I recently came across an excellent speed reading app. This app allows you to read a text using a highlighted guide to focus the attention of your eyes (meta guiding). You can select the speed of the guide, the number of words grouped by the guide (chunking), and the number of fixation points (the number of pauses your eye makes along a line of text). I've managed to bring my reading speed up to about 1000 words per minute.
One caveat about speed reading is that it does not deliver very good comprehension. Despite this, speed reading is still an excellent way to power through papers, even scientific articles (and the sports section...). The key, I've found, is to speed read the entire article once or twice to get a gist of what the authors are saying. After that, a more detailed readover will give better comprehension once your brain has been primed by the first iteration. It depends on how familiar you are with the subject (domain knowledge).
Links:
http://www.eyercize.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_reading
Monday, February 27, 2012
Speed Reading App: Eyercize
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Writing
A while back, I was at Professor Paul Johnsgard's honorary degree granting celebration. During his introduction, the emcee noted that he published over 50 books. I was floored. How does someone in academics write so many books?? Nevermind academics, how does anyone write that much? I just don't know how novelists, poets, and bloggers can keep pumping out new material. I've got a deep admiration for writers. Being the uppity kid that I am, if I start now, I think can become a prolific writer too. *smirk*
Leia Mais…Monday, May 17, 2010
Why am I interested in astrobiology?
I suppose that my scientific mind was born out of watching too many documentaries about UFOs, ghosts, and paranormal phenomena as a child. I was fascinated by the mysterious unknown elements of our universe and hoped that I could uncover it one day. Consequently, I read voraciously from the public library and that led me to science. I knew I wanted to become a scientist of some sort. Then, during my freshman year at UC Berkeley, I chanced upon a lecture by Alex Filippenko. In his final lecture of the semester, he gave a moving lecture that really led me to my interest in astrobiology. I'll explain more about that lecture in a future post.
Everyone is curious about whether there is life elsewhere in the universe. I'm no different, but I'm less interested in little green men. I am more interested in novel biochemistry. How would living organisms be different if there was a second genesis that was completely separate from the one here on Earth? Would they be made of the same material as us? Would they require water like all living things on Earth?
It's hard to comprehend just how large the universe is, but if you think about the sheer size of the universe it becomes harder to believe that life could have only arisen here on Earth.
It is that possibility that grabs my interest, the mysterious unknown. Leia Mais…