Looking at the differences between how reading was approached in the Middle Ages and how we go about it today, I was amazed that such a fundamental act as reading in silence was once a rarity. By modern standards, we are all trained and taught to (eventually) treat reading large texts and novels as a private, silent act. Learning that such a display was once thought impressive, and was difficult for many people, reveals what impressive progress has occurred in people's ability to examine texts. It seems we have advanced from needing to hear something read out-loud in order to comprehend it to comprehending a work just by immediately understanding the written words in our minds. I thought Borgman's analogy to an amateur musician who must actually play music out loud in order to know what it sounds like was a useful comparison. The fact that we have become more sophisticated in this aspect of our reading also makes me wonder if it will continue to evolve in new ways. It would be interesting if at some point in the future the less common practices of today such as speed reading became a near universal ability among the literate.
I also thought this was intriguing when looking back on the way some things were written before silent reading became common. In particular, the fact that all of Plato's works were compiled as dialogues. I don't think this reflects a simpler form of composition on Plato's part, but that he knew that his work would be easier to understand when it was constructed as a actual conversation. But I think it also reveals that Plato's choice to write in this way shows that in at least some way he was writing his works knowing that they were meant to be read.
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