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Comment by jacquesm | Hacker News Reader

> Having a screen reader that reads at about 520 words per minute is a blessing when you are gathering knowledge.

That's so fast it is incredible. I'm really quite shocked at that speed, is that a regular speed for a blind person to be using their screenreader at?

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Apparently if you're poor or lacking in one of the body's basic senses, the others are heightened to make up for it? Maybe by not having to process the immense data that must be required by vision, they're able to dedicate more of their brain's "bandwidth" to processing a more intensive stream of aural data. :)

No, you just have to practice.

I'm not blind. I listen to all podcasts at 2x speed and I can't stand to go back to "normal" speed because it's so slow. While doing accessibility testing I've found myself turning the voiceover prompts faster and faster because I very quickly get used to it.

If you have an iOS device, set your home button triple click to bring up a shortcut menu and put Voiceover in as one of the options (inverse colors is another good one). Test your own app in Voiceover mode. Close your eyes and navigate around. You'll be surprised at how quickly you figure it out... and what rough edges your app has.

Being blind is just the most efficient way to improve focus. You are back against the wall, no other alternative to pursue. I don't say it loud but I somehow envy them. The see more than me.

I agree. Yoshiro Nakamatsu claims that he invents things while submerging himself under water. While I'm not sure if he's telling the truth, one thing everyone agrees on is your well-said statement. We perform best when under immense pressure, when our fight-or-flight response activates.

More than 'immense' pressure, it's regular and high enough desire. When I fubared my filesystem, I suddenly spent 4 hours very carefully reading man pages. Usually after 15min I quit.

You are right.

On a different note, I'm glad I got to know insightful people on HN through my post. You guys are helping me know more about myself through your interesting comments. Thank you.

Happy to have a positive effect on you but I'm really just an average guy (even though my ego likes to think otherwise).

Exactly. The reason I have been able to achieve such a high speed of reading is simply the fact that this sound is all I've heard for most of the day since I was 14. That makes it about 12 years.

It just takes practice. Hearing it out of context, it's just a jumble of words, but you can make out some things if you notice, plus if you're controlling it you know what to anticipate, so it gets better with practice.

Exactly. My screen reader is very adjustable in what it reads. When you have that level of control, you will be able to anticipate some of what you will be hearing, effectively improving the speed at which you understand. It's just how you read with your eyes (i.e. an experiment has found that when reading headlines, people read the first three words and last three words first).

I assume it's the equivalent of skimming?

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