Speed reading for iPhone/iPod Touch and Mac
I read a lot, which means, if I can read fast, I can save a lot of time. So, I tried several speed reading programs, but I found them too complicated, and requited too much training.
Then I found Simian Speed Reader ($1.99, AppStore link), a very simple iPhone/iPod Touch app. Basically, it flashes a word at a time (in fact, you can choose to flash up to four words). So, “Hello, my name is Cimio.” is displayed like
Hello,
my
name
is
Cimio.
I like this app, because you do not have to train yourself to start use it. Just by speeding up as you are used to it, your reading speed goes up.
This app is based on the ideas of Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP). It is a method of displaying words in rapid sequence, so that the reader can absorb information faster. When we read a book, our eyes have to travel back and forth, which wastes a lot of time. But with RSVP, our eyes are fix on one location, so we can get visual information much efficiently. Now I am reading 250 words per minutes. I think that’s quite fast, but I am going slow since I am beginning to train my eyes (actually, brain) to this way of reading. If I can read something like 400-500 words per minutes, that will be awesome.
There is a Mac app that does the same, iReadFast (donationware). Since a computer display is much bigger than an iPhone/iPod Touch, the strain on your eyes will be less.
