Want to read this thread really fast?
August 2, 2014 5:49 PM   Subscribe

Spritz takes the text of a website or ebook and presents it one word at a time, each word replacing the prior one in the same position. The intent is more efficient reading, because "When reading, only around 20% of your time is spent processing content. The remaining 80% is spent physically moving your eyes from word to word."

You can test it out on their own page by pressing the 'click to spritz' button in the upper corner. In their faq, they claim that the learning curve is quick and that retention levels are as good or better than traditional reading.

After installing the bookmarket, using it to read metafilter seems to require highlighting the page first, and a spritz login is needed to use the full range of speeds. There are also a range of apps.
posted by daisyace (6 comments total)

This post was deleted for the following reason: poster's request -- mathowie



 
Because there is nothing to be gained by being able to view words next to each other, like content and context have no carried value across multiple encounters with language.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure whatever this is, it's bullshit at its core.
posted by hippybear at 5:55 PM on August 2, 2014 [5 favorites]


It gets worse. You are also breathing, circulating blood, and digesting food while you read. All of this prevents you from reaching peak efficiency.
posted by thelonius at 5:56 PM on August 2, 2014 [4 favorites]


Think I posted this last time Spritz showed up here:
So Spritz sounds great, and even somewhat scientific. But can you really read a novel in 90 minutes with full comprehension? Well, like most things that seem too good to be true, the answer unfortunately is no. The research in the 1970s showed convincingly that although people can read using RSVP at normal reading rates, comprehension and memory for text falls as RSVP speeds increase, and the problem gets worse for paragraphs compared to single sentences.
posted by zamboni at 6:01 PM on August 2, 2014


Just about did a Spritz-take when I encountered the first blank space inserted between sentences.

THIS TAKES UP MUCH OF MY TIME.
posted by hal9k at 6:03 PM on August 2, 2014


Way back in university I used to try out various kinds of speed reading software. The best one would show two or three words at a time, in the same spot they'd normally appear on the screen. It was fast, but your eyes still had to track back and forth.

But in addition to that there was a "productivity mode" that did the same thing as Spritz, sending the words at you in a torrent, one at a time. I never did get used to productivity mode. It required a mental switching of gears that was just too different from ordinary reading.
posted by Kevin Street at 6:03 PM on August 2, 2014


Literature is processed content that STAYS processed content.
posted by thelonius at 6:06 PM on August 2, 2014


« Older It's a truth universally recognized that you have...   |   “I have no idea. (pause) We have no idea.” Newer »


This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments