How to read 3X faster? Train your eyes instead of your brain to leverage peripheral vision and move faster line by line.
Article: Scientific Speed Reading: How to Read 300% Faster in 20 Minutes
In 1998, Tim Ferriss showed a reading technique at Princeton that increased participants' average reading speed by 386% in just a three-hour experiment.
The idea is that improving reading speed isn't a matter of comprehension or intelligence. It's about training your eyes.
The method includes using a pen to track your reading and forcing your eyes to move faster line by line. Then it adds a twist: you begin each line a few words in, and end a few words early, letting your peripheral vision do the work. Most people read at 200–300 words per minute (wpm). Using his drills, some reach over 3,000 wpm.
It feels like cheating at first because you won't understand much during the speed reading training. That's expected. Like sprint training for runners, the purpose is to stretch your capabilities, not to fully understand the content.
Once you condition your eye movements, your natural pace improves. Comprehension returns. Time spent reading shrinks. Time gained compounds.
You can watch a video version here: How to Speed Read.
However, it's perhaps worth noting that this speed reading technique is not a shortcut as suggested by the article title.
Cognitive scientist Mark Seidenberg explains in his book "Language at the Speed of Sight" that our eyes can realistically focus on about 20 characters at a time. Reading an entire line with just two eye movements is usually unrealistic without practicing for a long time.
Here are three methods I've personally found helpful:
- Try not to pronounce the words internally while reading.
- Avoid backtracking and don't worry about missing minor details, unless crucial assumptions for understanding the author's argument are missing.
- Just read more :)