You're not stupid: A Science based System to Learn ANYTHING quickly

Replace Rereading and Highlighting with Retrieval Practice Rereading and highlighting create a fluency illusion that feels like mastery but leaves understanding shallow. Replace them with retrieval practice: actively recalling information through self-testing in any format, which strengthens memory more than re-exposure. Even attempting answers on unfamiliar topics primes the brain to learn, and the effortful struggle is a desirable difficulty that deepens retention. Benefits can persist for nine months from a single session and for at least eight years when repeated.

Space Practice to Multiply Retention Distribute study across time: spaced practice dramatically outperforms cramming, as shown when students who spread work over three weeks scored about twice as high four weeks later. The spacing effect reliably improves memory and transfer across ages and domains, and its benefits endure. Match intervals to your retention goal: space reviews by 12 to 24 hours to remember for a week, and by 6 to 12 months to remember for five years. Combine spacing with retrieval practice to compound learning gains.

Interleave and Interrogate to Build Durable Understanding Mix problems and topics instead of blocking by type: interleaving feels disruptive but yields stronger, longer-term learning. Students who practiced geometry by shape type excelled during practice yet collapsed on a delayed test, while those who tackled a mixed sequence improved a week later. Mixing paintings from different artists likewise improved identifying both seen and novel works by their creators. Reinforce learning with elaborative interrogation: ask how and why at each step to integrate new ideas within existing knowledge.