[markasoftware]

ok, so you can understand the words at 800wpm...can you really comprehend what's being said? When I listen to youtube videos at 2x speed I can usually pick apart all the words just fine but I often have to slow it down to properly process the meaning behind those words.

[klabb3]

I think it’s about different modes of operation. If I’m skimming an academic text, it’s not that I’m reading faster, I’m just jumping between text to find interesting keywords and sentences. A way to pick out raisins from the cookie.

When listening to a podcast or reading a book the pleasure is important, so I almost never speed up. If the pacing (or information density) is too low, I just don’t listen. On the contrary I’ve read books that are so dense I have to slow down and repeat. Those can be great works.

One mode is for navigation, one is for embedding the brain in the story, the knowledge, or whatever it is. It’s like looking out the window on a train, I’m not thinking ”wow I have seen these cows for 1.3 seconds, what a waste of time, I could have processed them in less than a second”.

Not to speak for the blind, but I assume an enormous utility need of navigating and structuring information from a linear medium into whatever is the representation in our brains.

[Neurrone]

Yes, exactly.

[photios]

It's a matter of practice and progression. I listen to podcasts and audiobooks in English at 3x speed, but it took me maybe 2-3 years to get to this level.

I understand all casual and technical content just fine. The only thing tripping me is fiction where I struggle with character names that I don't know how to spell (my visual memory needs it!). That's an English-only problem though. I don't have any of those issues with content in my native language (Bulgarian).

[keeeba]

How have you tested your recall in the long and short term? And what were the results?

[photios]

Gut feeling, of course :)

[brna-2]

I don't know exactly what top speeds I used, above 2.5x, under 5x, but I listened to some lectures on youtube as a background process to doing some work. I would be sure I have missed something, as I worked so I had this practice of just setting the video time back and checking if it is stuff that I already know. I was amazed to see that mostly all data was retained already and I had the feeling of listening to the same stuff twice.

These speeds were already non-comprehensive to my colleagues, but I thought there is no point in trying to get used to higher speeds, and to see the author processing these kinds of flows of data is just inspiring and amazing, Ill try to get better. But I am not planing on listening to code :D

[brna-2]

I see my limit is now around 3x, and FYI Lex Fridman is much easier on the ears at 3x then the guests. :D

[brna-2]

Also helpful, try listening to something for a minute at higher speeds e.g. 5x and slow down to 2.5x or 3x after that for a warm up.

[smusamashah]

From the article:

    I adjust its speed based on cognitive load. For routine tasks like reading emails, documentation, or familiar code patterns, 800 WPM works perfectly and allows me to process information far faster than one can usually read. I’m not working to understand what the screen reader is saying, so I can focus entirely on processing the meaning of the content. However, I slow down a little when debugging complex logic or working through denser material. At that point, the limiting factor isn’t how fast I can hear the words but how quickly I can understand their meaning.

[precompute]

I can read at speeds higher than 800wpm and comprehend everything. It's about practice. Although, yes, simpler material is easier to read at higher speeds.

[nottorp]

I'm sure being blind stimulates developing your remaining senses a lot.

Tbh even closing your eyes should.

[raincole]

Uh, the author is visually impaired. So they really have no other choice than "really comprehending what's being said."