Sections and subjects of speedreading and senses masterclasses

My reading speed and technique improved dramatically from the time I started speedreading. I would go as far as say that speedreading is a form of biohacking: it is the ability to hack into our senses and generate far more than the senses allow. Therefore in the future, I will bundle speedreading with hacking the senses like synesthesia and eidetic memory.  I know that this sounds a bit overambitious. It actually is extremely ambitious. I have many students that read 1200wpm (x5 faster than average reading speed), and no students yet that read 10000wpm (my current speed) with subvisualization. I hope with time this will change.

The main parts of the speedreading that do not appear in other places are:

1. Application of eidetic memory in visual flow
2. Choosing and adapting reading strategy based on the materials that we read and our abilities
3. Step-by-step description of complex reading strategies
4. Dealing with emotional aspects of reading
5. Organized notetaking and follow-up processes

Notice that basic comprehension and language skills are prerequisites of speedreading, and not its products.

 

For your reference, I provide the chapters of my speedreading and senses masterclasses. You will find speedreading masterclass here:

https://keytostudy.thinkific.com/courses/keytostudy-speedreading-masterclass-1

You can see in the name of the masterclass that it is the second edition. The first edition was bundled with productivity. Productivity eventually became a huge subject and it will be moving to keytovision sister brand.

 

1.  Productive By Design. The speedreading skill is not a standalone skill. It is a part of a very large package of interconnected skills. A person kind of needs all the relevant skills. While we deal with speedreading as a standalone skill, it should never be applied by itself, but instead should be combined with all other relevant skills.

   1. Speedreading heavily relies on memory for subvocalization.

   2. Speedreading is usually followed by speedwriting for comprehension, long-term retention, and active use.

   3. Productivity requires speedreading to access new knowledge and simply to save time. Multitasking and flow training from productivity enable subvisualization and reading speed above 3000wpm.

   4. Reading is a part of emotional self-regulation. Motivational reading is a part of the bigger set of skills dealing with emotional anchoring, guided visualization, positive self-talk etc.

2. Skimming, Scanning, and Slowreading. It takes a lot of time to master various aspects of systematic speedreading. This does not mean that you cannot apply speedreading principles immediately. Also, it does not mean that systematic speedreading is always the preferred reading strategy. Anna teaches two kinds of prereading: skimming and scanning. These strategies have been proven effective in multiple studies even for people with limited training. “Slowreading” is what I call verbatim reading, like reading of poetry and holy books. Sometimes it is the best strategy. Before going to speedreading it is best to understand the strengths and the weaknesses of the alternatives.

3. Systematic Speedreading. This is the first time I address systematic speedreading in this course. Basically here I describe the entire process from improving retention to subvocalization suppression, including the common mistakes. Ideally, if you plan to do this, you should combine this chapter with 4 sessions 1:1 with Anna, or at least with the book. There are simply too many things that can go wrong and the order of operations is critical. This is the only part of the course that actually requires additional resources. Failing to complete it does not invalidate the other parts of the course: you can proceed with them in-parallel.

4.  Scan Blogs. To be honest, I use my speedreading skills almost exclusively for blogs, and yet one does not need speedreading to scan through blogs. The strategy is based on skimming and scanning to select the articles worth reading, reading them when we are most effective, and writing notes as we read. Everything is very intuitive, so I urge you to notice the fine details and small tricks I apply. These tricks are small and easy to miss in the first hearing, yet they help a lot. To judge your progress, when I speedread blogs I usually speedread 1000 articles in one day.

5.  Read Book Step By Step. We all read books. Then we pretty much forget what we read. This happens to everyone, as books are long. This section deals with questions to ask before and after reading to ensure that reading will be helpful. Ideally, reading a book should be followed by speedwriting of a summary or a review, but even without that diary is the most important part of the process.

6. Scientific Reading. Scientific articles are different. They follow a very rigid structure, have visualization, and usually require several sessions of reading. I do not know about others, but when I get a fundamental article, I learn something new each time I reread it. Typically between rereading, I implement my own version of the article and reproduce the results as a simulation. Alternatively, I map the content. Derivative articles do not require many rereadings and offer very clear tricks and innovations that should be noticed. This difference is critical. There are very few fundamental articles and a lot of derivative works.

7. Knowledge Metaphor. I should probably name this section differently. It deals with organizing the knowledge we have, some of the basic principles I also discuss in other courses. There is a focus on the modularity of the subjects, with hyperlinking between them. In the masterclass dealing with senses below, I justify this by the structure of the neocortex with associative connections. Unfortunately, we do not always get the knowledge well-organized. To improve this organization we need to brainstorm on different subjects until key ideas crystallize in knowledge domains. Moreover, new knowledge usually relies on something we already know organically, as a part of everyday life we take for granted. This realization is not immediate, and very cool every time it happens.

8. Approaching New Subject. Reading is usually a part of a larger process of learning. When we approach a new subject we do not just read about it. That would be a serious mistake. We find mentors and role models, build projects, visualize, and explain what we do to others. All parts of the process are interconnected and none should be ignored.

9. Emotional Aspects. We are not robots. When we read we are strongly emotionally involved. Some reading motivates us, other texts may generate negative feelings. The feelings need to be addressed and dealt with.  In addition to our own feelings, we need to deal with the feelings of the author. Most authors are not honest and reliable narrators. They have their hidden agendas and they may manipulate information to generate a better story. I have different masterclasses for the relevant skillsets, so here I only mention what needs to be addressed.

