(Author’s Note: Some minor edits have been made from the original written text, but the original idea and scope of that text remains present in this authentic adaptation. It is for this reason that the transitions between paragraphs may seem abrupt at times and why some ideas may appear to be incomplete.)

What is the purpose of reading? If we understand reading simply as the process of obtaining information from a text, then the logical conclusion would be to find the most efficient means to do so. In other words, the goal is now to find the fastest way to use reading in order to locate the information that is needed. This is how the speed-reader understands the concept of reading.

However, an issue now arises; If this understanding of reading is accepted, then what does one do when they are unaware of what information they seek in a text. This is often the case for students who are told to “read” a text, leaving no parameters for their search. For the speed-reader, this process has now become akin to the search for a needle in a haystack, although the nature and perhaps even the existence of the needle is unknown to the speed-reader.

In the context of “Maps of the Imagination” by Peter Turchi, the nature of the work necessitates that even the speed-reader must be more methodical, intentional, and reflective in their work.

As a speed-reader is assigned large swaths of texts every week in high school, I eventually became accustomed to combing through dozens of pages to seek out the information that I had been assigned to focus on. While this was an extremely efficient process, it prioritized an industrial process over the enjoyment of the text itself.