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Comment by ASalazarMX | Hacker News Reader

I was skeptical, but the article starts with Train Dreams, which according to HowLongToRead, would take 2 hours at 300 WPM.

https://howlongtoread.com/books/323872/Train-Dreams

Two days per book full time means one every 16 hours. Enough to read the full Foundation Trilogy with one hour to rest between books.

On a side note, I'm ashamed to share that I tested my reading speed, and while it was 264 WPM, my reading comprehension was 50%. That's why I read slower, and frequently re-read.

https://swiftread.com/reading-speed-test

Out of spite I tried to measure my Spanish reading, 520 WPM and 100% comprehension. Very unfair since it's my native language and I can glance and skip instead of reading every word.

https://speedreadr.com/es/

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Can't say I ever took a test like that. 644wpm and 100% in English (native language).

Hard to judge that based on just five questions though.

You will feel more judged when you score 67% like me.

Edited to add: we must have followed different links though, mine only had three questions obviously.

I think it gives various passages and questions from a bank.

Mine was a paragraph about small loans to poor populations, and had five questions.

Yeah, mine was about the social meaning of distances when speaking to people (not exactly my specialty!).

ESL and I got 512 WPM and 75%. I don't agree with the 1 wrong answer but I digress.

Reading fast means you can take in more info per unit of time. It can be a useful ability, if tedious at times.

The swiftread writing samples are awful, one of them I tried was fiction that introduced four characters in three sentences, I just gave up on that one.

I scored 100% at 500+ WPM for a couple non-fiction samples which felt like my usual reading speed if I’m not reading carefully. I read books at 200-300 WPM.

I think reading for fun and reading for a job are difficult to compare; I'm sure this fellow has a very high reading speed and / or can skim across parts that aren't important for the task at hand. But that's making assumptions.

I'm curious what these tests are measuring if you say your reading comprehension is only 50%. Your comment here is completely articulate and sensible so you are obviously fluent in English.

Edited to add: hm. I just got 67%. I guess my college degree is a waste. Should have gone the humanities route instead.

It hurts, doesn't it? I also thought a few measly questions would be a piece of cake, and mainly focused on speed.

I didn't consciously focus on speed. I just completely overestimated my ability to skim. Interesting. I think I actually would have done better when I was younger and used to doing these things in school. I obviously don't read as carefully as I used to.

Makes you wonder what else you're missing.

In high school, there was an academic event for reading comprehension. I tried it one time and was humiliated. They read aloud to you a story, and then they ask you questions about it after. I have no idea where my head was, as I didn't do well at all. I never tried the event again. It wasn't until that experience before I realized that I'm the type that needs to read things multiple times for it to stick.

I feel like in high school I would have scored better on this. I was overconfident. I skimmed it quickly, like anything I would have done at work, and figured I'd sort of internalize the main points. Like I think I do at work.

Oops.

2000 WPM @ 75%

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