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defending the buzz {part 2}

"Wacky" Dave Foti's latest posting about speed is silly.

Assertions about speech rate and thought quality are intermixed with claims
about how "normal" people process information.  Mr. Foti has neither
sufficient personal experience nor any familiarity with the psychological
literature on these matters. Put simply (albeit perhaps rudely), he is
wrong.

Unfortunately, I read this mail very late in the day (2 am), so will need to
postpone an adequate response until tommorrow.  For now, perhaps a few
teasers from the "popular" literature will suffice:

1) the hum gets the hormones moving: heart rate, blood pressure, adrenaline,
   and other wonderful physiological changes happen when you do the hum.
   Real studies by research psychologists prove it.

     Greg Gutfeld, a staffwriter for Prevention magazine reported on a
   recent study about blood pressure and speech rate in the December 1991
   (v43 p36) issue:
     "In his (Aron Siegman, PhD & professor of psychology at the University
     of Maryland) study, increasing speech rate and voice volume also were
     linked to increased blood pressure, especially when the talkers were
     arguing."

   (Much more tomorrow, though)

2. speedy speech is quicker thought.  MORE information gets processed
   DEEPER, MORE connections between cognitive items get made more
   ACCURATELY, and the brain UNDERSTANDS more thoroughly. NO research
   literature supports Foti's assertions to the contrary, while a
   substantial body of studies supports these claims.

     Herb Friedman, a staffwriter for Creative Computing magazine summed up
   some of this literature quite nicely in the July 1983 edition (v9, p122):
     "... the human brain can assimilate information much faster than
     information can be fed in.  In fact, when listening to speech, the
     brain works at about one-half to one-third of capacity and it gets
     bored, often causing the listener to lose track of what is going on.
     Experiments have shown that the brain works most efficiently if the
     information rate through the ears - via speech - is the "average"
     reading rate, which is about 200-300 words per minute, yet the average
     rate of speech is in the neighborhood of 100-150 words per minute.  In
     short, the brain works at about one half of its assimilation capacity
     when listening to speech; whether it is a classroom lecture, an
     educational cassette tape, or even a TV show.  Experiments have also
     shown that the brain tends to wander when working well under its
     capacity, so the listener often ends up tuning out altogether.  Speed
     increases understanding.  Comprehension is not only increased if we
     speed up the rate of speech, but we can assimilate two or three times
     the amount of information at the same time."

   Again, I'll be more thorough about this tomorrow.

3. the buzz develops our ability to process information more effectively.
   Our CAPACITY to think is developed: we are able to follow MORE lines of
   thought simultaneously, our ABILITY to process verbal information is
   INCREASED, and MENTAL SKILLS are more highly developed.  Foti's claims
   are unsupported by ANY research literature, while the psychological
   STUDIES offer good evidence for these claims.

     One part of the claims above was re-substantiated last year:
   Psychology Today reported in their October 1992 issue (p14) that:
     "If friends criticize you for talking too fast, at least they can't
     also accuse you of having a bad memory.  Speech rate is a strong index
     of short term memory span... 'Therefore, the faster you can talk, the
     greater your short-term memory,' says Adrian Raine, PhD, a University
     of Southern California psychologist.  The link has been established for
     adults for some time, Raine reports in Child Development.  Now, he and
     his colleagues find the correlation holds for kids as well, a finding
     that promises short-term payoff in the classroom and long-term payoff
     in life.  Short-term memory is the power behind recall of phone
     numbers, directions, and other everyday tasks.  It is also the
     foundation of arithmetic and reading skills...  That raises the
     possibility that speech-training may be a short-cut to achievement.
     Says Raine: 'If you can teach kids with speech disorders to speak
     faster, that should have wide-ranging benefits for aspects of cognitive
     development and for their mastery of academic skills.'  Who says talk
     is cheap?"

   And again, this is just a teaser -- more soon.


Once again: it is a good thing that CEDA has room for both slow and fast
debate - each has something to be said for it.  But the somethings we say
shouldn't be said out of ignorance and inexperience.

until tomorrow ...

:( mike "death" korcok :)

oh yeah; Foti, you had better have found LOTS of good military tech links or
Jasmine will need to start looking for a new set of hands to hold.
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Archive created by Jonathan Stanton (jonathan@cs.jhu.edu)
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