6 ms·

Blind people who use screen readers usually turn up the speed to something unintelligible to the rest of us. Maybe reading a computer screen is a simpler task

by jms 4y ago

Blind people who use screen readers usually turn up the speed to something unintelligible to the rest of us. Maybe reading a computer screen is a simpler task than talking person to person, but it's an interesting datapoint!

spartanatreyu 4y ago
Not blind, but I often watch youtube videos from 2x - 4x speed, only going below 2x to review complicated information (pausing a tutorial to read the text/code/image on the screen) or if the timing of information is part of the information (music, comedic timing, etc...)
smegger001 4y ago
I am definitely not blind. But i listen at high speed to audio books and podcast all day at work, I average at around 2.5x/2.8x speed (lower for certain narrators and can get up to 3x + speeds if i am not doing something that requires much of the language processing part of my brain or anything mentally taxing) i could drive or play a non-text/plot heavy video game but not talk or problem solve.
O__________O 4y ago
While I agree both the blind and others, including myself, listen to screen readers and audio at a higher rate, that’s not actually research that’s reviewable and shareable. Speaking for myself, 100% sure the noise-to-signal ratio increases when I do, but if needed, I just go back X-seconds in time to relisten to prior audio. I for sure never literally test my comprehension systematically when doing so relative to when I am not. The speakers, vocabulary, topic familiarity, etc — also make a huge difference; aka prior familiarity in general with the input. On the flip side, I provided research on transmission rates, which to me seems reasonable, but another user shared research on reception rates, which to me is unreasonable: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32160095 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32160095 To me, I am interested in notable, reviewable progress in understanding the topic — not chatting about it around an internet campfire.

by jms 4y ago

spartanatreyu 4y ago

Not blind, but I often watch youtube videos from 2x - 4x speed, only going below 2x to review complicated information (pausing a tutorial to read the text/code/image on the screen) or if the timing of information is part of the information (music, comedic timing, etc...)

smegger001 4y ago

I am definitely not blind. But i listen at high speed to audio books and podcast all day at work, I average at around 2.5x/2.8x speed (lower for certain narrators and can get up to 3x + speeds if i am not doing something that requires much of the language processing part of my brain or anything mentally taxing) i could drive or play a non-text/plot heavy video game but not talk or problem solve.

O__________O 4y ago

While I agree both the blind and others, including myself, listen to screen readers and audio at a higher rate, that’s not actually research that’s reviewable and shareable. Speaking for myself, 100% sure the noise-to-signal ratio increases when I do, but if needed, I just go back X-seconds in time to relisten to prior audio. I for sure never literally test my comprehension systematically when doing so relative to when I am not. The speakers, vocabulary, topic familiarity, etc — also make a huge difference; aka prior familiarity in general with the input. On the flip side, I provided research on transmission rates, which to me seems reasonable, but another user shared research on reception rates, which to me is unreasonable: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32160095 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32160095 To me, I am interested in notable, reviewable progress in understanding the topic — not chatting about it around an internet campfire.