Forums IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ PhotoReading, Memory Optimizer Does PhotoReading Actually Work?!

Hello, I'd like to inquire from all of those who have done this system (seminar, course, book, etc.), as to whether it works or not? I do not mean to an extent that you can read 3x-5x faster for "regular reading", but the fact that you have the ability to flip through pages within 1 second to 1 minute, "activate the material" up to a day later, and have total recall or at least 80-90% recall? I am a student, who wishes to do a B.S. in one of the science majors (preferably, biological sciences), and go off on to Medical School approximately by the age of 20, as I am 16 now and done with High School (acceleration, heh...it's what I love!). Anyhow, I have heard that skimming or other techniques are necessary, similar to speed-reading, but only for "main points." However, in medicine, EVERYTHING is essential...So, as a student, is it possible for me to (with time, couple months maybe max) PR material, and the next day - take my exam, and pass with a good score (lol, my GPA needs to be maintained at an extremely high rate - above 3.5)? I would like school to not be so stressful, as the pressure is highly building up on me, and that is the reason why I had to graduate a year earlier from my previous school - the thought of another year would have torn me up. I hope PhotoReading will give me this ability. And please give your comments as to whether this technique or full speed reading @ up to 2000 WPM is better for anyone in the medical field (I tested my avg. read rate at up to 600 WPM already, so..it seems it will be harder for me to achieve much more).

hi,

im 16 and my normal reading speed is 600wpm too.(still have another year in highschool though ). let me tell you about my last semester i think it will show everyone the power of photoreading.
i have always been a bright student with a GPA of 9.2 average or so without doing any special techniques or using any effort in school. still, i never got an excellence diploma in my life. welp, this year was my first . this year was the first year i started implementing photoreading in school.
..i photoread all the books at the beginning of the semester. and i used the classes discussions as natural activation.
some ridiculous conclusions i got to in the end of this year:
1. i studied much less than normal people. (well sometimes i kept studing untill the last minute because i don't like to take chances..also my parents didn't like me studying beyond 'too short' for tests ).
2. i could study for every test in 2 days MAX (i had one test i studied 3 days which was the final on most of the metarial) and get 90+ (i am also talking about the finals here..normal tests almost never exceeded one day).
3. i knew i knew most of the metarial (i would say 75%-80%. sometimes it's almost annoying, really )
4. when i took myself seriously i was much more calm when i approached tests.
5. i used to finish my tests before time... but this time it was absurd. i had 40 minutes in average to check my own tests before i handed them in.
6. next year i'm not taking any notes. NONE. if the subject has a teacher that requires word in word answers i'll just photocopy the summaries she dictated us from my friends..as we did this year. it is much better for me to listen as i usually do in the class. and make a mind map of the lecture..or even use the time to activate my books. it will be used much more efficiently that way (if you think about it you spend about 5 hours a week for about two months minimum for learning a 200-300 page book!!..).
7. i wrote less and straight to the point. sometimes when someone told me i write too little i would start writing too much just too show them i can do the test anyway they want (they get the same answer).

also, don't think i'm taking easy subjects with achievments like that. here's what i was learning this year:
1.algebra,trigonomety,calculous,physics,english,chemistry,history, bible, lit. and suchlikes.

this time my GPM was 9.57. lol i actually studied less than all my friends. this thing works. this year i'm implementing it totally.
hope this gives you some proof.
i'll be honest here. i am photoreading exacly 1 year now. i still think i'm an amatuer and i can improve alot (maybe i'm great in school but i'm not really good in reading normal books and especially computer technical books ).

Sincerely,
Raanan Hadar

[This message has been edited by Raanan Hadar (edited July 20, 2001).]

Thanks for your reply, I really appreciate it. But, see, during my early years from K-8, I was not a bright student, lol (no motivation, by anyone include myself). Actually, in one summer, I flipped and started doing excellent from there on because I knew my transcripts would now matter (my GPA is a 4.1 now, beyond the regular max). But, now that I'm entering a new school, it seems harder for me, for the fact is I will have to start over again to accomplish what I did earlier. And with one mess up in college, you're dead for chances of Med School. So, I do not like taking chances, especially with something like "PhotoReading." I mean, speed reading though claims to cover ALL the material in still yet a short amount of time, with near 100% Comprehension rates. I don't know whether this (below) would affect my PhotoReading ability or not, but it sure as hell would with SpeedReading - Over the years, I have found out that I have a very unique ability to read once normally (lol, and those rates aren't super slow - avg. 400-600 wpm), and devour the information through memory with great levels, making it unnecessary to reread, or even TRY, to memorize information after. It is almost as if it was semi-photographic(I have recited Cliff Notes Books word for word, for AP exams and such). It has come to help me through many subjects, including bio, chem, physics, math, ETC. - anything, you name it. I do not do that great on STANDARDIZED (state/national) tests though - I mean I can score decent, but not excellent. I would like to improve upon that, for lets say my future MCAT, and I think that speedreading will give me a definite opportunity to minimize most stress on much of any school-related thing. PhotoReading? Not quite so sure. Plus, if it really does work, PhotoReading, I will go nuts and read anything I have my hands on, heh. I really do have much ambition to be as competent as is possible...I really want this to work. Which is better? The course, seminar, or both? I am willing to do the seminar, even if it does cost that much. How long would it take for someone like me to even learn how to PhotoRead with decency? I mean, intermediate levels within a few months, master within --? (I know Pete has been doing it for 15 yrs or so, lol...I don't mean to be an expert like him). See, my straight away fact is this: My courses, medicine, require every piece of information to be known (memorized, essentially), and I don't think photoreading can do that much, but I'd like to believe it. Thank you in advance for your replies, everyone.

