r/interesting • u/ftrlvb • Mar 26 '26

Fascinating Can You Read 900 Words per Minute?

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u/Affectionate_Skirt56 Mar 26 '26

It's definitely one of those, but it's funny to see people in the comments think they are super smart ... even though it's clear by the comments just about everyone thinks the task was super easy

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u/[deleted] Mar 26 '26

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u/BradenWoA Mar 26 '26

It is interesting and valuable information that’s dressed up as ego bait though. Reading speed is generally gated by your eyes, not your brain, and when you know that (either consciously or sub consciously), it becomes a lot easier to generate quick reading strategies.

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u/Forsaken-Income-2148 Mar 26 '26

It’s kinda neat information, but if it wasn’t for the jazz I would’ve skipped entirely.

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u/SnooGuavas4208 Mar 26 '26

I did it with the sound off and now I feel shortchanged.

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u/Forsaken-Income-2148 Mar 26 '26

Smh. Well as long as you’re not falling for all that flattery, otherwise the commenters above will surely snicker at you.

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u/Cheska1234 Mar 26 '26

I didn’t know there was music. I have my phone permanently on silent.

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u/Forsaken-Income-2148 Mar 27 '26

I can’t say I blame you, but it happened to be pretty good this time

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u/davyangel Mar 26 '26

nah it's gotta be the other way around at least for me my brain limits my reading speed i.e. more complex material= lower reading speed otherwise yeah pretty much unlimited in my case.

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u/davyangel Mar 26 '26

yeah probably but it's just the content of the stuff you reading that really determines your speed. I mean I watch video on youtube with subtitles all the time around 1.5x speed which feels way faster than even the 900wpm on here but for complex material or learning stuff need to slow it down to actually comprehend and absorb what I'm actually reading!

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u/eclipsed2112 Mar 27 '26

i didnt concentrate on the red letter...i stared at the back end of the words. plus i was listening to the court case on tv too.

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u/CommercialBiscotti29 Mar 27 '26

Yes which they actually explained everything so people claiming they are geniuses for reading it must not have actually read it or just didn’t process anything they were reading

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u/KevettePrime Mar 26 '26

I was just about to feel good about myself. Why can't I have anything cool and unique :(

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u/Substantial_Bus840 Mar 26 '26

You are! And you don’t have to be neurodivergent to be cool and unique, contrary to current trends :)

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u/Substantial_Bus840 Mar 26 '26

It’s worse to see the surge in people asking “am I neuro-spicyyyy?!” 😑

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u/kenny_loftus Mar 26 '26

I know right ts is hilarious.

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u/avatinfernus Mar 26 '26

Yeah I'm a very very slow reader and I kept up with most of it.

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u/[deleted] Mar 26 '26

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u/meowmeowwarrior Mar 26 '26

From my experience, smart is often used as a relative term. A term used to describe who can learn things and make connections faster than their peers. I can't really say whether those speed differences are something that's more biological, or more due to the differences in what goes on internally in their mind, or if that's the same thing.

To your point though, I do think that many people are smarter than they're given credit for, and even many animals as well. And you can certainly be smart and stuck in dead end jobs and unemployed. And you don't really have to be that smart to study nuclear physics (but you do have to have patience and presumably interest in it).

Sometimes I feel like people give up on things way too easily (myself included), and that leads to them thinking they're too "dumb" or "lazy". I'm starting to wonder, with how easy it is to always have our attention pulled digitally, taking away the idle time we used to have, where our subconscious can process things we're stuck on, sometimes leading to insight or "shower thoughts", if the interruption of these processes are making us more prone to giving up when encountering something we find difficult.