This is a poor implementation of RSVP, as each word is being presented at the same speed. Longer words should be given longer presentation times, as should words with punctuation marks. The presentation of the words is also centered rather than aligned, which requires a saccade for each word, which defeats the whole point. It's also a difficult text to start out with, with no context.
Even still, I didn't have a problem reading and recalling this text, though I wouldn't recommended it for a beginner.
I made a similar app (iOS) which varies the display time by word length, punctuation, and each word's place in a list of the 100 most common words (under the assumption that common words contain less information, thus take less effort to read). To be honest, I'm not sure it works any better than one running at a constant speed. There seems to be a surprising lack of research in this area.
> The presentation of the words is also centered rather than aligned, which requires a saccade for each word, which defeats the whole point.
Does it actually require a saccade?
Testing with a quick and dirty command line RSVP program I have, my speed and comprehension seem about the same with either centered or left aligned. But I'm mostly testing with fiction written for the average adult. The words are usually short enough that they are within the field of good visual acuity no matter where withing them the focus is.
I've not done a comparison using text with a lot of long word.
Reading this way is a skill which needs a small up front investment, but the pay off is immense. The trick is to not try, just relax and pay attention and let the words speak to you as if they are being narrated to you inside your head.
Because there are no constant micro-interruptions from page scrolling, ads, or even from your eyes own saccades, I find that my attention to the text is much, much better, and I need to stop to ponder something I can just tap the screen to pause it.
I also find that I am far, far more likely to finish an article/paper/chapter via Glance than via my browser. These days it's pretty rare that I'll actually finish an article online, but with Glance I'll almost always read the entire thing from start to finish.
I really, really recommend this skill, especially if you have a lot of time to kill on a mass-transit commute, or if you just want to read more.
