Photoreading

[Nico Kempe]

I have only got the book right now for about a month and haven't noticed much of a change yet.
I do think it can work though, even with high density information books like programming books (So I also tried to photoread a Perl book..)

Most likely I just don't have the right state of mind. I may be expecting too much too soon, getting dissapointed, stressed, etc etc.
Maybe one should just use Photoreading as much as possible, even if it doesn't work, and then at some time you'll really get annoyed by noticing no progress and maybe then you'll finally let go of the expectations and relax, and maybe then the system will start to work.
Just a thought.

[Matt]

Originally Posted by fourthdan

For instance, I do not feel a information overload coming from my sub coincious mind. But I do feel that I'm able to activate an entire 400 page technical book in an hour as opposed to half a day. However my comprehension level may be about 70-80%, and that is not enough for an exam.

Does re-photoreading a book help you retain more info or do you think you have pretty much reached the limit with this technique?

[satan]

Originally Posted by yesyesyes

I just emailed Orders@learningstrategies.com and told them why I needed an extention and I got an email back in less than a day saying what my new Satisfaction Guarantee Extension was--very nice.

And they will extend it until you either demand your money back, forget about the whole "photoreading", or simply quit thinking that you are not good enough to achieve what was promissed.
I would recommend that you get your money back asap, because I can bet all my money that you will never be able to 25 000 words per minute.

Me.

[Brendon Colby]

Originally Posted by satan

I would recommend that you get your money back asap, because I can bet all my money that you will never be able to 25 000 words per minute.

As I said in an earlier post, one definitely does not learn to read at 25,000 words per minute. That just seems like marketing slant. The skills you learn do seem to help with absorbing information off the written page in a way that's faster than regular cover to cover reading.

[Cortex]

Is the "photoread phase" using soft eyes that important ?

I've read the book, an agree with a lot of techniques, but I don't see benefits from looking at a blurred page (yet)

can the brain remember text from it or does it just helps to remember what some pages look like ?

[RT Wolf]

soft eyes? seems pretty important.

I'm going through the dealio. I wasn't able to see the blip page before with my glasses on, but I discovered that I see the blip page perfectly when I take my glasses off. I recognize that it doesn't really matter, but I feel a lot more confident about photoreading with my glasses off. That was last night, I'm gonna try photoreading a few books today and see what happens.

There's only been two people (if my count is right) who went through the entire photoreading home study system and got good results. Most others who didn't get good results either read the book or didn't go through the whole home study course properly (I think).

I have been noticing a slight improvement in my memory since I started the home study course, though.


Here's an idea, those of you who are skeptical, you could consider getting together with interested friends and splitting hte cost and sharing the course.

[Alex]

My photoreading course just came in the mail and I'm very excited. Putting down The Tipping Point that I had just started and beginning the course ASAP. I'll be sure to post my results when I'm done.

[Alex w/Learning Strategie]

Hello folks I just want to offer some tips to help you make some real progress with the PhotoReading course.

Tip one there is a page at the front of the book with the title How to Read this book. I recommend do at least the first 20 minutes.

Tip two. Do the exercises when you first listen to the course. Just listening will create some hurdles... expectation that are not backed up by the experience and discovery Paul is hoping you'll have. The Star of Wonder Exercise is intended as a real eye opener to help you understand what learning, not just learning PhotoReading, but learning in general is about. If you just listen you'll miss this gem. It cannot be recovered if you think you know because you already heard the explanation. So please do the exercises as given.

Tip 3 do the audio portion of the course first. Whether or not you felt successful move on to the DVDs if you have the deluxe course. They are a source of inspiration and acceleration.

Tip 4 The Dictionary Game is just a game... like all games you win some and you lose some. In the beginning beginners lose more.

If you don't think you can afford the course try the book anyway. All the information is in the book to get you PhotoReading.

Once you have learned you don't practice PhotoReading. Practice is self defeating in this case. You just use it at every opportunity and remember it gets better the more you use it on real stuff not junk. You may as well be able to apply it to everything as soon as you can as best you can.

Learning Strategies has a forum devoted to helping you to learn PhotoReading with 6 years worth of tips and advise.

All the best in your reading endeavours.
AlexK

[Emerald]

Originally Posted by John Curran

Has anyone tried mind mapping a book that they have speed read or photo read? Would be good to know that the reading is fruitful otherwise it's another case of quantity over quality!

Yes, this is a technique I have used very successfully when studying for exams. It works well for technical information (Accounting and IT in this case). I learnt the basics of both speed reading and Photoreading from Tony Buzan's mindmapping book and found it all quite easy to put into practice - the mindmapping is especially good for capturing connections between different areas of the material that may not be obvious when you are reading through sequentially. HTH

[amethystdeceiver]

Greetings from San Diego. I've had the course for a week now and would like to share my experience.

