Reading With the Right Brain: Read Faster by Reading Ideas Instead of Just Words (25 page)

So, instead of thinking
2 + 3 = 5
, he would think:

The result was that all his later arithmetic lessons made more sense to him; he was thinking of the concept of numbers rather than their memorized perceptual names. By learning his numbers conceptually rather than perceptually, he was able to quickly learn to add up strings of three-digit numbers in his head before he even started kindergarten. I’m embarrassed to sound like I am bragging here, but this is one of the best examples I can think of to demonstrate the power of conceptual thinking.

As you can tell, conceptual thinking goes beyond reading. Even when listening to someone speaking, you will find that you can listen more deeply if you conceptualize the things being said. With practice, you will get into the habit of noticing and appreciating real concepts during all types of communication.

I hope I don’t appear to be overdoing this idea of conceptualizing, but the understanding of concepts is very important, and if it is unclear, the rest of this method could be difficult to follow. It’s either going to sound like I’m only stating the obvious, that you should simply “think about” what you are reading, or it’s just not going to work for you, and you won’t know why.

Conceptual Reading

Hopefully all this is somewhat interesting to you, but I’m sure this might also seem like a lot to think about while trying to read. However, all of this is just background, an attempt to be sure we are talking about the same thing. While actually reading, you are only going to get quick flashes in your mind of what each concept is.

The important point is that these are going to be flashes of what the ideas mean to you, rather than just listening to what the words sound like. You might be surprised at how much information you can pass to your mind in an instant when your right brain is conceptualizing information as whole ideas.

For example, when you read the word “elephant,” a lot of information moves from your eyes, through the various parts of your mind, and on to the many areas of your brain representing all the things this word means to you; and all of this happens virtually instantaneously. It sounds impossible, but so does the act of reaching your hand out to accurately intercept the trajectory of a ball without consciously performing any differential calculus. You don’t have to completely understand how visualizing concepts works; you just need to recognize that it does work and how to take advantage of it.

Not only does conceptualizing create more meaningful connections to information, but simply the fact that you are paying more attention increases comprehension. So regardless of how many or how few attributes you associate with a concept, just applying this type of concentration—conceptual concentration—will make a big difference in the level of comprehension you experience. This is because the act of trying to visualize forces you to remain more involved with the material, and encourages you to think more about what you are reading. The ideas you read will become more real, will make more mental connections, and these connections will be made quicker and stronger than they would be from decoding the mere sound of words.

Conceptual Practice

As you practice, you will need to apply your imagination in order to visualize ideas. This means you may have to go slower at first, glancing at a phrase and then thinking of an image of the idea. If you read, “The man,” you might picture a man. Then if you read, “lived in a house,” you may picture the man in his house. And if you next read, “in the Northeast,” you might picture the house in the top-right corner of a map.

The first two images would be physical images and the third a metaphorical representation. Anything will do, but just try to quickly visualize the meaning.

If no good images instantly come to mind, then conceptualize the idea—that is, think about what it means to you. For example, “for a long time” is more of an abstract idea, but you would conceptualize what this means to you; it could mean consistency, waiting, many years, or a large part of your life. Or, instead of an abstract concept, it could also be a metaphor, such as the image of a calendar. Everyone will do this differently because ideas mean slightly different things to each person. The only important thing is to practice actively thinking and imagining the meaning of what you are reading.

This may seem difficult at first. Reading with the right brain is almost like learning to write with your other hand. The left brain will always be where the text is converted into words, and it will take practice to develop the habit of passing this data to the right side, to recognize whole phrases as complete conceptual ideas.

But practice will make this skill quick and automatic, and the task of visualizing will no longer compete so much for mental resources. Until you reach that point, however, it will take more energy to visualize an idea than to simply continue to decipher words into sounds and definitions. For that reason, you may have to slow down at first while you learn to see the ideas.

Like any skill, someone can show you how, but you still have to do it yourself. Instruction is nothing without
construction
. Someone can give you instruction, but only you can complete the construction. Although proper instruction is important, you need to supply the practice. For example, simply reading about how to swim wouldn’t prevent you from drowning. You have to jump in and practice on your own to form new habits. But once conceptualizing does becomes a habit, the ideas will seem to float off the page directly into your consciousness.

Learn to swim, and then swim.
-John Lennon when asked, “What’s the meaning of life?”

Practice Exercise #14

Read the next practice exercise with your attention on the conceptual meaning of each phrase. Think about its real essence. Look
through
the words at the meaning
behind
them. Allow this to slow you down at first if necessary, but make sure to imagine the ideas and then allow this clearer comprehension to lift your reading speed. Conceptualize ideas and read with your whole mind.

When you’re ready, begin reading the first thousand words of

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
by Jules Verne

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

The year 1866
was signalized
by a remarkable incident,
a mysterious
and puzzling phenomenon,
which doubtless
no one
has yet forgotten.
Not to mention rumors
which agitated
the maritime population
and excited
the public mind,
even in the interior
of continents,
seafaring men
were
particularly excited.
Merchants,
common sailors,
captains of vessels,
skippers,
both of
Europe and America,
naval officers
of all countries,
and the Governments
of several States
on the two continents,
were deeply interested
in the matter.

For some time past
vessels had been met by
“an enormous thing,”
a long object,
spindle-shaped,
occasionally
phosphorescent,
and infinitely larger
and more rapid
in its movements
than a whale.

The facts relating
to this apparition
(entered in
various
log-books)
agreed in most respects
as to the shape
of the object or creature
in question,
the untiring rapidity
of its movements,
its surprising power
of locomotion,
and the peculiar life
with which it
seemed endowed.
If it was a whale,
it surpassed in size
all those
hitherto classified
in science.
Taking into consideration
the mean of observations
made at divers times—
rejecting
the timid estimate
of those who
assigned to this object
a length of
two hundred feet,
equally with
the exaggerated opinions
which set it down
as a mile in width
and three in length—
we might fairly conclude
that this mysterious
being surpassed greatly
all dimensions admitted
by the learned ones
of the day,
if it existed at all.
And that it DID exist
was an undeniable fact;
and,
with that tendency
which disposes
the human mind
in favor
of the marvelous,
we can understand
the excitement produced
in the entire world
by this supernatural
apparition.
As to classing it
in the list of fables,
the idea
was out of the question.

On
the 20th of July,
1866,
the steamer
Governor Higginson,
of
the Calcutta and Burnach
Steam Navigation Company,
had met this moving mass
five miles off
the east coast
of Australia.
Captain Baker
thought at first
that he was
in the presence
of an unknown sandbank;
he even prepared
to determine
its exact position
when two columns
of water,
projected by
the mysterious object,
shot with
a hissing noise
a hundred and fifty feet
up into the air.
Now,
unless the sandbank
had been submitted
to the intermittent
eruption of a geyser,
the Governor Higginson
had to do neither more
nor less than
with an aquatic mammal,
unknown till then,
which threw up
from its blow-holes
columns of water
mixed with air
and vapor.

Similar facts
were observed
on the 23rd of July
in the same year,
in the Pacific Ocean,
by the Columbus,
of the West India
and
Pacific Steam
Navigation Company.
But this
extraordinary creature
could transport itself
from one place
to another with
surprising velocity;
as,
in an interval
of three days,
the Governor Higginson
and the Columbus
had observed it at two
different points
of the chart,
separated by a distance
of more than
seven hundred
nautical leagues.