Andy Matuschak

Project

I’m trying to help people learn difficult conceptual material by making it much easier for them to remember and internalize what they read — rather than quickly forgetting all but the gist. The basic idea is that as you read and learn, you automatically collect quick practice questions about that material.

The system resurfaces those questions over time to reinforce the material durably and reliably. It’s an old, well - understood mechanism from cognitive psychology, but it’s not something most people can use well in practice now.

Collaborators

The most interesting collaborations are often the most unexpected. I’m always excited to hear from anyone who finds themselves thinking at length about the ideas I write about.

About

Andy invents tools that expand what people can think and do. Previously, he helped design and build iOS at Apple, led R&D at Khan Academy, and created popular open source projects Sparkle and Pixen.

Mission: Help people internalize what they read through an open source platform which augments books and articles with memory and learning support tools.

Interests: Expanding human capacity — for joy, for creativity, for insight, for curiosity, for compassion

Accomplishments

• Led R&D at Khan Academy, where my team developed and tested a series of experimental learning environments.
• Helped make iOS at Apple in the early years of the iPhone and the iPad.