Bionic Reading: what is it and does it work? When I think of bionic images of Barbarella, BSG and Star Wars come to mind. As an adjective, bionic is attributed to sci-fi often relating to a replaced body part which enhances the strength and ability of a character: think of The Bionic Woman.
Bionic Reading: faster and better?
Bionic Reading is designed to enhance our ability to read at greater speed, yet still retain the text’s meaning. If it works, the implications are staggering. Learning new skills would be easier; children could learn to read more advanced books with greater ease; work would feel less stressful. We would become more efficient – more like machines.
Who created Bionic Reading?
Renato Casutt a Swedish typographic designer created Bionic Reading. He claims Bionic Reading accelerates the speed at which you read with no loss of comprehension. At first glance, it looks intriguing, but I wonder if everybody could benefit from this. Is this beneficial or nothing more than a publicity stunt for a new typeface?
How does it work?
Apparently, Bionic Reading supports how our brains process information faster than our eyes. Initial letters and syllables are highlighted, so we can increase the speed at which we read.
Previously, I discussed how our brains make assumptions about words based on the initial letters of a word. So, even if letters within a word are transposed our brains fill in the blanks and help us to read.
On the official site they claim, ‘Bionic Reading revises texts so that the most concise parts of words are highlighted. This guides the eye over the text and the brain remembers previously learned words more quickly.’
Reading more quickly sounds desirable especially coupled without losing comprehension but there could be downsides.
Bionic Reading is a gift to copy editors
When I first saw posts about Bionic Reading on Twitter earlier this year, my interest was piqued. This could become an essential part of my toolkit or an unwanted distraction leading to more errors in my copy.
As a proofreader and copy editor, I go through many stages before I can send copy back to a client satisfied that I’ve managed to find most errors.
Initially, I skim copy to understand overall tone and meaning of a piece. Then I go back to check titles, subheadings, headers and footers, page numbers, tables and so on. Following my initial skim and scan and other checks, I may start to use the find and replace function for a phrase or word which is misspelt or easily confused with another.
Only then, will I read through the copy checking and making amendments as necessary and raising queries with clients. There is a lot more to my job than this, but you get the idea.
It seems that Bionic Reading could help with a lot of aspects of my job. Well, up to a point. As a confident reader, it would support with the overall meaning of a text. However, I can see several issues.
In my professional role, I have to slow down and ensure I have considered every word carefully. Has the client used a near word and got a little confused? Are letters transposed so meaning is unclear?
There are many homophones that start with the same letter(s) or syllables which you could misread. English is a wonderful but complex language, and many words are easily confusable such as effect and affect/practise (verb) and practice (noun).
Who could struggle with this and where is the evidence that supports it?
If I were to present information, as I have many times in a classroom, this could be useful. Although, many established teachers are generally confident of their subject or speciality and can deliver lessons scanning notes rather than reading aloud.
Working as a proofreader or editor would make me pause before employing Bionic Reading on a text.
Emergent readers could become distracted and struggle. When we first learn to read, we look for digraphs and phonemes we know to help us read words. The assumptive nature of Bionic Reading would make this difficult.
My first impression is not positive. My eyes are distracted by the initial letters in bold and I can’t concentrate. Neurodivergent people may find this challenging, especially individuals with dyslexia.
I have read accounts of some with ADHD who love Bionic Reading, but this is not a whole community.
Several editors and teachers I spoke to were concerned with the lack of evidence that Bionic Reading enhances reading in the way it claims on its website.
I took a test that showed my reading speed increased by only 1% with Bionic Reading, so that increase is a token amount.
What’s the rush?
It is possible to speed read, but most find that when they do this, they have a sense of writing but miss nuance. They may also struggle to later recall what they have read. Reading slowly tends to help us retain what we’ve read.
As someone who finds it challenging to relax, I find reading therapeutic. I use it as a form of mediation: something slow, peaceful and calming. The wonder of how an author creates atmosphere, paints a scene and takes you deep into a character’s pysche is something to savour.
Rolling around an unfamiliar word or elegant phrase in my mind is something I love to take my time over. I want to enjoy every word like the last spoonful of a delicious dessert. So, Bionic Reading is not for me.
If more in depth studies are carried out and verified, I may change my mind. When teachers, writers and others are onboard I will be willing to look again but for now – it’s not for me.
Neurotypical people may thrive with Bionic Reading, but for everyone else – the jury’s out.