You know how your Kindle will estimate how much longer it’ll take for you to finish your book based on your reading speed?
The last time I was reading, my current book was at 32% with an estimate of 10 hours and 12 minutes to go (Thanks Drops of Memory for that seemingly random but very precise memory!). I’ve been working on this particular doorstopper book in 30-60 minute sessions for at least a week, probably – just to set the stage.
I bought Speed Reading on sale yesterday morning and have probably listened to it maybe 5-6 total hours since then with the usual boosters (Brain Key, Snapping Synapses, White Matter, etc). I wasn’t listening to this in isolation, as I also took advantage of the sale to snag Key to Babel and Drops of Memory, so there could be some interplay there, but…
Today, in a single 30 minute reading session, I went to 43% of my book complete with a new estimate of 3 hours and 37 minutes to go.
Wow.
I’ve always thought of myself as a fast reader – I was already reading substantially faster than people usually talk – but this seems crazy. Like it’s said – no matter how smart you (think you) already are, there’s always room to improve!
Sensation wise, I didn’t necessarily feel like I was reading any faster than usual and comprehension was still high – possibly not higher than usual, but my usual level. I wouldn’t have noticed anything at all, possibly, if the Kindle hadn’t updated the estimated time to completion in such a stark, dramatic, shocking way. In retrospect though, I can tell I was absolutely flying through those pages. As with a lot of these new fields (especially the ones targeted at specific abilities), the results come on fast.
The Brainiac Grind has got me bemoaning the relative lack of ‘information density’ in most things. Videos, for example, are the worst because you’re throttled by how fast the presenter can deliver the information and they spend so much time revisiting and rehashing the same concepts (either because their audience doesn’t understand or they don’t understand…). With reading though… the biggest throttle is your own processing and comprehension speed. This field clearly obliterates even that bottleneck, giving you unfettered and unlimited access to the most information dense storage facility we ‘conventionally’ have access to – books.
Too cool. Such a time to be alive with these kinds of tools available to us to break free of our own limitations and self-conceptions.
So my 2 Day Review: Totally worth it! Your inner Brainiac needs more information-calorie dense foods to help you bulk up with Manhattan Method, Conceptual Conglomerate and Wholistic Thinking – this’ll clearly get you there!