Scan artist: how Evelyn Wood convinced the world that speed-reading worked
Description
The best-known educator of the twentieth century was a scammer in cashmere. “The most famous reading teacher in the world,” as television hosts introduced her, Evelyn Wood had little classroom experience, no degrees in reading instruction, and a background that included work at the Mormon mission in Germany at the time when the church was cooperating with the Third Reich. Nevertheless, a nation spooked by Sputnik and panicked by paperwork eagerly embraced her promises of a speed-reading revolution. Journalists, lawmakers and two US presidents lent credibility to Wood’s claims of turbocharging reading speeds through a method once compared to the miracle at Lourdes. Time magazine reported Woods grads could polish off Dr. Zhivago in one hour; a senator swore that Wood's method had boosted his reading speed to more than ten thousand words per minute. But science showed that her method taught only skimming, with disastrous effects on comprehension—a fact Wood was aware of from early in her career. Fudging test results, and squelching critics, she founded a company that enrolled half a million. The course’s popularity endured even as evidence of its shortcomings continued to accumulate. Today, as apps and online courses attempt to spark a speed-reading revival, this engaging look at Wood’s rise from mission worker to marketer exposes the pitfalls of embracing a con artist's worthless solution to imaginary problems.
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ISBN:
9781641601627
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Grouping Information
Grouped Work ID | 614fa508-6837-180f-e7f4-1b28abffc283 |
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Grouping Title | scan artist how evelyn wood convinced the world that speed reading worked |
Grouping Author | biederman marcia |
Grouping Category | book |
Last Grouping Update | 2019-12-13 09:30:08AM |
Last Indexed | 2019-12-13 09:31:58AM |
Solr Details
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accelerated_reader_reading_level | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
author | Biederman, Marcia, 1949- | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
author_display | Biederman, Marcia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
collection_arlington | New Nonfiction | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
detailed_location_arlington | Plaza New Nonfiction | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
display_description | The best-known educator of the 20th century was a scammer in cashmere. "The most famous reading teacher in the world," as television hosts introduced her, Evelyn Wood had little classroom experience, no degrees in reading instruction, and a background that included work at a Mormon mission in Germany at a time when the church was cooperating with the Third Reich. Nevertheless, a nation spooked by Sputnik and panicked by paperwork eagerly embraced her promises of a speed-reading revolution. Journalists, lawmakers, and two US presidents lent credibility to Wood's claims of turbocharging reading speeds through a method once compared to the miracle at Lourdes. Time magazine reported that Wood grads could polish off Dr. Zhivago in an hour; a senator swore that Wood's method had boosted his reading speed to more than ten thousand words per minute. But science showed that her method taught only skimming, with disastrous effects on comprehension -- a fact Wood was aware of from early in her career. Fudging test results and squelching critics, she founded a company that enrolled half a million. The course's popularity endured even as evidence of its shortcomings continued to accumulate. Today, as apps and online courses attempt to spark a speed-reading revival, this engaging look at Wood's rise from mission worker to marketer exposes the pitfalls of embracing a con artist's worthless solution to an imaginary problem. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
format_arlington | Book | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
format_category_arlington | Books | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
id | 614fa508-6837-180f-e7f4-1b28abffc283 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
isbn | 9781641601627 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
item_details
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itype_arlington | Hardback | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
last_indexed | 2019-12-13T14:31:58.378Z | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
lexile_score | -1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
literary_form | Non Fiction | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
literary_form_full | Non Fiction | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
local_callnumber_arlington | 364.163 BIEDE | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
local_time_since_added_arlington | 2 Months Quarter Six Months Year | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
owning_library_arlington | Arlington Public Library Aurora Hills Central Cherrydale Columbia Pike Connection Crystal City Detention Center Glencarlyn Local History Plaza Shirlington Westover | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
owning_location_arlington | Plaza | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
primary_isbn | 9781641601627 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
publishDate | 2019 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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recordtype | grouped_work | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
scoping_details_arlington
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subject_facet | Businesswomen -- United States -- Biography Impostors and imposture Speed reading Women educators -- United States -- Biography Wood, Evelyn Nielsen, -- 1909-1995 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
title_display | Scan artist : how Evelyn Wood convinced the world that speed-reading worked | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
title_full | Scan artist : how Evelyn Wood convinced the world that speed-reading worked / Marcia Biederman | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
title_short | Scan artist | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
title_sub | how Evelyn Wood convinced the world that speed-reading worked |