Try this viral '900-word' challenge. You'll be surprised by how fast you can read

The viral “900-word challenge” has been turning heads ever since it surfaced on the internet. The video, shared by @UltraLinx on January 14, features a blank being filled by single words rapidly changing one after the other. The video gradually increases speed after a certain number of words until it reaches the 900th word, prompting viewers to read faster and faster. The most interesting part is that, along with testing one's reading speed, the information shared through the 900 words reveals what exactly helps one ace this challenge. It has the internet holding its breath to successfully make it into the top tier of responders. 

According to News.com.au, the video begins with a speed of 300 words per minute. Before you know it, you’re practically skimming through the words, trying your best to complete it before your brain can comprehend the next, and connect the oral skills to say it aloud. “Let’s see if you can keep up with the speed reading exercise,” the video began. It was revealed that the average person can read around 200 words per minute. Spoiler alert: if you begin the video and can already read the first sentence, you’re reportedly doing better than the average. Moving to 360 words per minute, the intensity picks up, revealing the secret to acing the test. 

The test uses ‘rapid serial visual presentation’, where one word appears after the other in increasing speed, and the capacity of your focus decides how well you can adapt to the speed. Instead of glancing across a page as you would while reading a book, the challenge cuts you some slack by letting you read from a single spot. “The trick is to quieten the voices inside your head,” the video revealed. Your focus has to be solely on the word, no pre- or post-thoughts, no guessing what’s to come, no dwelling on what you read. “The idea is to let your eyes do the work. Just absorb the words on the screen,” the video read.

As the speed picks up, if you’re lucky, you’ll be able to keep up. By the middle of the clip, you’re already reading two times faster than the average person. This is because the brain can comprehend and process information at this speed, provided it is focused. An example shared was that of a store, brand sign, or logo. You take one glance and recognize the entire name or message. Within the challenge is also the trick to acing it. As the speed progresses, a reader’s eyes are learning to fixate on the word as an image rather than a combination of letters, and eventually, the person can connect the word to the next seamlessly. 

Towards the end of the video, the reading feels “automatic.” Our eyes are now used to the script and can process each word faster than the snap of a finger. That’s 900 words per minute for you. If you’re still reading, call yourself an extraordinary winner. This video only proved what experts have long believed, according to Live Science. Reading is not done so much by per alphabet or letter but rather with a pattern. That’s why you might be able to read certain words or sentences even if the word is misspelled or missing a letter. David Eagleman, a neuroscientist at Stanford University, explained, "We don't passively receive sentences, but actively predict them. Our brains aren't blank slates waiting for input; they are model builders, constantly generating internal expectations about what's out there." According to the expert, we don’t come up with a random understanding of new words or sentence structures. Our brain has a “library of patterns” stored, and when we come across text, it looks at this chunk to pick out what’s available. It’s probably why you might be able to quickly succeed in the reading challenge, because it’s not really a novelty. 

Still, to some, it was either impossible or a total trait worth showing off if you managed. @DefiApes noted, “The way information was just getting uploaded to my mind instantly like that felt unreal.” @kayzywizzy added, “This was fun, the voice in my head caught every single word.” 

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