I don’t subvocalize when I’m reading a narrative account, and my readings speed is 800-1200wpm. When I read poetry, textbooks on unfamiliar subjects, or in a non-native language, I do subvocalize and my reading speed is reduced to approx. 600-700wpm.
When I stop subvocalizing, the narrative turns into action in my head. I don’t know what words I’m reading, but I see the characters playing out the actions the text describes. It’s more like a dream than a movie, in that the images are not well fleshed out, and I only see what I am focusing on. Sometimes, I can see/feel concepts interacting, which is harder to describe but feels almost like a slightly psychedelic experience, as if I am absorbing the meaning without the medium. Reading like that is an actively pleasurable experience for me that is both meditative and exciting.
I have this experience when I read and really get immersed. I have the feeling that a noticeable or persistent voice in my head is more of a symptom or signal of my distractedness than the cause.
Also, how did you measure your reading speed, is your comprehension good at the upper end, and did you do anything to purposefully increase the reading speed?
I measured it with the first two reading speed websites that came up on my google search here and here. My reading speed was also tested when I was 16, with very similar results.
My comprehension is very good (in the 80-90% range) at the upper end for anything I can visualize, or when the details of the sentence do not change the meaning. For example, my comprehension would be very high for an action scene in a novel, but when I have tried to read that quickly about any non-familiar technical topic, my comprehension has fallen to the 20-50% range.
I did nothing to increase my speed. I learned to read at a very late age, and became able to read over the course of approximately 20 minutes (it was quite possibly one of the weirdest experiences of my life), and after that 20 minutes passed I could with far above-average adult speed. If anyone else has ever had this experience, I would love to hear about it.
I don’t subvocalize when I’m reading a narrative account, and my readings speed is 800-1200wpm. When I read poetry, textbooks on unfamiliar subjects, or in a non-native language, I do subvocalize and my reading speed is reduced to approx. 600-700wpm.
When I stop subvocalizing, the narrative turns into action in my head. I don’t know what words I’m reading, but I see the characters playing out the actions the text describes. It’s more like a dream than a movie, in that the images are not well fleshed out, and I only see what I am focusing on. Sometimes, I can see/feel concepts interacting, which is harder to describe but feels almost like a slightly psychedelic experience, as if I am absorbing the meaning without the medium. Reading like that is an actively pleasurable experience for me that is both meditative and exciting.
I have this experience when I read and really get immersed. I have the feeling that a noticeable or persistent voice in my head is more of a symptom or signal of my distractedness than the cause.
Also, how did you measure your reading speed, is your comprehension good at the upper end, and did you do anything to purposefully increase the reading speed?
I measured it with the first two reading speed websites that came up on my google search here and here. My reading speed was also tested when I was 16, with very similar results.
My comprehension is very good (in the 80-90% range) at the upper end for anything I can visualize, or when the details of the sentence do not change the meaning. For example, my comprehension would be very high for an action scene in a novel, but when I have tried to read that quickly about any non-familiar technical topic, my comprehension has fallen to the 20-50% range.
I did nothing to increase my speed. I learned to read at a very late age, and became able to read over the course of approximately 20 minutes (it was quite possibly one of the weirdest experiences of my life), and after that 20 minutes passed I could with far above-average adult speed. If anyone else has ever had this experience, I would love to hear about it.