Spritz, a new way of reading.

[Brettus]

I know that title sounds like I'm being sponsored or something but I'm so impressed with this application of technology that is seems worth sharing :)

I heard about it and the demo was 250wpm-400wpm but they have since increased the web one to 600wpm. The average reading speed is 220wpm, I'm sure mine is much less. I find I stumble over words and have to take more time than I like so I quickly get bored, not with the subject but the act of reading can become tiresome quickly.

Spritz practically force feeds your eyeballs the information, it sounds crude and horrible but I really like the idea, I want the app to allow me to copy and paste a section of text and have a decent pause function and that is it, simple and elegant. Sadly not out on iOS yet so I can't actually play with it though :(

Give it a try and see how you get on: http://www.spritzinc.com/
my wife doesn't really like the idea and I'd imagine there will be a not insignificant amount of people that can't get on with the method but I was surprised how easily and naturally I took to it. I love audiobooks and have forced myself to read some ebooks recently but I'd be far more apt to do it if I can use this method, I also think I'd understand better as I'd not be thinking too much about my position on the page.

Anyway, what does the org think?

[wyrdness]

Curious. I managed to read the 600wpm demo on the web site, but wonder what it would be like to actually read a book at this kind of speed. I think that my reading speed has deteriorated over the years. When I was a kid I read really quickly and always had my nose in a book. These days, I don't read many books and seem to take longer over them.

Typing seems really weird after reading the demo. I'm finding that I'm typing faster than normal and my brain feels as if it's working quicker. Anyone else experiencing this?

[MisterTommyH]

No No No No NO!

[garynortheast]

No, I'm afraid I read for the enjoyment of reading and I like to be able to take my time and savour the words.

[Mrs DJ Fridge]

No, I'm afraid I read for the enjoyment of reading and I like to be able to take my time and savour the words.

Plus one to that. How much would it cost in books if you read them that much faster, I already spend a fortune on books as it is.

[Spank86]

Typing seems really weird after reading the demo. I'm finding that I'm typing faster than normal and my brain feels as if it's working quicker. Anyone else experiencing this?

makes sense. You used to be able to do that with games where you got bonuses for playing at a higher speed. Tetris for instance.

Set it to the top speed and fail miserably to play it, then lower the speed to one thats still much higher than you could normally manage and it'll seem slower than usual to your brain since it's just seen something going much quicker.

I guess it's also why 30mph seems like walking pace after blatting down a motorway.

[Nutsinatin]

To be honest I like it and think it has potential. When I wasn't younger I used to blaze through books, but now I'm not reading so much I've defiantly slowed down. It could be great for work reading through long documents much quicker and it's defiantly easier to concentrate. Could see it being good for revision too. However I don't know if I would use it to read a book for the same reason I don't have an ereader, I just prefer the traditional paper experience, unless it was a really exiting book, and I just had to know why happened! Might save me some of those late nights where I just have to finish a book before I sleep and end up getting no sleep before work, that's why I only start books on a Friday night!

[Fallout]

I didn't like it. I thought the science was people read entire sentences or groups of words at once. Language makes more sense that way.

I'm not a big reader so it won't be aimed at me, but I often reread sentences because true meaning can be lost. Poetry, word play, complex theories, new/unfamiliar words are all going to be a challenge. Doesn't seem like a good idea to me, except for small screen applications .... but then there's a reason why we phased out pagers as soon as better tech came along.

[MisterTommyH]

No No No No NO!

How would you be able to tell how many No's I'd written?

Also it's just a collection of words.... where's the time for imagination, scene setting. Also wouldn't want to use it for reading technical stuff at work - sometimes it's not just about the collection of words - you need to flick backwards and forwards, re-check pages, confirm assumptions, cross reference.

Why does everything have to be about 'faster'. Our brains just aren't made to work like that (and yes, that supposition).

[Berlin]

Interesting. i managed the 600 WPM fine when I was reading it but for about 5 minutes afterwards my eyes struggled with everything else! :-)

[ophic]

I can read and comprehend at 600wpm with spritzinc but retention goes out of the window. I think it's because my eyes are still committing to memory the part of the sentence a few words back, and can refer back as required - ie I don't only see the word I'm reading.

I find the same with speech - retention is far better when I read something than when I hear it.

[Matt-EUC]

I can read and comprehend at 600wpm with spritzinc but retention goes out of the window. I think it's because my eyes are still committing to memory the part of the sentence a few words back, and can refer back as required - ie I don't only see the word I'm reading.



I find the same with speech - retention is far better when I read something than when I hear it.


Yeah, that.

I read at 600 and understood. But I can't for the life of me remember anything that was said.

[Spank86]

I can see it having a use for revision purposes but I cant see it being great for too much else.

[ClunkintheUK]

I think it has potential. When I am reading I spend ages trying to focus on the right part of the page (apparently this is one of the biggest reasons why dyslexics read slowly). I can see this potentially being very useful for necessary reading (instructions, work stuff) but yeah, I want to read a little slower when I am reading fiction.

What would make it very useful would be some way of changing the speed automatically, like an Autocue. No idea how to do this, but that would make it excellent.

[SvNewbie]

Very interesting. Not sure if it has any practical applications though. I wondered if having it scroll by in some way (like a ticker tape) would actually help comprehension?

Looking away for a split second means you are completely lost. Would be very interesting to combine this with eye-tracking so it stops as soon as you are not paying attention. Then maybe resumes a few words before hand.

[Bibio]

600wpm no problem but i think i have an advantage as i'm colour word blind (pink/red) so the red part is easy for me. now if it were blue i would be fecked as it causes a hallucinogenic type effect when i read.