Bionic Reading is a new way of reading text that uses a patented algorithm to highlight the most important parts of words, making it easier and faster to read. The method was developed by a German software developer named Renato Cukar, who was inspired by the way the human eye reads text.

Bionic Reading works by highlighting the most important parts of words, which helps the eye to follow the text more smoothly and efficiently. This makes it easier to read longer passages of text, and can also help to improve comprehension.

Bionic Reading is available as a free Chrome extension, as well as a mobile app for iOS and Android. It can also be used on websites and in PDFs.

See https://www.howtogeek.com/882688/why-you-should-use-bionic-reading-in-chrome-or-any-browser/

#technology #bionicreading #reading

  • Skull giver@popplesburger.hilciferous.nl
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    1 year ago

    Every time I’ve tried it I found bionic reading rather distracting. Perhaps it can help some people, but it certainly doesn’t help me. I’m not the only one, some small surveys seem to conclude that on average there’s really no advantage to it.

    Even if the method works, the fact this whole hype was started by a company that patented and trademarked the system makes it rather suspicious to me. It’s hyped up by a startup all over the internet but I haven’t seen any scientific proof that there’s any merit to it. This smells like a scam to me.

  • Lauchmelder@feddit.de
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    1 year ago

    Is this actually legit? I’ve heard this before but didn’t know if it was backed up by any studies. Guess I’ll just try it and see for myself

    Edit: no firefox addon? booo

  • sapo@beehaw.org
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    1 year ago

    I found it a bit too distracting when I tried it, but the real dealbreaker was not being able to use it on ereaders.

    People interested in this sort of thing should also check out Atkinson Hyperlegible, a free front by the Braille institute. While its main purpose is accessibility, I find that the very recognizable letter shapes help a bit with reading speed and comfort.

    • GadgeteerZA@beehaw.orgOP
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      1 year ago

      A patent means someone claims ownership of what they created, but I suppose it all depends on what they do with the patent. They can restrict it, sell it, or let anyone use it under license. But yes, it potentially restricts. The extension though is free so I see no cost.

  • SomeGuyNamedPaul@beehaw.org
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    1 year ago

    So, it bolds the first 40% of a word. And for this it’s a plug-in that’s probably sending everything I view back to their mothership and hoovering up my bank information? Hahahaha fuck no.

  • Swuden@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I find the main problem here to be that you have to grant the extension access to everything you’re viewing online. Granted we can inspect the code to check if it calls to some third party and leaks your data, but staying on top of that on the daily just seems unlikely for me.

    • GadgeteerZA@beehaw.orgOP
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      1 year ago

      It is actually off, so you have to click the icon to activate it for a page you want to read with it active. I don’t think it has an option to default to active.