If you haven’t heard of it yet, you’re looking at text formatted according to a method called bionic reading. Look into it enough, and you’ll find it’s been a hot topic for debate: is it a gimmick or a game-changer? Helpful or a headache?

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Conceptualised by Swiss developer Renato Casuut, this award-winning reading method is designed to aid the reading process by “guiding the eyes through text with artificial fixation points.” In simpler terms, we as readers focus on the first few bolded letters and allow our brain centres to do the rest of the work.

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The supposed effect? Faster reading, better comprehension – no more having to go back to the start of the sentence because you forgot what you were reading about in the first place. Individuals with ADHD and dyslexia have expressed positive experiences with bionic reading, sharing that it’s made reading more accessible and more productive.

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See a side-by-side comparison of the regular reading experience vs. the bionic reading experience below:

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More than a simple font and size change, bionic reading is an experience that can be adapted from reader to reader. Bionic reading software allows you to decide how much of a word is bolded, how frequently words are emphasised, and how opaque your font is.

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At present, there are no scientific studies that prove that bionic reading is any better than the regular formats we use everyday. Others have even tagged it as a passing fad, even a nuisance.

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But all the same, bionic reading has changed the game for some individuals – reminding us that one person’s headache can be another person’s hero. And we’re all for anything that elevates the human experience.

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