Speed Reading Extensions Are Solving the Wrong Problem

The RSVP Trap

(Optimizing the wrong bottleneck)

RSVP readers (Spritz-style flash-one-word tools) look efficient:

• Eyes don't move
• Words appear in a fixed spot
• Throughput looks high

But that's not how people actually read.

Real reading depends on:

• Seeing multiple words at once
• Using peripheral vision to prep the next phrase
• Occasionally jumping back to confirm understanding

Remove those and you don't process faster — you just decode with worse comprehension.

What Actually Slows Readers Down

People waste time when they:

• Drift off the line and re-scan
• Lose position and backtrack
• Re-read whole segments
• Fatigue and regress more than needed

The slowdown isn't ocular speed — it's losing track of where you are.

The Shift+Arrow Effect

(You already know this works)

Ever selected text with Shift+→ while reading?

• Your eyes follow the selection automatically
• You maintain perfect focus
• You don't lose your place

That isn't a trick — that's a visual anchor at work.

LinePilot automates that same mechanism:

• Highlights line-by-line at a steady pace
• Eyes follow naturally (same reflex as Shift+→)
• Adjustable speed, zero manual effort

It doesn't change how you read — it removes the parts that get in the way.

A 10-Minute Test

The gain came from eliminating waste — not forcing speed.

Speed vs Comprehension — The Honest Tradeoff

Speed and comprehension only break when you:

• Remove context (RSVP)
• Override natural reading behavior

Line pacing works because it:

• Cuts wasted motion
• Keeps natural context
• Lets speed rise without harming understanding

Try It Yourself

I built LinePilot to test a simple idea — that reading slowness is a guidance problem, not a speed limit.

Read any long article twice:

1. Normally
2. With a line-paced highlighter

You will notice:

• Less wandering
• Fewer regressions
• Steadier rhythm
• Higher net speed at the same comprehension