I didn’t know about photoreading so far. And it seems to be getting more and more popular. Yesterday I met a guy that started teaching classes on photoreading and he said he was doing quite well.

To me it sounds ridiculous as it involves “getting into the right state of mind”. And I haven’t found much objective info about it. What do you think about photoreading? (I would be happy if you leave a comment on this subject here as well)

There are speed-reading techniques that can be taught, and some of them do work. The trick is that many folks’ brains just aren’t wired up right for it.

Personally, I don’t find any benefit in reading fast. I like the luxury of a lazy stroll through a book, enjoying and savoring the bits and pieces like a fine meal, not simply bolting it down and reaching for the next, unfulfilled. Sure, there are situations where one needs to gain information quickly - technical documents and the like - but those are precisely the sort of thing one should not be speed-reading. Certainly not if one expects to retain any of what have been read, or needs the precise details for later use.

I can “photo read”, but until now I didn’t know it had a name. I thought it was just something everyone who read well did!

I started by reading a letter at a glance, as a child, then a word at a glance, as I grew, then a sentence at a glance. I guess it just seemed natural to me to begin reading a paragraph at a glance, then a page at a glance. You lose fine detail, but you can get the bulk of the page very quickly. It saved me at the university. I was able to wade through long, dull papers in a very few minutes time, with greater than 80% accuracy. When I read for pleasure, I do slow down to savor the language the writer uses. I don’t forget what I read (nearly 100% over multiple decades time), so maybe I am wired a little different. I don’t really know. All that being said, I don’t go into some alternate mental state. I think that claim is without foundation and makes it easier a program to sell to the suckers.

I think it’s a talent, like when you have a ‘feel’ for languages, Everybody can learn a language imho, but not everybody will get the ‘essence’ of a language. Same here with the quick reading technique. Its part recognition, part interpretation. You don’t read the text word for word, but somehow catch the ‘rhythm’ of the paragraphs, while picking out keywords. Hence the 80% accuracy average. I think I master it to a certain extent.

It used to be called speed-reading.And there are various techniques you can master with a little training.
And if you read a lot, and I mean a lot (I worked for 22 years at a national newspaper) you get very very fast.

I have to agree with everyone here.  If I’m presented with a fabulous dessert, I’m going to want to savor and taste every bite.  But when I have to take medicine that I know is good for me I’m also aware that it’s going to taste dastardly so I just want to get it swallowed quickly.

I think we all have the ability to speed, photo or cursory read when necessary, grabbing out of each paragraph what is necessary and omitting the shaft to save time.  Nearly everyone has this ability and can flow into the tempo to accomplish the task.

We also know when to savor and ‘eat’ every - single - stroke of every word.  In a great story ambiance is painted with artfully written phrasing that is meant as the climate icing.  No one wants to throw that out!