After photoreading Paul Scheele's The PhotoReading Whole Mind System on CD4, I decided to have a little fun with it and picked up a book I've been wanting to read for ages. I entered a relaxed state to preview and photoread The Art of Happiness At Work by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Howard C. Cutler M.D. one night before heading off to sleep. The next evening I entered a relaxed state and rapid read the book cover to cover (212 pages) in less than an hour. My speed came out to approximately 1,000 words per minute. I realize that's within the range of a normal speed reader. Yet, I was probably only reading at 400 words per minute prior. I can't tell you what a joy it was to get through the entire book in one sitting. Ideas from the first few chapters were just as fresh when reaching the end. So far, I've finished CD7 and have read a total of five books (The Art of Happiness at Work by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Howard C. Cutler M.D., When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chödrön, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Cover, + the two books by Paul Scheele that came with the course) . Within the week, my speed has definitely increased as well as my motivation to read. I can really see myself reading faster as I spend more time with this system.

[Jeff Lilly]

Someone mentioned using PhotoReadng to learn Perl. Has anyone tried to use it to learn a human language?

At my work, I'm in charge of software dictionaries for about thirty or forty human languages. I have expert contractors to help me manage them, but it bothers me that I can barely say "hello" in these languages. It would be of enormous value to me to learn them -- if not to be a native-speaker, at least to be able to read them, judge grammaticality, and the like.

I haven't bought the course because I don't have the money. But if I can be reasonably certain of getting good results on this problem, it would be a good investment. Has anyone tried this?...

[mikeschu]

For those who have the Deluxe self-study course, how has the extra material (beyond the items in the Classic course) benefited you? I will likely buy the system but I have noticed that few people have talked about the extra stuff that's included with the Deluxe format.

[RT Wolf]

Originally Posted by Jeff Lilly

Someone mentioned using PhotoReadng to learn Perl. Has anyone tried to use it to learn a human language?

At my work, I'm in charge of software dictionaries for about thirty or forty human languages. I have expert contractors to help me manage them, but it bothers me that I can barely say "hello" in these languages. It would be of enormous value to me to learn them -- if not to be a native-speaker, at least to be able to read them, judge grammaticality, and the like.

I haven't bought the course because I don't have the money. But if I can be reasonably certain of getting good results on this problem, it would be a good investment. Has anyone tried this?...

I dunno anyone who did personally, but there are a few testimonials in the Whole Mind System book where people photoread some language/english dictionaries to learn quickly. If I recall correctly, one woman PRed the french/english dictionary a few times before taking a french learning course and she was able to advance very quickly through it all. Neither of the examples are learning a new language directly, but perhaps someone else has better examples. HTH!

[stuart]

There are basically four ways to read, based on my understanding of reading as I teach in my own accelerated whole-brain reading programs. When researching new topic areas, I devour about 20-30 books in a week or so using this methodology and spike my expertise in that area. Then there is testing that goes on to see whether the modeling process worked or not!

#1 - Broad reading. This is where you explore the breadth of a topic, going wide first. You'd consider this first because you need to build up topic expertise. Involves opening up a book, looking at the pieces that form the big picture. Consider this the frame of the jigsaw puzzle of knowledge.

#2 - Narrow reading. You look at things you don't understand and start to look into the definitions, glossary, meanings of words. This happens when your mental schema don't match the words that are on the page. This is important - if you never studied electrical engineering, and only have the mental schema of Shakespeare, you'd be slower unless you did #1 first. Often, narrow reading is facilitated with Glossary reading, and some memory skills like mnemonics and visualization.

#3 - Reverse reading. If you wanted you check on comprehension, you have to test yourself. Instead of gettting questions to answer, you'd probably formulate questions along the way. This actually has an effect of getting you to formulate an all encompassing question for the 'answer' you've just read. Let's say para 1 and 2 talk about "the factors that caused the downfall of the Roman Empire". The questions you could forumlate include "What were the factors that caused the downfall of the Roman Empire", "who and what caused it" and "why were they involved" among others.

#4 - Reading To Interpret (if an examinable question). This is my own term for interpreting the requirements of an examination question. For instance, if you interpret a question as asking for facts, that's what you will have to give. If you are asked to compare and contrast, that's a different set of answers to give altogether. Interpreting the nature of the question being asked about the topic is important as a reading skill as well.

There is a constant test-feedback cycle that helps to formulate a better model and understanding of the topic area you wish to gain expertise in.

Not sure if this correlates with Photoreading, but I hope it helps enrich in some way.

cheers.

[Indifferent]

A few questions, how different is this from speed reading?
I've read a few speed reading books.

Can only do this with books? Not text on the internet, or ebooks?

Seems interesting.

