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For the autodidacts. For the ones who won't be handed things.
The internet gave self-learners infinite content and zero accountability. Brainback is the accountability. It refuses to let you skim, forces you to attempt, and holds a record of what you actually know versus what you skimmed.
Pick the book or course you're currently pretending to read. Add it as a Learn subject. Do one worked exercise in Learn mode today.
An honest before-and-after — the specific gaps Brainback closes for a student in this stage of the arc.
Same problem. Same student. Two different definitions of “productive.”
The actual daily shape of a Brainback week for this stage. Adjust for your own load — the rhythm compounds even if the volume varies.
10 recall cards. Read/watch the day's chunk. One explain-back.
Same rhythm. Learn session on the week's worked problem.
Recall only if you want to skip the deep session — 10 cards. Rest.
Deep Learn session. 30–60 min on the hardest concept of the week.
Recall pass. Free evening.
Optional long session — synthesis across chapters, or a hard exercise.
Brain score. Plan next week's material. 15 cards.
None of these are automatic. Each is a signal that the product is working — or isn’t. If you don’t hit the week-4 milestone, revisit the plan.
First recall session that catches something you'd otherwise have forgotten.
First honest Brain score. It's a number for a domain you never had a number for.
The book you're reading is compounding. Chapter 6 lands because chapter 3 didn't leak.
First 'I could give a talk on this' feeling. That's the goal.
The subjects you're 'into' have become subjects you can teach. Different kind of ownership.
Not a magic diet. A specific sequence of habits Brainback builds around you. The pace is designed for a student with a normal life outside coursework.
Pick ONE book or ONE course. Add its subject in Learn mode. Set a realistic pace (chapter/week or lecture/2 days is normal).
Read/watch as usual. But every chapter/lecture: one explain-back same day. Every problem: Learn mode.
Recall queue is now the morning routine. Brain score becomes meaningful. The book's earlier material is still there.
Compound. This is where self-learning starts to pay in a way it never did before.
All seven product surfaces are always on. But this stage of the arc weights them differently. Below are the ones a self-learners student ends up leaning on hardest.
Every worked problem in the book. Every exercise in the course.
The one thing separating you-who-read from you-who-understood.
Because chapter 2's material is otherwise gone by chapter 8.
The accountability layer the internet never had.
Notes, summaries, the writing you do around the reading. Everything not the reading itself.
Add these as Learn subjects and Brainback treats every problem inside them as academic — everything else goes to Efficiency mode. Every subject below has its own dedicated page with topics, common mistakes, and hint examples.
Argument mapping over vibe.
Reason about the algorithm before you type it.
Loss function first. Model second.
Your voice, sharpened.
Produce, don't just translate.
Argument, evidence, causation.
Validity is not truth.
Recommended plan: Student — $9.99/mo (or annual $59/yr). For anyone going through more than one book / course / topic per quarter. Free tier if you're strictly casual. See all plans →
We say no to some prospects. Better to be honest here than to have you sign up and churn in week two.
It's the accountability layer the internet never had.
If you'd be fine with a pop quiz on the last book you finished, no. If you'd fail one, yes. Brainback is the difference.
Perfect fit. Add the book as a Learn subject; attach the PDF as a material. Every exercise runs through Learn mode. The recall queue catches the foundational bits.
Yes for grammar / conjugation practice. Vocabulary is still Anki's territory for now — language-specific surfaces are on the roadmap.
The Brain score is the closest thing to motivation the system provides. Watching it move is the compounding you can see. Beyond that: pick material you're genuinely curious about, not what you 'should' learn.
Student ($9.99/mo) if you're going deep. Free tier is enough for a couple of books at leisurely pace.
The lines between stages are messy. If more of the day-in-the-life above sounds like someone else, follow the link.
→for self-learners
Student annual ($59/yr) for anyone doing 2+ books or courses across the year.