'I took a speedreading course where we read War And Peace. It's about Russia' - Woody Allen
Seems Mark's testing the PR course to find out if it's worth the advertising. So many things are not these days. I wouldn't call it being a pain in the ass...more like you're kicking the tires It's nice to see you're not an apple polisher and are not afraid to say the system isn't working for you the way you hoped it would. It may cause headaches for Dana but someone has to ask the tough questions. I applaud you for putting the PR system to the test and being totally honest.
I don't sell the system so I have no problem with this thread. I'm glad someone is giving PR a real world test. And let's be real; your testing methods are perfectly in line with the methods used by IQ and SAT tests and the like, and work relaed reading material is uniformly BORING and often unnecessarily complicated so your tests are very real world applicable.
Some questions and comments I have regarding your reading/tests:
Chemistry p 144-147 (No test, just timing)
Personally I think a strong purpose, preview, and rapidread would have made more sense for a 3 page timing exercise. But to each his own.
I also would stress the importance of relaxation even on such short info. Relaxation is often overlooked on short material but it's necessary to get the full benefit of PR. Without relaxation and proper breathing, you don't get into the ALS.
Characteristics and Relationships of Life- Biology, Page 120-142 (Aprox 6500 words)
Did you do a postview? When you activated, did you superread/dip, or did you skitter? Did you mindmap this? Finally, did you rapidread afterwards? This is complex material and the constant passes at different speeds seems to me to be prudent and strategic for proper understanding.
Law and Legal System (14 Pages)
You previewed, pr'ed, and activated this chapter. What was your purpose? Did you prepare fully? Did you close with a sense of mastery, and did you postview? Did you mindmap this? Finally, did you rapidread afterwards? Again, this material is rather detailed and complex and demands the multiple passes PR outlines.
Intro to Electronics, 25 pages
Did you establish a purpose for doing this material? How did you go about preparing the material? Did you preview or pr as well as activate? Even though you were like, 'huh?' do you feel that you closed with a sense of mastery? Did your pr affirmations help at all? Did you postview? Did you activate with or without mindmaps? And did you rapidread at the end to tie this altogether?
Anatomy and Physiology (12 pages, 3900 words)
Did you establish a specific purpose for this material in and of itself, besides your testing of the PR system? Did you prepare properly using the tangerine technique? Did you preview, postview, or both? What type of activation did you do and how did you find it? Any mindmaps? And did you rapidread afterwards?
I'd also like to say...if you really want to see what PR can do for you, why not try other types of reading material? Literature isn't confined to textbooks alone. To me, a good cross section for testing out the PR system would be:
:: A Dictionary of Difficult Words (steps to take: purpose, prepare, pr, activate via the dictionary game)
:: The Sunday edition of any well written newspaper, and a magazine of your choice (steps to take: purpose, pr, postview, activate)
:: A novel of your choice (steps to take: purpose, preview, pr, rapidread)
:: Aristotle's logic textbook (steps to take: purpose, prepare, preview, pr, and postview the first run; purpose and multiple activations with mindmaps, and rapidreading the second run)
:: A webpage such as the one dedicated to Nietszche's or Beethoven's biographies (steps to take: purpose, preview, rapidread)
:: An online novel, for instance Ulysses by James Joyce (steps to take: purpose, preview, rapidread)
: A nonfiction book of your choice (steps to take: purpose, prepare, preview, pr, postview first pass; activation with mapping and rapidreading on second pass)
This way, you'll have tested out many different types of material instead of just textbooks and you'll get a feel for what you feel the PR system is best at and where you might want to go to speedreading instead. Who's to say you can't use both PR and speedreading? It doesn't necessarily have to be one or the other. I say use what works best for your needs.