Edit: After a bit of googling I found this info:

Steps of PhotoReading at 25,000 Words a Minute by Paul R. Scheele

Excerpted with permission from "The PhotoReading Whole Mind System." Third Edition.

The demands placed on you as a reader in our age of information are tremendous. The PhotoReading whole mind system can help you meet any challenge. It works with any subject matter and flexibly adapts to different purposes, print formats, rates of speed, and levels of comprehension.
The five steps of the PhotoReading whole mind system use the abilities of your whole mind with power and effectiveness. Let us overview the steps now. In the next five chapters you will develop skills to apply each step effectively.

Step 1: Prepare

Reading effectively begins with a clear sense of purpose. This means consciously stating a desired outcome for reading. For example, we might want a brief overview of main points. We might want to gain certain details such as the solutions to specific problems. Perhaps we want to complete a task and seek only the ideas that will help us do so. Purpose acts like a radar signal to the inner mind allowing it to produce the results we seek. Empowered with a clear purpose, we then enter a state of relaxed alertness—the accelerative learning state. While in this state, neither boredom nor anxiety exist. We are exerting effort, but we are not worried about results. Have you ever watched young children as they play? They model the same relaxed yet purposeful state we seek here.

Step 2: Preview

Previewing is based on an important principle: effective learning often takes place “from whole to parts.” That is, we start with the big picture and proceed to the smaller, more detailed parts. First we survey the written material. Our aim is not to grasp the content in detail, but to get a sense of its structure. Then we gather a list of key terms, or trigger words, which embody the core concepts or events. Trigger words alert our minds to the details we might want to explore more thoroughly later. When done effectively, previewing is short and sweet—about five minutes for a book, three minutes for a report, and as little as 30 seconds for an article. During that time, we clarify and refine our purpose, review the trigger words, and decide whether to continue reading or call it quits. If we choose not to read something that does not meet our needs or interests, it is all right. Previewing is like x-raying a book—getting a broad sense of its underlying structure. Understanding structure gives us something that learning theorists call a schema, a set of expectations about what is coming up next. When we know the structure of written text, we become more accurate at predicting its content. As a result, our comprehension and reading
pleasure soar. In summary, previewing gives us the skeleton of a book or article first. During the next steps of the PhotoReading whole mind system, we add body to the skeleton.

Step 3: PhotoRead

The PhotoReading technique begins with placing ourselves more fully into the relaxed, alert state of mind and body called the accelerative learning state. In this state, distractions, worries, and tensions seem to fall away.
Then we adjust our vision for the PhotoFocus state. Here the aim is to use our eyes in a new way: instead of bringing individual words into sharp focus, we soften our eyes so that our peripheral vision expands and the whole printed page comes into view. PhotoFocus creates a physical and mental window—allowing direct exposure of the incoming visual stimuli to the brain. In this state, we mentally photograph the entire page, exposing it to the preconscious processor of the mind. The exposure of each page stimulates a direct neurological response. The brain performs its function of pattern recognition, unencumbered by the critical/logical thought process of the conscious mind.
At a rate of one page a second, we can PhotoRead a whole book in three to five minutes. This is not traditional reading. After PhotoReading, we may have little if any of the material in conscious awareness, which means we may consciously know nothing. The next steps create the conscious awareness we need.

Step 4: Activate

During activation we restimulate the brain—probing the mind with questions and exploring parts of the text to which we feel most attracted. We then super read the most important parts of the text by scanning quickly down the center of each page or column of type. When we feel it is appropriate, we dip into the text for more focused reading to comprehend the details. In dipping, we allow our intuition to say, “Hey, turn to the last paragraph on page 147! Yes, that is the one. The ideas you want are right there.” Other activation techniques developed while reading this book include rhythmic perusal, skittering, and mind mapping. These also help us gain access to the deeper impressions established by PhotoReading. When we activate, we involve our whole brain, connect the text with our conscious awareness, and achieve our goals for reading.

Step 5: Rapid Read

This final step of the PhotoReading whole mind system is closest to conventional reading and speed reading. While rapid reading, we move our eyes quickly through the text, starting at the beginning and going straight through to the end. We take as much time as we need, feeling free to adjust our reading speed depending upon the complexity, prior knowledge, and importance of the material. Flexibility is key.

Rapid reading is significant, because it dispels the prime fear of many beginning PhotoReaders that they will forget what they have read, or that they never absorbed any of the text in the first place. Rapid reading directly involves the conscious mind and satisfies our need for clear comprehension of the content.
Remember, this step takes place after the other steps of the system. Those steps make us increasingly familiar with the text. There will be times when we choose not to rapid read, because we have already fulfilled our needs.

With this overview in mind, you are ready to do it.

