Stop Re-reading.
Start Retrieving.
Why your current study method is probably a waste of time, and how to fix it active recall.
The "Fluency Illusion"
You know the feeling. You're reading your psychology textbook. You read a sentence, and your brain nods along. "Yes, I know this. This makes sense."
You highlight it neon yellow. You feel productive. You move on.
But here is the trap: You are confusing recognizing the information with knowing it. This is the **Fluency Illusion**, which is strongly related to the forgetting curve.
Student A (Re-reading)
"I've read this three times. It looks familiar. I must know it."
Result: 2 days later, forgets 80%.
When you re-read, you are passive. You are looking at the answer directly, removing the need for your brain to work. No work = no growth.
Enter Active Recall
To learn effectively, you need to break the illusion. You need to make studying harder.
Active Recall is simple: Close the book. Ask yourself a question. Try to answer it.
What is the "Fluency Illusion"?
Confusing familiarity (recognizing text) with mastery (being able to retrieve it).
^ Try it yourself. This simple act creates active neural pathways.
That moment of struggle—where you stared at the front of the card and tried to dig the answer out of your brain? That was the actual learning.
Every time you retrieve a memory through struggle, you strengthen the neural path to it. You are literally physically altering your brain structure.
How to make it a habit
You don't need fancy tools. A sheet of paper works. But managing thousands of cards by hand is painful.
It's free forever during beta.