Show HN: A speed reading app to help you finish books in < half the time (opens in new tab)

(speed-read-black.vercel.app)

2 pointsRonyisonline29d ago8 comments

8 comments

Nice job. ReadSVP (an offline tool) is probably one of the most popular focal-point based speed readers out there but I've seen a few online ones pop up on HN in the past few months as well.

WordBlip

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46643246

SpeedWave

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44079218

Some Feedback:

You've got speed as WPM which implies a constant word rate but it clearly slows down in relation to the length of the current word. Nothing wrong with that, but are you factoring these unequal times such that the overall speed still matches the designated WPM?

RonyisonlineOP28d ago

First of all...good attention to detail man!! And yes that is something I have done intentionally i.e. the words which are longer than a certain threshold are shown for a longer period of time. But looking at the exact calculations...it would not exceed the word by a big extend unless there is a paragraph which has all the words which are very long.

RonyisonlineOP29d ago

Hi HN,

I built this Speed reader to deal with the optical fatigue that comes from reading long articles and books.

This eliminates the need for saccadic eye movements. Your eye stays entirely stationary while the text streams through the focal point which in turn helps you finish what you are reading in less than half the time required.

You can paste any text block into it and test it instantly. I'd love feedback on the word centering offset math, the tokenization logic, or if you experience any frame-dropping at higher WPMs.

beardyw29d ago

My only criticism would be that all commas are not created equal, so that pauses, say in lists, sometimes suggest meaning which was not intended.

RonyisonlineOP28d ago

I have not explicitly written any logic for variable commas ...only just the fact that there should be a lil bit of time gap between the commas. Just so that I can understand your question better...why does it matter ..like that's the way that has been pasted in the text so...the interface is showing just that.

beardyw27d ago

Just that

"It arrived, as if by magic" should be read with a significant pause, whereas

"It contained potatoes, cabbages, cheese and beer" needs no pause at all. The commas merely indicate a list.

abstractspoon29d ago

Where's the pleasure in that?

RonyisonlineOP28d ago

It's dharma so no pleasure lol

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

8 comments

vunderba29d ago

Nice job. ReadSVP (an offline tool) is probably one of the most popular focal-point based speed readers out there but I've seen a few online ones pop up on HN in the past few months as well.

WordBlip

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46643246

SpeedWave

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44079218

Some Feedback:

RonyisonlineOP28d ago

RonyisonlineOP29d ago

Hi HN,

I built this Speed reader to deal with the optical fatigue that comes from reading long articles and books.

You can paste any text block into it and test it instantly. I'd love feedback on the word centering offset math, the tokenization logic, or if you experience any frame-dropping at higher WPMs.

beardyw29d ago

My only criticism would be that all commas are not created equal, so that pauses, say in lists, sometimes suggest meaning which was not intended.

RonyisonlineOP28d ago

beardyw27d ago

Just that

"It arrived, as if by magic" should be read with a significant pause, whereas

"It contained potatoes, cabbages, cheese and beer" needs no pause at all. The commas merely indicate a list.

abstractspoon29d ago

Where's the pleasure in that?

RonyisonlineOP28d ago

It's dharma so no pleasure lol

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse