โ“ why

Why do our eyes move so quickly when we read?

Human bodyVision

Quick Answer

The eyes jump in rapid movements called saccades so the brain can sample different parts of a line of text. Between jumps, they pause briefly to take in information.

The Full Story

Reading is not a smooth glide of the eyes across a page. Instead, the eyes make quick saccades and short fixations, during which visual information is actually gathered. The brain stitches these snapshots together into a coherent stream of text. This efficient system lets us read quickly, but it also means that a tiny pause can make a word easier to recognize.

Key Facts

1.Eye movements during reading are called saccades and fixations
2.Visual information is gathered mainly during fixations
3.The brain integrates the snapshots into continuous reading

YouTube Angle

Suggested video title for this topic:

"Reading is really your eyes taking thousands of tiny jumps."