[This message has been edited by AssemblerCT (edited July 20, 2001).]

[This message has been edited by AssemblerCT (edited July 20, 2001).]

Here's a med student that's used photoreading in his medical studies:
http://www.learningstrategies.com/forum/ubb/Forum8/HTML/000735.html

I hope it's helped you out! Good luck!

::rolls up sleeves:: Let's get to work:

The PR WMS is all about taking what you need from the book - they've found that only 4-11% of the book is actual core material, and that everything else is filler. The PRWMS is all about intuitively identifying these important passages, and reading only them, seeing as how they're all you need. Just purchase the PhotoReading book: the $16 is well worth it, and it describes the entire system. After that, you can decide for yourself.

It's also about building comprehension in layers; that's why there are multiple activation sessions, and each one is a complete pass through the book, each time gaining more and more comprehension until the book "gels."

Now, in your case, where everything needs to be memorized, the system is used differently. Med textbooks, computer textbooks, etc, are known as technical materials, where over 85% of the material is core knowledge. As many as ninety activation sessions are used (each session is no more than 45 minutes, usually half an hour), and all the knowledge is absorbed. Since when you go through and PhotoRead the book, the entire thing is memorized perfectly on a subconcious level, during activation you make neural connections on a concious level faster. In other words, you learn faster. And, once again, due to the way activation works, you will gain comprehension layer-by-layer - the best way to learn with anything, especially something as complicated as medicine. The information is also easier to retain, especially when PR is used alongside the Memory Supercharger paraliminal tape, which is included in the Personal Learning Course as well as given out in the seminar.

Bubbles, good reply! You know your stuff!

[This message has been edited by Dana Hanson (edited July 23, 2001).]

A

[This message has been edited by DARWIN (edited July 24, 2001).]

quote:

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Originally posted by DARWIN:
A few years ago I took Howerd Bergs speedreading seminar. It seems a lot like photoreading, but that is what I want to know. He made everyone pretend that they could read 2 lines in one second, and three lines and 4 lines in a second, read a page in five seconds, 3 seconds, 2 seconds and one second. We did this for about 4 hours. The goal was to get everyone to read 25,000 wpm. I like the idea of reading a page in 5 seconds or a paragraph at a glance. Anyway when I walked out of his course and on my way home all these unwelcome words kept bubbling into my consious mind. Can someone tell me what was happening?

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Not sure.

It sounds like your inner mind started trying to process all of the words you flashed in front of your conscious mind. Alot like, how right before you drift asleep, all of those images start flashing in your head.

Assuming you are a PhotoReader, what kind of results have you seen with PhotoReading so far?

I am not a photoreader (Darwin is not a photoreader). But, I am interested. I am currently studying a PhotoReading book I found by Paul Scheele called "Speed Reading Made E-Z." My normal reading speed is about 500 wpm and I am facinated by the idea of photoreading. I believe that Photoreading is possible. Other than all day, that day several years ago when I took Howard Bergs speed-reading course, I have not yet experienced anything like that again. However let me tell you about what I used to do as a kid on a school bus going 40 mph. While sitting in a window seat on the bus, I would focus my eyes on the ground next to the moving bus, then suddenly shift my focus 6 feet behind my original focus point and it seemed as if the bus had stopped moving for a spit second and I could see EVERY ITEM on the ground in that second focus point. This is why I believe photoreading is possible. Can you imagine flipping through a book at 40 mph knowing that your subconscious mind is seeing EVERY ITEM. I am going to become a Photoreader. Forty mph is 704 inches per second; if a page is 6 inches wide then you would be photoreading 117 pages a second.

I tried the Photoreader's dictionary test yesterday and guessed the proper column 3 out of 4 tries.

[This message has been edited by DARWIN (edited August 01, 2001).]