Photoreading 40 books in under an hour, Some preview about 30 seconds to 2 minutes per book.
Computer webpages 30 browser windows in 30 minutes searching. Photoread them to find if they had the information I was seeking found myself experiencing a bit of direct learning as a result.
I often go through the 60 or 80 search engine results whilst chatting on msn though I don't get much done when I have more than 3 chats running.
Found one article that was over 57 pages and quite interesting took me an 90 minutes to activate it fully since I was maintaining a couple of chats at the time and checking out some links they were sending me, did a search of the web for some software for my brother at the same time. How fast one activates really depends on how one is prioritising their time.
How fast am I getting the information I want? A LOT faster than I was with regular reading. In wpm, it depends, some books I photoread and postview 5 minutes and am done, others take 30 to 90 minutes and others I leisure read. Could I go as fast as Pete? I don't know... maybe. To me the photoreading system is more about flexibility allowing me to get the reading done in the time I have available.
One thing I really appreciate is the ability to remember a lot more of the details of the information that I have activated, far more than what I ever achieved with regular reading. I guess it came down to a couple of fundamental aspects of the system. Knowing my purpose and getting active with my reading material, asking questions and identifying what is important to me. Being able to admit that the information I am looking for isn't necessarily in the book in my hand and that I might have to try some others to find it. Knowing I can come to the decision to dump a book after a 5 minute postview and trusting my gut reaction from my photoreading without having to spend 6 to 8 hours to come to the realisation that there was nothing in the book that was meaningful to me. I can do this with 7 or 8 books in 45 minutes and find more information that is more useful to me than with just one book in 8 hours.
It's not a matter of how fast, as in a race who's the fastest. It's a matter of having a purpose and using the system and when you do, you appreciate how much information you can really get through in the limited hours of the day.
Alex
[This message has been edited by AlexK (edited August 07, 2003).]