SmarterHumans.ai

Cheery Friday! (Emailing four million people at once is a bit like boarding a jumbo jet: not everyone gets on at the same time, so your Friday might arrive on Saturday, Sunday, or Monday….)

I’ve been working on something I’m especially excited about: SmarterHumans.ai. It’s a new platform designed around a deceptively simple goal — helping us actually remember what we learn.

Here’s the experience. You’re watching a Coursera lecture, reading a paper, or going through notes. With one click, SmarterHumans creates flashcards automatically — not just generic Q&A, but flashcards that are deep-linked back to the exact spot where you first saw the idea. When you review later, you’re not just testing recall; you can instantly revisit the original context in the video, PDF, or webpage. Add in a spaced-repetition algorithm that adapts to how well you know each concept, and you’ve got a memory system that fits seamlessly with the way real courses (like those on Coursera) are structured.

I’ve been using it with Coursera lectures as well as the deluge of new papers and books about genAI and breakthoughs in neuroscience. The difference is striking. Instead of scribbling notes I’ll never look at again, I end up with a living system: a set of flashcards that bring me back to the lecture itself. A concept that would have floated away after a week stays in play, resurfacing just when I’m about to forget it.

Why is this such a big deal? Because in today’s world, forgetting isn’t just a personal nuisance — it’s a societal issue. In our recent Memory Paradox paper, we traced how “outsourcing” memory (first to calculators, then to Google, now to AI) has contributed to something researchers are now measuring: IQ scores in developed countries have begun to decline. The more we rely on external aids, the less we engage the brain’s natural systems for building strong internal frameworks — what neuroscientists call schemata. Without those frameworks, our thinking becomes shallower, our creativity less flexible.

The paradox is this: forgetting is natural, even adaptive. But if we don’t practice remembering, we lose the very scaffolding that supports reasoning and problem-solving. That’s why retrieval practice matters so much. Every successful recall isn’t just a “got it right” moment; it’s a literal strengthening of the neural circuits that carry knowledge.

SmarterHumans is designed to make that process effortless. No juggling between note apps, flashcard apps, and course materials. No guessing when to review. Just a smooth loop of learning, review, and reinforcement — with your own materials at the center.

It doesn’t replace good old engagement, reflection, or practice. But it restores something modern education and technology have often left out: a way to keep what you learn.

And since September always has that back-to-school feel, here’s a little thank-you just for Cheery Friday readers: use the code CheeryFriday20 for 20% off at SmarterHumans.ai. It’s valid through the end of September—think of it as a nudge to make this your season for learning that really sticks.

Barb

P.S. The neuroscience is clear: retrieval practice isn’t about rote drill — it’s about building the circuits that make knowledge available for insight and creativity. SmarterHumans makes it easier to get those “memory reps” in, so ideas stick and stay alive long after the course ends.

• Uncommon Sense Teaching—the book and Coursera Specialization!
• Mindshift—the book and MOOC
• Learn Like a Pro—the book and MOOC
• The LHTL recommended text, A Mind for Numbers
• For kids and parents: Learning How to Learn—the book and MOOC. Pro tip—watch the videos and read the book together with your child. Learning how to learn at an early age will change their life!