| |
| |
A Scientific magazine
of “Tribune”, No 10, 1992,
Registration No. 247
Section: “The Original
Thoughts of Scientists”. |
|
|
|
|
| |
HOW YOU CAN READ |
|
| |
|
|
| |
 |
|
At present, for most readers a word is a bit of information. But it
has already been stated that, with the help of special exercises,
one can obtain such a level, that while reading one can perceive a
whole group of words immediately.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
What kind of exercises are these?
These exercises can be divided into two groups:
1.Exercises for
developing the muscles
2.Exercises for developing organs of perception in the human brain |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
For the expansion of the perception field a lot of well-known exercises
are available to train the eye muscles, for example Schuld’s tables
and wedge-shaped tables. For this purpose one needs two sets of
Schuld’s tables containing 7-10 tables each, one with letters and the
other with numbers. These sets are selected specifically.
The tables differ not only in disposition of letters and numbers, but
also in their sizes. One or two tables are to be combined, i.e. size
of letters (and numbers) change within a frame of one table. This
gives a variable loading to the eyes. |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
The wedge – shaped tables are an excellent means for
training the eyes. These sets provide gradual complication of table
structures, when the simpler ones are already mastered. The tables aimed at
the expansion of the perception field not only vertically, but also horizontally,
are inserted into the sets.
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
For years people have been thinking that to expand the perception fields
we should only train our eye muscles. However, we have conducted an
attentive analysis of 3000 of our students, amongst whom there were
defects of sight such as having only one eye. The conclusion that we
came to, is that the level of the development of people’s emotional
perceptions and the ability to concentrate attentively for a long
time are the main factors influencing the expansion of the field of
sight. Therefore all exercises aimed at both, developing emotional
perception and training the ability to concentrate attentively, help
to expand the field of students’ sight. |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Practically all exercising techniques of speed reading can be
divided into 3 groups:
1.
To read by means of automatic fixation on key words;
2.
To read by means of expansion of the quality of information
which should be perceived;
3.
To train the speed of information perception. |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
The proposed technique is a synthesis of the second and
third groups. It is common knowledge that while a person is reading
he/she pronounces the words even while reading silently. This conditioned
reflex is imparted on us in our childhood when we learn to read out loud.
When we read silently unnoticeable micro movements of muscles take place.
This greatly restricts the speed of reading. If we do not eliminate
pronouncing we practically will not be able to increase the speed of
reading to more than 600 – 700 words per minute, even if we have
“absolutely developed” the field of perception of the printed information.
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
We propose that you suppress this conditioned reflex and
to work out a new one.
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
It is necessary to load something with a student’s organ of speech
i.e. songs, verses, counting etc. and to simultaneously try to read.
The student should mainly pay attention to the disturbances (not to
miss words in a song, not to lose count etc.), and not pay attention
to reading even if a text is not comprehended at all. Gradually one
begins to understand more and more, then one understands everything
but does not memorize, and at last, one understands and memorizes
everything. To obtain this level of perception a person needs about
20 hours of work. It is much easier to do this exercise and other
exercises, if the person considers it to be an exercise with text,
not a reading exercise. One increases his/her speed of reading at
least 3 times by just overcoming pronouncing. |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
If you design a very approximate pattern of a human brain (not medical),
the field of information perception
(perceiving and processing of information), the field of memory (the
storage of information) and transmission channels from the field of
perception to that of memory, can be marked in it. |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
The development of information perception is the main aim of the first
stage of our speed reading course. At the second stage we continue
to develop the field of perception. By extreme loading in the form
of Information wedge we start to expand the transmission channels
from the field of perception to that of memory. |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
A special
course, taught during the process of study, helps to develop
students’ memory. After finishing the speed reading course one has
the impression that one’s memory has become much better. And this is
really so, because “the expanded channels” enables a person to use
the obvious reserves of the memory more operatively and
qualitatively than previously, without additional training. |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
The field of perception is developed by way of extreme loading, which
each person is able to cope with. The loading is slowly increased,
gradually expanding the field of perception, without waiting for the
confirmation of the results obtained. |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
For training the speed of perception and to keep up a
settled tempo, a metronome is used with a discreetly controlled frequency
of beats per minute (starting from 20 up to 350 – 400). The whole scale is
divided into 30 – 40 parts, at frequencies which do not irritate the human
hearing and do not have a negative influence on the students.
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
The exercises for increasing the speed of perception (with the
use of a metronome) alternate with the exercises for expanding the
field of perception. During every exercise a metronome is
being reset 3-4-5 times to a quicker tempo. After the exercise which
expands the field of perception, the exercise that follows is one
that develops the speed of perception, but with a bit less speed
that that of the previous exercise (the so-called effect of
entrapment). The student’s main task is not to be put out of the
metronome tempo. For those who cannot cope with the loading, the
field of perception is narrowed, the number of words per beat of a
metronome is decreased. |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
When a student’s field of perception at a present speed reaches one line
per beat of a metronome, he/she is advised to decrease the size of a
book (less words in a line), but to perceive two lines
simultaneously. This is the most difficult psychological moment. A
student strives “to run with the eyes” over the text from line to
line (vertical reading). This is absolutely forbidden. This is one
of the fundamental demands of the suggested method. |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Expanding the field of perception is the main objective. A set of books
of different sizes (from 2-3 up to 8-10 words per line) enables to
make the process much easier. It is not difficult to define
individual loading for each student when working with books with
different numbers of words per line. |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
When a student masters 2 lines of the widest size he/she is advised to
read 3, 4 and more lines. As before, it is forbidden to “run with
the eyes” over the text. The eye fixation upon a definite bit of
information is only possible at a given moment of time. |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
When a student masters a block of 3-8 lines he/she begins to spend time
on counting lines. However this greatly decreases the efficiency of
mastering the technique. The following stage of the technique is
when the quantity of metronome beats defines the quantity of blocks
on a page. This is to read a page per 8, 7, 6…1 beat of metronome.
Then a very complicated psychological turning point takes place.
This is transition from reading a page to reading 2 pages
simultaneously. Then the moment takes place when the reading speed
of a person is only restricted by the speed of turning pages. On
finishing, I would like to mention that the statistical analysis of
results obtained by our students makes it possible to come to the
conclusion that practically everybody is able to master speed
reading. |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
