Ten Misconceptions About Food

That pasta will cook faster in salted water is a misconception, but salt should still be used in tastable amounts because it will noticeably improve the flavor of the pasta. 2% salinity is ideal, which is way beyond what dudeman here mockingly refers too as "way too much". Thomas Keller recommends the water you boil in should be "as salty and voluminous as the ocean" - high volume helps the temperature not drop substantially when handfuls of room temp pasta are dropped into the water.