The average person reads at a speed of about 250 words per minute. Imagine being able to read at two or three times that speed. Well, now you can. A new company called Spritz developed an application of the same name that could have you reading at 500 words per minute in no time.
Set to roll out within the week, Spritz’s mission is to “change the way people read and make communication faster, easier and more effective.” Founders, Frank Walkdman, Maik Maurer, and Jamie Locke, developed a method that eliminates the traditional line-by-line reading method and involves a fast streaming of text that actually relieves the reader of the time-consuming act of moving their eyes across the page.
According to Spritz, only around 20% of your time is spent processing content while reading. The remaining 80% is spent physically scanning from word to word. This new application could “Spritzify” online reading material, eliminating that wasted time and even making reading more easy, enjoyable and efficient.
When reading in the traditional sense, the reader must move their eyes laterally, seeking a point within each word called the “Optimal Recognition Point.” After this point is found, the brain can then interpret the meaning of the word. This process of movement and interpretation actually causes the brain to do more work than necessary. The unique “Redicle” technology that is used in the Spritz application enhances readability by highlighting the “ORP” letter within each word in red, making it easy and obvious for the brain to recognize where it should look first.
Mesa students have mixed feelings about this new technology. While Spritz could possibly encourage students to read their lengthy textbook assignments, it could also make them less attentive to the material or prevent them from actually absorbing the content.
“I think this new reading technology will be helpful to those who don’t enjoy regular reading now. But also, I think it will make us lazier in regards to reading. We already have so much technology that basically reads for us or helps us so that we don’t have to flip pages, etc.,” said Mesa student, Morgan Lebejko.
Furthermore, Mesa students tend to have a variety of responsibilities and commitments, making it difficult to devote a sufficient amount of time to homework and reading. Time really is money, especially at this age. Spritz’s groundbreaking technology could allow them to read their material at three times their normal pace and alleviate some of the pressure that comes with being a student.
“It’s better for students that have a lot of commitments to juggle at once like work and other extracurricular activities. Being able to accelerate the curriculum helps students to balance schoolwork and gives them more time for other things,” said Mesa freshman, Clarence De Leon.
Still, the question remains. When using Spritz, can a reader fully absorb the material and retain it?
“The only negatives would be that the accelerated reading might tempt students to quickly skim over the curriculum without really taking time to ingest the material,” De Leon responded
According to the tests conducted by the company, “retention levels when spritzing are at least as good as with traditional reading,” and “with just a little bit of experience, you will retain even more than you did before.”
The new Spritz technology, if successful and effective, could revolutionize reading and the way people study. By the end of March, you will know if Spritz works for you and will, potentially, be able to increase the speed of your reading by 300, 400 or even 500 words per minute.
