In our third diablogue, we take on topics related to the concept of ’Speed’. In a series of articles challenging different manifestations of speed, we question why society is pervaded by a need for speed, and whether we gain any real value by chasing the speedy solution. Jill Damatac starts us off in Part 1, exploring the need for speed… reading.
Image courtesy of www.treehugger.com
I remember learning to read at the age of four. My first word? Business, from the top of the Business section of my grandfather’s Manila Times. I read it phonetically: “bi-zee-ness”, over and over, rolling it around like a gumball (or a Lemon Warhead. Oh, man. Where do they sell those around here?). Ever since then, I’ve had quite the obsession with reading, writing, words in general. I’m even dorky enough to admit that the two things I’m proudest of having done with words are, in order: sounding out “business” at the age of four, and having the ability to read—and memorize—fast.
Really, really fast.
>> More at The Owl’s Post.
There is apparently even a movement for leisurely page-turning: Slow Reading, a trend that, like Slow Food or Slow Travel, encourages participants to revel more in the experience, in the medium, rather than mere results. It encourages pauses, thinking, feeling, maybe even extrapolating what one has just read into other thoughts, past experiences, ideas and sources. It also defends the idea of taking one’s time while reading, and justifiably so—as I’ve just written, speed doesn’t necessarily translate into superior ability, comprehension, or analysis.
Why, I think I’ll like this Slow Reading business so much, I might even start Slow Writing.
