Having vast amounts of knowledge, or being a walking encyclopedia, is a common trait in geniuses, and even more so in polymaths – and probably the simplest way to gain this amount of knowledge is to learn to read very, very fast.
English author and education consultant Tony Buzan was no doubt alluding to this when he said the early development of speed reading could be traced to the beginning of the (20th) century, when “the publication explosion swamped readers with more than they could possibly handle” at normal reading rates.
In our thriller series The Orphan Trilogy, we were faced with ‘designing’ an education program that would turn our fictitious orphan-operatives into veritable geniuses. And speed-reading is at the very core of the radical education program we came up with.
However, our orphans’ technique is much more advanced than the majority of speed-reading programs currently available to the public. Many such programs simply offer complementary reading skills rather than allowing for a whole new way to absorb the written word.
As we say in book one in our trilogy, “It wasn’t so much speed-reading as mind photography – a technique where the practitioner taps into the brain’s innate photographic memory. The orphans were taught how to use their eyes and open their peripheral vision to mentally photograph the page of a book, magazine or newspaper at the rate of a page per second. Then they’d consciously recall every detail as if they’d read the material at normal, everyday reading speed. Tens of thousands of books, on all manner of subjects, were sent to the Pedemont Orphanage to keep up with the children’s prolific reading habits.”
The technique we wrote about was inspired by the most sophisticated speed-reading methods in the real world, as well as analysis of renowned speed-readers. It’s also based on the brain’s scientifically proven ability to pick up things subliminally and rapidly. By incorporating peripheral vision and photographic memory, it’s possible to mentally scan or photograph entire pages at a time rather than one word at a time.
This method enables our orphans to read at the rate of about 20,000 words per minute. That’s many times faster than most readers can manage. In fact, the average reading speed is only 300 words per minute, or about one page per minute.
Although some skeptics – along with one or two book critics who reviewed our thriller series – have expressed doubt over whether the human brain can absorb such vast quantities of data all at once, speed-reading is not fiction. And it has some famous devotees.
Various US Presidents were confirmed or rumored speed-readers. They include Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy and Jimmy Carter.
Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt, a self-taught speed-reader, is reported to have read a book before breakfast every single day while serving as president. Teddy’s recall was said to be perfect and he would often quote from the books he read. Kennedy studied under American speed-reading expert Evelyn Wood who could read at an impressive 6000 words a minute. JFK claimed he could read at around 2000 words per minute with a very high comprehension rate.
JFK…another speed reading President.
Carter, who also studied speed-reading during his time in the White House, took courses with his wife Rosalynn and their daughter Amy.
The fact that Dwight D. Eisenhower said “Don’t be afraid to go in your library and read every book” may well allude to the fact he was yet another US president who could speed read. After all, who else but a speed-reader would have the time or ability to read every book in their local library?
Bestselling author, life coach and motivational speaker Anthony Robbins practices speed-reading and recommends it to audiences, personal clients and his readers.
In 2007, when J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was published, six-time world champion speed-reader Anne Jones was the first to read it. Jones finished the 200,000-word, 759-page hardcover book in 47 minutes flat. Immediately afterwards, she completed a book review and sent it out to media outlets to prove her total comprehension of the story.
Reading time…47mins!
Jacques Bergier, French Resistance fighter, spy, journalist, chemical engineer and author of the bestselling book The Morning of the Magicians, was a born speed-reader. He started reading magazines and newspapers as a toddler, and by the age of four was fluent in three languages. By the time he reached adulthood, Bergier was reading 10 books a day.
New Yorker and State University graduate Howard Berg was listed in the 1990 Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s fastest reader. His reading speed was clocked at a remarkable 25,000 words per minute. Berg says his skill was developed out of boredom. He spent his childhood in the library, which was apparently the only place in the world that interested him.
Autistic savant Kim Peek (1951- 2009) was one of the world’s foremost speed-readers. The real-life inspiration for Dustin Hoffman’s character in the 1988 movie Rain Man, Peek read at between 10,000 and 20,000 words per minute and had a 98% comprehension rate. His method was to read two pages simultaneously, one with each eye. Spending most of his days in the public library in Salt Lake City, Utah, Peek read many thousands of books.
Kim Peek…the real Rain Man.
Of all the examples of speed-readers, living or deceased, Peek’s methods are closest to those described in The Orphan Trilogy. We sincerely hope in years to come scientists will figure out exactly how Peek so readily absorbed information from books so that children can be taught the technique the world over.
“In junior high, Robbins took a speed-reading course and began consuming what would be nearly 700 books through high school, mostly on psychology and personal development.” –December 27, 2013 article about Anthony Robbins in Investor’s Business Daily.
Since the term speed-reading was coined by Evelyn Wood more than 50 years ago, the skill has featured in various TV series and Hollywood movies.
In the 1996 feature film Phenomenon, lead character George Malley, played by John Travolta, exhibits extraordinary speed-reading skills.
Dr. Spencer Reid, one of the main characters on the hit TV series Criminal Minds, is also a speed-reader.
There’s a speed-reading scene in the 2004 spy film The Bourne Supremacy, starring Matt Damon, in which CIA agent Pamela Landy, played by Joan Allen, is seen reading agency files at rapid speeds. Landy uses her finger to run up and down over text on each page. This finger pointing method is a real speed-reading technique known as Meta Guiding.
Matt Damon…a closet speed reader?
In Good Will Hunting – another Matt Damon movie – Damon, who plays natural-born genius Will Hunting, is seen alone in his apartment flipping through page after page of a book without pause.
Whether these two films on the actor’s resume are just a coincidence or whether he’s a closet speed-reader himself is anyone’s guess.
“Modern research has shown that your eye-brain system is thousands of times more complex and powerful than had previously been estimated, and that with proper training you can quickly reap the benefits of this enormous potential.” –Tony Buzan
In summary, any seeker serious in becoming a genius should put speed-reading at or near the very top of his or her list of necessary skills to acquire.
We recommend avoiding any of the common speed-reading courses that mention terms and phrases like chunking, skimming, skim-reading or reading whole sentences at a time – or indeed any courses that only promise students the ability to read two to five times quicker than the average reader.
Instead, we advise seeking out less common reading methods that claim to allow readers to absorb knowledge at or close to one page per second reading speeds. At least 10,000 words per minute would be a wise guideline for pursuing the most advanced reading systems. Signs of super advanced speed-reading techniques are the use of such terms as peripheral vision, reading photographically, subliminal learning, limbic system, subconscious reading, photographic memory and the midbrain in any promotional material.
You have been reading an excerpt from our new release book GENIUS INTELLIGENCE: Secret Techniques and Technologies to Increase IQ.
To see what the critics are saying about GENIUS INTELLIGENCE, go to: http://www.amazon.com/GENIUS-INTELLIGENCE-Techniques-Technologies-Underground-ebook/dp/B00QXQQWXO/
To view the discussion thread on genius intelligence (the phenomenon) in our ‘Underground Knowledge’ group on Goodreads check out: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/142309-29-conspiracy-theories—a-discussion-group >>> Everyone’s welcome!
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Morcan Books & Films 