Can you keep up? Speed Reading and RSVP

Rapid Serial Visual Presentation is the new fad in speed reading. It is supposed to make you a better reader in the 21st century. Can you keep up?

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Transcription:
Hello everyone. Today we will be talking about rapid serial visual presentation or RSVP for short. RSVP eliminates the need to move your eyes across text when reading and increases the number of words you can read per minute. Right now we are reading at a third grade pace, so let’s speed this up a bit. Still with me? Now we are reading at an eighth grade pace. In addition to reduced eye movement, RSVP reduces subvocalization. Subvocalization is when read out loud in your head. With this method you simply don’t have the time to process subvocalization. You also don’t have the chance to backtrack and check words you may have missed like pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis. Catch that? Of course not. In one study, Elizabeth Schotter and colleagues tested partipants’ reading comprehension when their ability to reread words was taken away. The researchers did this by using an eye tracker and replacing the words the participant already looked at with Xs. They found that when the participants could not reread words in a sentence their comprehension of the sentence suffered. Now we are reading at an average adult speed. If you don’t think I’ll push the bounds of your reading speed by the end of this video you are sadly mistaken. Despite the research suggesting that RSVP leads to poor reading comprehension, companies like Spritz and Spreeder have created RSVP solutions that could possibly help consumers read faster on more devices. Particularly RSVP companies believe smartwatches could benefit from this technology as their screens cannot fit many words at one time. Is this meaningless innovation since reading faster doesn’t mean reading better? Maybe. We are reading at an average college student speed at this point and I think we can agree this is hard. If you have kept up so far I am impressed. This isn’t easy to do on the first try. Which leads to the thought that maybe all we need to do to learn how to read this way is practice. The average college professor reads around this speed. Unless a bunch of PhDs or very fast readers subscribe to my channel, I’m going to assume I lost most of you at this point. Therefore, I will just use this moment to prepare you for the next speed reading that is to come. I will be communicating a secret message to those who can read at 900 words per minute. This is how fast speed readers can read so let’s see if you can keep up. [This part is hidden in the transcription because it’s only meant for those who can actually read at this speed!]

Sources:

Song:
Sophomore Makeout by Silent Partner (YouTube Audio Library)

[evertonmatheus]

Reading at 900 wpm was quite scary; it felt like my consciousness was slower than my reading speed :p

[seansmith]

Last thing I saw was "this fast brag to your friends" 😂

[bestusernameever]

It's interesting that I found it easier to read at 450 WPM than 300 WPM. Could be because I'm a college student and that's the pace I'm used to. But I definitely noticed more subvocalization at 300 WPM which impeded on my ability to read quickly.

[GhostlyHermit]

I made it to 900, and everything after that was incomprehensible.

[langleybryant]

"If you have kept up so far, I'm impressed"

At least my college degree was worth one thing

[yourmotherisill]

if you have kept up so far, im impressed! my man i actually thought we werent even halfway there

[Moonmoon-wsjo]

I am a English Major and an Avid reader, i think it’s pretty surprising how i could comfortably read at 600, i was able to read the 900 but was abit difficult.

“Watermelon” was the secret message, i got it after trying to read it a second time

[lywtxpi]

Watermelon!
I legit saw melon and a w so I’m going with my gut instinct.

[trippyboi]

I don’t particularly like “WATERMELON” but I like people like gandolf, who are “WIZARDS”

[pinkmarshmallow]

I always like to read as a kid and was always the best at reading in my class, I’m actually really happy watching these videos :3

[chrismudd]

No matter how many times I rewatched it, every time I got to the fastest part with the message I focused too hard on the quotes.. but my reading comprehension is amazing, so if anyone is still here and knows other tests, id love to see them

[Aruesx]

3rd grade: this is pretty fast

College professor: I am speed

[djdog]

I could kinda of read the fastest but I could read 900

“Watermelon” is what I’m supposed to say I’m pretty sure

[ItsMeGPZ]

This is so cool, it's like you're a wizard unlocking our brain potential. I think I should have watched this video while chewing watermelon gum, but that's just me.

[meowsicalplayz]

I was able to read all of them! First try too!

[isaacsim]

People: Change playback speed to 0.25

Other people: wait, thats illegal

[thelifeofnik]

POV: Your learning to read faster because you have to finish a novel that is due tomorrow

[kriptionite]

Recognizing words by general shape has definitely helped.

[eayt]

You see, the smart person would just put this on a slower speed

[FaythVulpes]

I got most of 900 but 1800 was insane and I only picked up a couple of words.