| Speed reading has its birth rooted in the | | | | when the machine was taken out of the equation, |
| development of the tachistoscope, an instrument | | | | reading speeds again dropped. |
| designed for flashing images onto a screen in rapid | | | | Many years later during the 1950s, a school |
| pulses. Early tests conducted using images of | | | | teacher named Evelyn Wood was carrying out |
| planes showed the ability of the human eye to | | | | her own research. The story goes that whilst |
| recognize am image flashed for only one five | | | | brushing some crumbs off the page of her book, |
| hundredth of a second. The US air force then | | | | she noticed that the sweeping movement of her |
| trained pilots to recognize a sequence of four | | | | hand somehow focused her eyes, helping them to |
| words flashed on a screen for the same short | | | | move more smoothly across the page following |
| duration of time. Realizing that this had implications | | | | her hand. It was Miss Wood who first coined the |
| for developing speed reading techniques, Harvard | | | | phrase "speed reading". Modern day speed reading |
| Business School began their own research | | | | techniques major on widening "eye sweep". This |
| program. | | | | means the duration between blinks when the eye |
| The basis of all speed reading techniques initially is | | | | is open. The more visual information that can be |
| to dispense with sub vocalization. This is the silent | | | | taken in between blinks, the faster your reading |
| pronunciation of words made by a reader when | | | | ability can become. Eventually, in one sweep, you |
| reading to him or herself. Ordinarily, sub | | | | take in not just words, but groups of words and |
| vocalization slows the reading process down | | | | then whole sentences. |
| considerably, so to dispense with it is the first | | | | Today the two main speed reading techniques are |
| step in all speed reading techniques. The drawback | | | | based on RSVP and TSP. The essence of Rapid |
| with the tachistoscope was that speed reading | | | | Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP) is that you |
| ability diminished significantly when the images | | | | concentrate on text only within the center of |
| were not projected by the machine. Harvard | | | | your vision. With Tachistoscopic Scroll Presentation |
| Business School's research in the 1940s, centered | | | | (TSP) the technique majors on widening your eye |
| on training the readers to widen their field of | | | | sweep and scanning, or scrolling to take in as |
| visual focus. This research was all carried out | | | | much information as possible in that one sweep. |
| using machinery, with the inevitable result that | | | | |