I found this thread very interesting.
A decade ago, I was a tutor for the Stanley Kaplan Co., and could teach students how to really get super high scores on the SAT and PSAT, as I scored perfect on the math and near perfect on the verbal myself.
Today it is a different type of test, but the point is I had learned how to apply myself with the SQ3R method of the 1970s and 1980s (Study/Survey, Question the material with the books and notes closed,Read (to answer your questions), Review, and Recite (put it all in your own words). Dr. Green's book appears to be a rehash of this tried and true method, that allowed me to get a 4.0 average at two of the leading Universities in the USA.
Photoreading, which I just started 9 months ago, is entirely different from Dr. Green's methods. Photoreading allows you to do the Survey portion of SQ3R and the Reading Portion. I believe for technical courses, you may still need to do a lot of reciting ( in math that would mean playing around with the equations and doing lots and lots of homework problems similar to what your professor plans to test your knowledge of on the midterms and finals).
Some of the writers on this thread appear to be giving up on photoreading, because they want to superread and dip everything. I use PR on mathematical and science materials, as well as amartial arts material. PR allows me to conceptualize the flow of the equations and gives me a quick map of where to go. The map is not the territory and I still have to do the old fashioned get down and dirty to work out the "cognitive" challenges. That means in math, I have to get out the calculator, slide rule, and pencil and paper just like Dr. Green would suggest for such courses. In martial arts, I need to find a partner and work through the moves I have mapped out by photoreading.
PR helps me acquire the map faster than I usually would. I still must dig through the territory.
I also want to comment on the disbelief that graduate students may study from 7am to 11pm. I , personally, found reading that much to be counterproductive, and I studied in 50 minute sessions, taking a minimal 10 minute break, and would maintain strong focus. I found that studying on and on without a break would create diminishing returns. I knew many graduate students who did study from 7am to 11pm, bringing their books to dinner and even to the latrine-- I kid you not. Many of them made fairly good grades and many others barely passed!! Most students who focused in small blocks of time (one hour or less) using the 20%-80% rule discussed in this thread, almost always made As or Bs at the worse.
I have worked with gifted students and just plain hard working students and feel pretty confident about what study techniques do and don't maximize the GPA (Grade Point Average) by watching others and my own success.
I have dramatically increased my reading skills through photoreading and my life is getting so much better ! Sorry to be so long winded, but hope this has helped somebody out there.
