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Was silent reading unusual during Augustine's time?

78 points · 63 comments · ryanscio

  1. delis-thumbs-7e · · focus · HN ↗
    I have no idea, but with ADHD and all, I have taken recently the habit of reading aloud, especially course texts, doc’s and other boring stuff I easily get distracted with. I pretend to be a BBC 4 broadcaster. It seems to work. After awhile you can stop and just read silently.
    1. jan_m_savage · · focus · HN ↗
      fellow ADHD. if you read in a place with no distractions, you can read silently, and fast for a long time.
      1. delis-thumbs-7e · · focus · HN ↗
        Yep, if I am interested or even obsessed by the text. I have read literature classics voraciously and have read books in one go in the past. I probably read some 50 books for my Masters. But unfortunately some documentation of a template language I need for a project, but am otherwise less interested in, fails to adequately fascinate me. Reading aloud helps me to concentrate on the boring text and actually read it, not skim without really understanding.

        Point is, it is just one reading tool in the bag and it is foolish to think it has something to do with reading level or comprehension. Might be helpful for many people whose focus has been nuked by platform apps.

        1. jan_m_savage · · focus · HN ↗
          exactly.

          i have read about 400 pages in one hyperfocus sessions, on a screen no less.

          yet, i still prefer reading on paper.

          best if the font is nice and large.

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