Alexandria Blog
Insights, updates, and tips about reading comprehension, text-to-speech technology, and learning efficiency.
Active Recall vs Passive Reading: What Does the Research Actually Show?
Active recall study method beats rereading by ~50% on delayed retention. The Karpicke, Roediger, and Bjork research, plus why spaced repetition flashcards work.
What Is Cognitive Load Theory? (And Why Reading Hard Things Feels Like Drowning)
Cognitive load theory, plain English. John Sweller's framework explains why your brain stalls on dense articles, and what to do about it.
What Is the Forgetting Curve, and How Do You Beat It?
The Ebbinghaus forgetting curve explains why you forget 70% of what you read within a day. Here's the 1885 study, the data, and what actually flattens the curve.
How to Learn Faster Without Any of the Hacks
A four-move method for learning faster, grounded in the research on retrieval practice, spacing, desirable difficulties, and elaborative encoding. No speed-reading. No memory palaces.
How Do You Listen to a PDF? (And Will You Actually Remember It?)
Read PDF aloud with browser TTS, Adobe Reader, system voices, or a dedicated reader. Step-by-step for each tool, plus what listening does to retention.
Notion vs Obsidian: Which One Actually Helps You Remember What You Saved?
An honest comparison of Notion and Obsidian, plus the reframe most people miss: storage isn't the bottleneck. Retrieval is.
Pocket Is Dead. What Do You Do With Your Bookmark Graveyard?
Pocket's read-it-later service is shutting down. The migration question hides a bigger one: was your saved-articles list ever actually a reading list, or just a graveyard?
Speechify vs Natural Reader: Which One Helps You Remember More?
An honest comparison of Speechify and Natural Reader for retention, not just listening speed. Pricing, voices, real-world recall, and where each one falls short.
Why You Forget Everything You Read (And the Neuroscience Fix)
You forget what you read because passive reading creates weak memory encoding. Learn what the neuroscience actually says and the three techniques that make reading stick.
FlowRead Is Now Alexandria: What Changed and Why
FlowRead has a new name. Alexandria is the reading platform built to help you actually remember what you read. Here's why we changed, and what it means for you.
How Do You Listen to Your Kindle Books?
Download your Kindle books from Amazon as EPUB files and listen with word-by-word text-to-speech. Step-by-step guide for the official 2026 Amazon download method.
Is AI Making You Forget How to Think?
AI cognitive offloading trades short-term convenience for long-term memory loss. The science explains why, and what tools designed for understanding do differently.
Why Do You Forget 77% of What You Read? The Science Explained
Ebbinghaus forgetting curve, testing effect, spaced repetition, dual coding: what memory science says about reading retention and why passive reading fails.
Is Screen Time Actually Bad for You? What 17,000 People Revealed
Screen time research on 17,000+ people shows total time isn't the problem. What the screen is pointed at is.
Why Do You Remember Conversations But Forget Articles?
You forget articles because your brain outsources memory to the internet (the Google Effect). Learn the science behind why conversations stick and how to fix article retention.
Why Does Your Brain Give Up After 3 Paragraphs?
Working memory holds ~4 chunks. Reading demands three jobs at once. When the budget runs out, comprehension collapses.
How to Actually Remember What You Read
Science-backed strategies for better reading retention using active recall, spaced repetition, and dual coding.