for your brain?
The amount of effort you would have to put in to learn a new code language that flows naturally would be intense and not worth the effort. However something like text speak, or northern speak (I'm going t'shop) could realistically replace conventional English to shave off a few seconds. Teachers and parents try so adamantly to prevent kids from using text speak and slang but they have developed for a reason and that is that they are more efficient. They should stop living in the past and actually encourage children to cut corners - they would work twice as fast. At that age children could learn to speak that way completely naturally and fluently and we could quickly improve the processing speed of an entire generation. Ah I could change the world, if only they would listen...
I leave it to those of you who find this interesting to develop your own code and see what results you get. Do let me know. For those of you who aren't completely deranged - try the speed reading as suggested above. But then if that doesn't work for you try my suggestion and simply sound the words out Northern style or text speek in your head when you read. That'll shave some time off your reading, jus' don' fget n' start speekin' like i'.