Brain Bulletin #20 - An Amazing Speed Reading Secret

Here is something interesting for you to read. Read it quickly.

"The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid. I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch taem at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are. The olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Such a cdonition is arppoiately cllaed Typoglycemia. Azanmig, huh? Yaeh and you awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!"

So, what's going on here?

This interesting piece was sent to me by Garyln D., a Brain Bulletin Subscriber. Having recently completed my Triple Your Reading Speed seminar, he immediately recognized what was going on. The visual pathways to your brain are very strong. Your brain never sees anything in a vacuum. Your brain takes what it sees and superimposes it on everything that is already in your brain. Learning is connecting new information to what you already know...context. Your brain has seen these words many times and it registers them as a picture based on prior experience. Essentially, your brain puts the letters back in the right order to match the picture.

This is one of the secrets of speed reading! I have presented many seminars on this topic to businesses and to the general public. 95% of people tell me that they read each word one at a time and they hear each word in their head. This ensures slow reading, and it results in many unfinished books. Lots of books aren't even started at all. In fact, 59% of North American adults do not read a single book in an entire year!

In the next Brain Bulletin you will learn why good habits start early in your life.