Let's first look at the PhotoReading technique and then at the PhotoReading whole mind system.
PhotoReading is "mentally photographing" the printed page as fast as you can turn the pages or have the information flashed to you on the computer.
It does not give you a photographic memory. It is a way to input the information.
It is not reading according to generally accepted definitions of inputting information and comprehending it at the same time.
A study from the late 1950s defined reading as moving your eyes across the page and fixating your eye on each word as you go. That study said the fastest you can read is 880 words a minute (I think that is the actual number; might be a little less).
PhotoReading does not fall into that category because you are not fixating your eyes on each word and the speeds are faster than 880 wpm. This definition, is the definition that the FCC uses which is why you will not see us saying "reading at 25,000 words a minute."
Nearly every PhotoReader has the experience of PhotoReading and then knowing specific information from the text. This is called spontaneous activation. It is typically not something you can plan for and not something most people can do on demand.
That is why we developed activation techniques and woven these into a system called the PhotoReading whole mind system.
If you want to test someone and be impressed, do this:
You read a book at your regular speed. Then give it to a PhotoReader and have him or her spend one third of the time with the book that you spent. (The PhotoReader will spend just a few minutes PhotoReading the book and the rest of the time using activation techniques.) Then take a test. After the test, talk about the book. The PhotoReader will score at least as well as you and after the conversation you would agree that they know as much about the book as you.
Three caveats: 1) you are not a superfast reader, but an average reader, 2) you both have about the same knowledge base and interest in the topic of the book, and 3) you both are similar in intelligence.
When someone writes something such as the quoted post, it merely shows that they do not understand PhotoReading.
And, if you ever have the chance to see me on television PhotoReading and then immediatlely answering questions, know that I better be good. I've been doing it for a living for over 15 years. We demonstrate to show the potential and to get across the point, if we can do this, we can certainly teach you to get through information at least three times faster than you can now.
