The Freeman

IS Bionic Reading GOOD OR BAD?

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Not all letter fonts are the same. Some are intentiona­lly designed to be basic and easy to read, while there are those that’re meant to do the same with some aesthetic flair. But as establishe­d as this fact is, a new trend in font design and reading has emerged and is touted to improve one’s reading speed and comprehens­ion. Called “Bionic Reading,” this font-styling-cum-reading method was developed by typographe­r Renato Casutt and is said to be ideal for neurodiver­gent readers.

Initially introduced in that it has greatly improved May as a reading pack tool their reading habits. for iOS devices, the pack But as the trend picked has since been transposed up in the weeks leading to to non-Apple devices in July, a number of educationa­l the form of extensions psychologi­sts have spoken for Google’s Chrome and up about it, indicating that Microsoft’s Edge web it is tied to a misunderst­ood browsers. At its core, the aspect to reading and method entails a facilitati­on reading comprehens­ion. of the reading process using Citing previous readingrel­ated text designed with “fixation studies and research, points” that focuses on the experts note that reading initial letters of a word to comprehens­ion is closely allow the brain to complete tied with interactin­g with it at faster rates. texts slowly as opposed

Basically, “Bionic to speedily, which means Reading” is all about having that reading fast doesn’t the first couple of letters of necessaril­y mean better a word set in a bold weight comprehens­ion or better to make it easier for readers focus while reading. to glide through a sentence Debates and or paragraph. discussion­s on where

Upon the font pack’s “Bionic Reading” stands launch, the method earned with where reading a lot of praise among early comprehens­ion is concerned adopters in social media. have since been ongoing Some, who claim to have online, with one side saying neurologic­al conditions it helps them read better, like attention-deficit while the other notes that hyperactiv­ity disorder or it bears no points as a dyslexia, note that it has better reading method by made it easier for them to valuing speed at the cost of stay on a page; others claim comprehens­ion.

 ?? ?? By Yasunari Ramon Suarez Taguchi
By Yasunari Ramon Suarez Taguchi

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