7 Principles · 33 Sources · 250,000+ Citations

The Science of Remembering

PencilIQ is built on seven principles from cognitive science. Each one adds a layer to the learning system — scroll to watch it build.

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? Day 1 Day 3 Day 7 Day 21 Day 60 rephrase FLOW ZONE 5-day streak WHY METACOGNITION continuous learning loop
Principle 01

Write It by Hand

Your body is part of how you think

"Thinking is grounded in the body's sensory-motor systems."

— Wilson, 2002 · ~5,000 citations
In PencilIQ

Apple Pencil is the primary input. Stroke data — velocity, pressure, hesitation — becomes cognitive signal for smarter scheduling.

Principle 02

Organize Knowledge

Don't just collect it — connect it

"Experts categorize by deep principles; novices by surface features."

— Larkin et al., 1980 · Science · ~4,000 citations
In PencilIQ

Smart tagging connects concepts across notes and decks. AI synthesis surfaces structure and relationships you might miss.

Principle 03

Test Yourself

Active recall beats rereading

"Taking a test can have a greater positive effect on future retention than spending the same time restudying."

— Roediger & Karpicke, 2006 · ~3,000 citations
In PencilIQ

One-tap flashcard creation. AI-rephrased prompts vary the visual cue each session, forcing genuine retrieval — not pattern matching.

Principle 04

Space It Out

Memory needs time to consolidate

"Spacing is a robust and general memory enhancement strategy."

— Cepeda et al., 2006 · 317 experiments · ~1,668 citations
In PencilIQ

FSRS-6 — a 21-parameter algorithm trained on 500M+ reviews — schedules each card at the optimal moment. 20-30% fewer reviews than SM-2.

Principle 05

Design for How the Brain Works

Cognitive load, flow, and encoding variability

"The best moments occur when a person's body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile."

— Csikszentmihalyi, 1990 · ~104,000 citations
In PencilIQ

The cognitive flow monitor tracks response time, hesitation, and confidence in real time — keeping you in the zone where learning is deepest.

Principle 06

Build the Habit

Small systems beat big motivation

"You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems."

— Clear, 2018 · Atomic Habits · 25M+ copies sold
In PencilIQ

Calendar Connect creates smart study tasks at specific times. Nudge-based defaults make the right behavior the easy behavior. Streaks make progress visible.

Principle 07

Learn How You Learn

Metacognition is the multiplier

"Helping students to better regulate their learning through the use of effective learning techniques."

— Dunlosky et al., 2013 · ~5,000 citations
In PencilIQ

The iPhone companion app links curated learning science articles — so you don't just follow the system, you understand why it works.

The Complete System

One Continuous Loop

Seven principles, working together

Write by hand. Organize what you wrote. Test yourself on it. Space out the reviews. Let the system optimize for your brain. Build the daily habit. Understand why it all works.

— And then write some more.
PencilIQ

From raw handwriting to durable mastery — in one app.

Seven principles. One system.

Every feature in PencilIQ exists because the science says it works. This isn't a study tool — it's a learning partner.

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References

  1. Wilson, M. (2002). "Six views of embodied cognition." Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 9(4), 625-636.
  2. Mueller, P.A. & Oppenheimer, D.M. (2014). "The Pen Is Mightier Than the Keyboard." Psychological Science, 25(6), 1159-1168.
  3. Larkin, J.H. et al. (1980). "Expert and Novice Performance in Solving Physics Problems." Science, 208, 1335-1342.
  4. Roediger, H.L. & Karpicke, J.D. (2006). "Test-Enhanced Learning." Psychological Science, 17(3), 249-255.
  5. Karpicke, J.D. & Blunt, J.R. (2011). "Retrieval Practice Produces More Learning than Elaborative Studying." Science, 331, 772-775.
  6. Cepeda, N.J. et al. (2006). "Distributed Practice in Verbal Recall Tasks." Psychological Bulletin, 132(3), 354-380.
  7. Ebbinghaus, H. (1885). Memory: A Contribution to Experimental Psychology.
  8. Murre, J.M.J. & Dros, J. (2015). "Replication and Analysis of Ebbinghaus' Forgetting Curve." PLOS ONE, 10(7).
  9. Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. Harper & Row.
  10. Sweller, J. (1988). "Cognitive Load During Problem Solving." Cognitive Science, 12(2), 257-285.
  11. Clear, J. (2018). Atomic Habits. Penguin Random House.
  12. Fogg, B.J. (2019). Tiny Habits. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
  13. Dunlosky, J. et al. (2013). "Improving Students' Learning With Effective Learning Techniques." Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 14(1), 4-58.
  14. Flavell, J.H. (1979). "Metacognition and Cognitive Monitoring." American Psychologist, 34(10), 906-911.