struggled with reading for all life

Reading each word separately is slow, tedious and makes it more difficult to comprehend what is being read. On the other hand, reading phrases or entire sentences at once makes for a good reader but a lousy proof-reader.

oh my. missing big picture. you have enabled my seeing big picture. i think that there are readers that 'do not read every word by itself but the sentence as a whole' to substitute in the idea.

It's also a way for misinterpretation to creep in. When the brain relies on filling in the blanks it's bound to make mistakes. Then again, mistakes happen even when reading word by word.

i think that's my point! the misinformation filter, however it exists, is like the three bears. if it's too-cold-soup bear then a large block of text ends up confirming very normative views. obviously everyone wants just-right-soup bear to read normally. and then exceptional individuals supplement with talents of reading appropriate to their field. obviously something more than normal reading comprehension happens say, whomever earns ten million points on imgflip, for example. then there is too-hot soup bear. a bizarre and challenged readership can perceive the 'mysteries' beneath their own reading between the lines. and the rarest few like poets recover a valuable trinket or two. as always very interesting.