Forums IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ PhotoReading, Memory Optimizer Further Progress!

Hey, all!

Since the last thread has gotten bogged down with some negativity, let's pick up here anew. I hope we can avoid some of the personal stuff. If you recall, my attempt here is to document my experience at learning the techniques of PhotoReading--and perhaps teaching an old dog some new tricks, too.

Without belaboring the context, I picked up a copy of a book that I've had for several years called "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions" by Thomas S. Kuhn (University of Chicago Press, 3rd edition, (c) 1996). My son, who happens to be a alumnus of St. John's College in Annapolis, MD gave me the book a few years ago while he was still an undergraduate. St. John's has an unusual curriculum based on reading the great classics of western tradition and working through what the designers termed The Great Conversation. Any good library should have a copy of the Great Books of the Western World as published by the University of Chicago. That was his curriculum in college, with lots of additional reading thrown in.

Frankly, I'm a bit embarrassed to say that I only made it part of the way through the book and set it aside. It was a little tough going for someone out of school for--ahem--a long time and used to reading mostly technical stuff. There was always something more important to read. I pulled it down from the shelf a while ago to. . .well, let's just say certain odd statements were posted here and I wanted to explore Kuhn's position regarding those assertions. After skimming the book and refreshing my memory about what I'd read, I pulled one or two salient passages and set it aside.

As it turns out, I was up to tape seven. For those of you who haven't invested in the course, that's the tape focused on reading and activating a book of choice. I decided that the Kuhn book would be perfect for that part of the course (about 200 pages, nonfiction, challenging--but not too heavy), so I previewed and photoread it--twice. Today, I began activation per Paul's instructions on side b of tape seven. I carried on activating for another session after the tape finished and managed to get more than half way through. I'll complete the exercise (1st pass) later today. Total time investment so far: about an hour and a quarter.

Do I have even 50% comprehension of the first part of this book? Nope, not yet. Have I gotten anything out of it? You betcha--actually quite a bit more than I remember from slow reading it several years ago! As a bonus, this time I know I'll actually finish it. I'll probably activate once or even twice more to get everything I want from the book--a total investment of 4 or 5 hours tops.

Since I started the course about 2 weeks ago, I've PhotoRead about 25 books in addition to those covered in the materials. I've begun activating one book a day, which is my somewhat modest goal. At this point, I'm more than happy with the content and the value of the course, whether or not the PR step is actually contributing to my success. I still think I've learned quite a bit.

Thanks. I'll keep you posted.

--George

Thanks, George,
That's the way it worked for me.

PhRing the book upside down also works great for me. I even seem more relaxed w/ it upside down.

Can you imagine how much easier it'll be to activate stuff a yr. from now? It's a very empowering feeling to take command of material.

No, thank you, Margaret! You have been most helpful and supportive, and I really appreciate that.

If you wouldn't mind, would you send me your e-mail address so we can discuss some of these issues off line? Mine's posted on this board. If you'd rather keep your privacy, though, I understand.

Some additional thoughts: I now agree that attitude and confidence have a lot to do with learning this system. To me, it's akin to learning to play an instrument. As long as you're stuck with the mechanics of the process, you struggle. As soon as you start to develop some skill, you not only "hear" your progress, you begin to enjoy yourself, too.

This isn't surprising, since music is another whole brain activity combining both calculated technique and emotion. Perhaps that's why I made the "more art than science" comment earlier. That idea seems more positive now. Funny, but I never anticipated discussing these thoughts in the context of a reading course.

--George

George,
Your insights are very valuable. What you have just pointed out makes so much sense.

Posting your experiences is so worthwhile for others who are interested in how it works.

I have had quite a number of successes with photoreading. I have found it works wonders for most school related material and especially for pleasure reading!.