It depends on the density of the information and general complexity of the sentences and ideas. This exercise kept the ideas rather simple, but an old Dickens novel or a complex text-book would be much harder.

Note that English audiobooks are typically around 150-170 wpm and fast talkers speak around 200 wpm.

I feel like I’ve seen half a dozen HN submissions about this 900 WPM speed reading "barrier", and I’ll say it again: color me unconvinced until a proper study is done that measures people’s WPM alongside both their short-term and long-term recall.

Anecdotally, my ability to remember what I’ve read seems directly proportional to how much time I spend quietly reflecting on each section of a paper.

Speed reading seems more like a parlour trick than anything else.

Pleasures like reading are to be savoured not devoured

I didn't think I could, but it turns out I can.

Should you?