Source: Reading: Steps of PhotoReading at 25,000 words a minute, by Paul R. Scheele

The following was from a comment/review from amazon.

Photo Reading Tips
1. Decide on your purpose for reading this particular item and prepare your mind to be receptive to the process.

2. Preview the book over 8-15 minutes by looking at the table of contents, index and general layout of the book and whatever is highlighted.

3. PhotoRead by scanning pages at about one page per second using a technique that gives you a soft focus to your eyes as you proceed.

4. Wait awhile (ideally overnight) and activate what you've learned by focusing on the parts that interest you with fast reading skills (called super reading) or skittering and that help you answer questions you have to answer in order to achieve your purpose in reading the book. Create a mind map that outlines the key ideas in the book into a connected visual display.

5. Rapidly read the text again . . . but going fast except where the material is very relevant.

[stuart]

Indifferent, I think speed reading will be a far more conscious way of assimilating knowledge, while photoreading seems to be less of a conscious uptake process. It is also a system, which integrates the full process of reading. I suppose there are other systems for reading, which are more known in the academic target market.

As for reading online, I do know that speed reading helps, but the conscious method (such as the one that Evelyn Wood uses) is not the actual process by which great readers read online.

It is random and topical - your eyes read what captures its attention most, forms the logic of the syntax, then you formulate an opinion to respond to it. For instance, reading this thread itself.

It's faster, and also because you can't stare too long before your eyeballs ache from screen fatigue...

[Alex w/Learning Strategie]

Originally Posted by mikeschu

For those who have the Deluxe self-study course, how has the extra material (beyond the items in the Classic course) benefited you? I will likely buy the system but I have noticed that few people have talked about the extra stuff that's included with the Deluxe format.

You don't need the Deluxe course to learn PhotoReading. The Results Supercharger is available separately. If you want to learn you need the classic course. The Results Supercharger does not teach you PhotoReading. It shows you ways to use your PhotoReading skills to develop other areas in your life.

PhotoReading for learning language. PhotoReading works on all reading material. Whatever you use reading for to learn you can use PhotoReading. To learn a language PhotoRead grammar books exercise material, vocabulary list, and translation dictionaries. Then when you start doing the formal exercises you notice it's much easier to know what's going on. Progress is faster when you read a translation dictionary but who has the time to do that. PhotoReaders seriously wanting to learn a new language will often PhotoRead a dictionary daily.

If you want to improve your own vocabulary in your natural language PhotoRead the dictionary daily for a couple of weeks or so. Notice the difference. You probably won't notice, someone else is more likely to point it out to you that you are using words you never used before or are much more eloquent when you talking or writing.

I'd like to give you some tips that go further than the Amazon reviewers tip Refined on my experience as a PhotoReading instructor and coach.

2.) Preview .... Keep it short never ever more than 8 minutes. 90 second is enough. Spend too much time previewing and you'll hinder the activation step.

3.) Don't scan pages during PhotoReading. You're taking a mental snapshot so just notice the four corners of the book and the pattern of white by keeping a steady soft gaze and turning the pages as fast as you can while maintaining a steady rhythm. Turn the book over and PhotoRead it upside down if you get drawn into reading during the PhotoReading step.

4.) a 20 minute wait is long enough. Overnight is recommended for textbooks and complex material. Just get up get a glass of water was a few of the dishes then come back and activate. Short articles, memos, emails and web pages, usually no wait is required.

5.) Activate in multiple short sessions use Superreading and dipping first. Rapid Reading is an optional activation step. Once you become proficient in PhotoReading you'll reserve it for books you really want to enjoy like novels. Most other books can be finished with the other activation steps.

If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask. I
AlexK
PhotoReading Instructor Australia
PhotoReading coach w/Learning Strategies

[Nico Kempe]

Originally Posted by Alex w/Learning Strategie

... Turn the book over and PhotoRead it upside down if you get drawn into reading during the PhotoReading step....

you can photoread upside down? wow! Got to love our subconscious mind.

[Alex w/Learning Strategie]

Yes. An especially useful trick to remember if you find the conscious mind wants to start reading while you are PhotoReading. Also when you get near the end of the book and the pages become difficult to separate. Close the book turn it over and PhotoRead from the back to the front. You can work your way all the way to the front or just enough to cover those missing pages.

PhotoReading a book both ways is good for those books where the pages stick together. Just ignore the multiple pages you turned and PhotoRead the book the other direction. You'll catch those skipped pages. Not only is the mind brilliant at reading upside down. It puts it in order (those pages numbers aren't just for decoration )

Alex

[Cortex]

For Alex:

In the photocus state, is the brain able to read/memorize inconsciously the text ?
Or does this step only help to memorize the global layout of the page and is useful only when super reading it, when the brain will say "hey, I know this page, I don't know what is inside but I know in which section it is located" ?