Bionic reading method - faster reading?

[aragorn]

I just stumbled upon this thing called 'bionic reading' which is a way to modify the text by bolding the first part of the words so that you can read faster. I've tried a couple of examples and I do think it works to some extent. It does feel like your reading is accelerated.

Has anyone else tried this, what do you think?

Below a couple of examples:

 

[Princess Lux 🌷]

I personally havent used techniques with reading and this is also a challenge for me. Here is a thread another thread for Speed Reading. :)

 

[gottathink]

I just stumbled upon this thing called 'bionic reading' which is a way to modify the text by bolding the first part of the words so that you can read faster. I've tried a couple of examples and I do think it works to some extent. It does feel like your reading is accelerated.

Has anyone else tried this, what do you think?

Below a couple of examples:

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That’s interesting
I felt reading the bionic text I could both speed through it quickly and retain the information. I wonder if it can help train reading so that reading ordinary text improves also.

 

[ToxicCoward]

"Before and after" samples could be carefully selected in order to "confirm" that this technique is faster.
Feels faster, but in order to confirm or deny if it works for me I would have to write browser add-on to bionicify words.

All modern browsers have such add-ons already available to download, but using them may be very dangerous.
After all such browser addons require full access to every open web page and such browser permission could make developer of such addon steal your passwords and other dangerous things like that.

 

[brandon]

It does feel like I can read it faster, can immediately see where the start of the next word is so the eyes can confidently jump from word to word. Sort of like running up stairs in the daylight compared to carefully feeling your way up them in the dark. Not sure I'd want to read books like that - it feels hectic, maybe less enjoyable. Or maybe once you got used to it it'd be fine... Seems like a cool idea for purposeful speedreading, anyway!

 

[Ryan]

Has anyone else tried this, what do you think?

It does seem significantly faster, probably because it helps facilitate the "chunking" of words. Is there a website or references we can explore further?

 

[Navigator]

It does seem significantly faster, probably because it helps facilitate the "chunking" of words. Is there a website or references we can explore further?

There is, Bionic Reading®

 

[christx11]

To me, trying to read text/words like this is horrible, very disturbing for me. Almost like strobing. It slows me down and causes way more cognitive errors. I am used to bolded text being use for whole words, phrases, complete sentences.

For instance I see the word drawing and my mind does a double take. What stands out to me is 'wing' like a bird's wings. So my mind does this dra-wing, draw-wing, drawing. It is just very disturbing to me trying to read text like this.

 

[mkrnhr]

Maybe in the case of "drawing", the bold version should be "drawing" rather than "drawing". I guess it requires one to get used to it and it works for some people and not others. The main issue I think is whether it translates to reading normal text faster like in a book. In other words, after one has learned to read partially bold text for a while, does reading normal text gets faster?

 

[christx11]

The creators own attempt at science is pretty much non-existent. A study with 12

Casutt launched his big idea after testing it with only a small group of 12 readers, and even then the findings were inconclusive. “The results are not clear,” he reveals on his website, describing a study funded by the Swiss accelerator Innosuisse. “But it can be said that the majority had a positive effect. Of course there were also probands [subjects] who found the effect disturbing”—likely bothered by the irregularities in graphic display.

The only supposed attempt I can find to look at it scientifically is here:
https://blog.readwise.io/bionic-reading-results/
and it found no improvement in reading speed.

And this seems to be a good analysis of the method:
Can adjusting font styles really help us read faster?

and here Is There Any Truth or Proof to Bionic Reading’s Claims? many holes and fallacies are pointed out.

But then the WEF World Economic Forum seems to throw their weight behind it and we know they have no agenda.

To me it seems more like a nonsense fad backed by mob psychology. If you are told it makes it better for you and you believe it, then it may have some effect for you. But for me it seems like nonsense and it is disturbing.