Forums IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ PhotoReading, Memory Optimizer I just ordered "The Einstein Factor"..

and within the pages of this book is a brief outline of photoreading (from what I understand, anyways).

Let me give you a little background on myself before I get into my questions on the Photoreading technique:
I'm an 18 year old student who's always been far above average when it comes to natural ability, but an underachiever out of nothing more than apathy. Currently I can read at about 600-800 words per minute, and I've been able to do so since I was 11 or 12. Using mnemonics (link, loci, etc.) I can, with some effort (I haven't practiced very intently), effectively memorize material in about twice the time it takes me to read it at 600-800 wpm. All of that may sound great, sure - I should be somewhat satisfied - but I'm not. Ideally, I'd like to be able to flip through a book and recall it word for word (or at least, idea for idea).. or memorize an entire language within 24-48 hours (currently it would take about 10 hours using substitution, if you've ever read 'The Memory Book', to memorize the 1000-2000 'core' words of the language).. something Will Hunting(or William James Sidis, if you know who that is)-ish

My questions are basically this:
a) Is it possible to attain those goals using this system? I've read that the Guinness World Book of records claims that someone has read at approximately 75 pages per minute, but they lack any 'real' credentials as far as I'm concerned. Just as an example, Marilyn Vos Savant is recognized as the person with the highest IQ at 220ish. Strange, that score isn't recognized (IQ tests can't measure that high, period) by any of the authors of high-IQ tests (Hoeflin, Cooijman, etc.) and it's effectively off the scale. Anything beyond approximately 130 can't be tested accurately by any of the modern tests administered by psychiatrists, and this will be readily admitted by anyone who's in the field.

b) If it IS possible, how much effort am I going to have to expend, here?

Don't worry - I'm not saying that it's impossible, I just would like proof that reading 75 pages (even 10 is very impressive) per minute is possible with at least a 75% information retention rate.

CAN ANYONE TESTIFY TO HAVING IMPROVED THEIR ABILITY TO READ, RETAIN, AND USE INFORMATION TO THIS LEVEL HAVING UTILIZED THE PHOTOREADING SYSTEM EXCLUSIVELY TO CONSUME INFORMATION?

Thanks in advance
-sidis

[This message has been edited by Sidis (edited August 19, 2001).]

Concerning Marlyn Vos Savant's IQ - the score was obtained as a child on the Stanford-Binet and is an extrapolation. I believe she took the test at age ten, the official recorded score was 168+ IQ, and she had completed the items up to age 23 (the maximum age obtainalble on the Stanford-Binet version she took). The ratio IQ score she obtained, as a child, would then have been 228 IQ.

Concerning the use of PhotoReading for absorption of information - I used it exclusively in graduate school while studying physics and I found that it dramatically cut down the time and effort that I needed to expend in learning the subject matter while still maintaining my GPA.

Let me ask one question. How many languages do you know right now?