10. After Reading. Follow-up step after reading is critical for long-term retention. This section is a sort of bridge between the speedreading and speedwriting masterclass or programming and tinkering course.  It basically addresses the point when we go from passive registration of knowledge to active application of knowledge, and then recursively to looking for additional knowledge.

11. Speedreading Code. This section is a bridge with the programming and tinkering masterclass. It addresses various specific challenges we face when speedreading the code. Since I was a programmer and a software architect involved in several projects that had above 1mil line of code, I hope I have something to contribute in this area.

12.  5000wpm Recipe. There is a unique training required for extremely fast speedreading which I call subvisualization. It can be activated after several years of systematic speedreading. Typically it needs to be combined with other strategies, like focusing on innovation,

13. Organizing Knowledge. Bridge to advanced subjects of memory course, dealing with taxonomies and mapping of entire subjects. In the memory course, there are mental cities and navigation within. The mental cities usually appear via the process of systematic speedreading.

14. From Books To Keywords. Recap of the systematic speedreading training for more advanced students. Like everything we did so far and why we did it.

The retention and comprehension parts I not within the speedreading masterclass. I might create a dedicated minicourse. There are some subjects that may be added later to that course:

1. Slow Reading and Phonetic Awareness. Focus on names and places
2. Bilingual Reading. Addresses various aspects of speedreading multiple languages.
3. Reading with Comprehension Gap. Addresses various aspects of reading texts we do not fully understand
4. Multitasking with Dual Coding. When reading and reciting both the structure and verbatim we multitask. If we also think about that we multitask more

The senses course is partially complementary to the speedreading course, but partially to the emotional self-regulation course (https://keytostudy.thinkific.com/courses/visualization-and-self-help-masterclass). In a way, since it deals with intuition, it is also complementary to the investment course (https://keytostudy.thinkific.com/courses/investment-masterclass) 

The senses masterclass addresses very diverse subjects as you will see shortly.  The senses masterclass is here:

https://keytostudy.thinkific.com/courses/senses-and-intuition-masterclass

1. Gut Feeling. Occasionally we feel something extrasensory in our guts. Usually, this means that we detected something with our senses and get a hormonal notification. The process is subconscious: our senses process information very well without our direct conscious intervention. For this effect to work we need to train or “calibrate” our senses, which is the main idea of this course.

2. Eyesight. Here we deal with some properties specific to vision: peripheral vision, night vision, and visual illusions. The basic idea is understanding how the vision works as a sensor. More complex training of eidetic memory and synesthesia happens elsewhere.

3. Above 20 Senses. While we have five “big” senses, there are many other senses. Possibly we do not even consider them as senses, but they are still there and they are important for our survival. For example, many people get depressed simply because they have a disbalance in their gut bacteria. We think not just by our heads: there are neurons in our guts and spine which have their own independent processing. Also, for example, the vestibular apparatus is important for reading: we cannot read really well when we are in motion.

4. Sensor fusion.  After addressing individual senses we consider some ways for the brain to fuse information from multiple senses. There are many brain centers with individual functions, which affect the way we perceive reality.  For example, if we do not get critical information we often complete it from history or other senses. This may help us understand dual coding and modalities of emotional anchoring combinations.

5.  Practical Synesthesia. Synesthesia is a sort of wrong fusion between the senses. It is really helpful in various creative activities.  Induced synesthesia is a relatively new research subject. Here I provide a very practical and technical section dealing with different kinds of synesthesia and how it can be used.

6. Projection. Sense are a part of our body. The entire body may be used as a mental palace. What we learn may be visualized, learned, and remembered as a body state. For example, by changing the environment or the ergonomy we may change we way we learn things and affect creativity.

7.  Charisma. Charisma can be acquired. Usually, it is a complex combination of empathy, independent thinking, and sensory awareness. Charismatic leaders often hypnotize their audience, making people less aware and capable of criticism. This is also dangerous in speedreading, as we turn off our filters to perceive information faster.

8. Situational Awareness. Peripheral vision, eidetic memory, and focus are critical not just in reading, but also as a part or larger idea of situational awareness. The feedback works in both directions. There are even studies that show a connection between reading speed and quality and juggling. Physical activity may contribute to learning via situational awareness and vice versa.

9.  Body Language. Our ability to communicate is influenced by our body language. By changing the body language we communicate differently not only face to face but also when reading or formulating ideas. This goes beyond ergonomy to open and close body language and our openness to ideas and more. For example, doodling in meetings strongly improves retention.

10. Time Perception. Training requires patience and grit. An aging mind has its strengths and weaknesses. Overlearning contributes to automatism. There is a strong connection between our learning and time itself.

11. Body State Memory.  Learning is not just declarative it is also procedural. Improving procedural memory and memetic recall can be controlled by improving awareness of the body’s state.

12. Fractals And Technical Analysis. Nature behaves in a certain way, which we learned to analyze relatively well. Fortunately, this skill can be extended to various mathematical trends and phenomena. For example, this can help to invest better.

13. Innovation And Compression. Our focus is not on everything all at once, but usually on the new and interesting information. This focus on innovation is critical to comprehension and speedreading.

14.  Gut Feeling (again). What is the true nature of intuition? Here we can reiterate the understanding of what we feel and what we know based on the subjects described in previous sections.

The speedreading masterclass is at the core of our ability to learn new things. It is connected with many other skills in complex and surprising ways. More often than not the approach to reading is strategic. What we read and why we read is more important than how we read, and how we should ideally read changes based on what we read. If this sounds complex, the complexity is correct. Our need is not just to read something, but to acquire new knowledge and understand new trends faster than our peers. This is a huge advantage well worth the required investment.