Piotr Wozniak

Introduction

I came up with the ideas of repetition spacing (later renamed to spaced repetition), incremental reading, and neural creativity. My work in areas such as intelligence, creativity, pleasure of learning, dyslexia, sleep, and problem solving earned me a proud description of a "mad scientist of the learning systems" (Grok 3, Feb 20, 2025). Many of my views slide on the edges of what is acceptable in science. This fact stems from my work on adaptability, which shows that the adaptive power of human brains is largely underappreciated. This underappreciation also seems to show in reference to the adaptability of the immune system, musculoskeletal system, vision, appetite, and many more.

Contact

E-mail address: woz2025 (@) supermemo (.) org (see: Apology)

If you see errors in my texts, please let me know.

Current research interest

• molecular and neural correlates of the two component model of long-term memory
• modeling stability and retrievability of memory in the processes of learning and forgetting
• structural and molecular mechanisms of the spacing effect
• spaced repetition in memory consolidation
• knowledge representation and knowledge darwinism in learning
• incremental reading
• entrainment patterns in the free running sleep condition
• memory consolidation and optimization in sleep
• modeling homeostatic and circadian interactions in sleep
• learn drive reward
• impact of knowledge coherence on forgetting and memory optimization in sleep
• impact of education on learning and creativity
• efficient problem solving
• natural creativity cycle
• neural creativity method
• brain's development optimization criteria
• impact of coercion on the progression of dyslexia

Work

spaced repetition

• author of the first computer algorithm for spaced repetition (commercially known as SuperMemo)(1982-present)
• co-founder of SuperMemo World, July 1991
• President and Head of R&D at SuperMemo World (1991-1997)
• founder of SuperMemo Research, an independent R&D unit at SuperMemo World (1997-present)
• author of first implementations of SuperMemo (incl. SuperMemo 1.0 for DOS, 1987, and SuperMemo 7.0 for Windows, 1992)

incremental learning

• author of the concept of incremental reading (1999), first implemented in SuperMemo 10 (2000)
• author of the concept of neural creativity (2015), first implemented in SuperMemo 17 (2016)

Education

Born: March 1962, Milanowek near Warsaw, Poland

Primary schools: (1969-1976): 8, 36, 72 and 30 in Poznan

Secondary school: (1976-1980): 9-th general education school, specialization: chemistry, biology and English

University education:

• Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan (1980-1985), MS degree in molecular biology
• University of Technology in Poznan (1985-1990), MS degree in computer science (individual specialization: applications of computer science in human biology). Master's Thesis: Optimization of learning. A new approach and computer application

Doctoral degree: University of Economics in Wroclaw, 1995. Doctoral Thesis: Economics of learning. New aspects in designing modern computer aided self-instruction systems

See also:

• CV
• Qualifications
• Can I trust Piotr Wozniak as a scientist?
• Why all the degrees above matter little

Publications

I no longer care about publishing in peer-reviewed journals. I won't perish if I don't publish. Some of my old publications from the 1990s are listed here. I consider peer review to be a constraint on creativity and dissemination of inspiration (see: Problem with peer review). It does not help that our two component model of memory lives in obscurity despite being published a quarter of a century ago (see: Two components of long-term memory (1995))! The first ever publication of a spaced repetition algorithm has also remained unnoticed for it used the term repetition spacing rather than spaced repetition (see: Who invented the name spaced repetition?).

My best ideas are now listed at this site. I can get them out in raw form and receive feedback on the same day (rather than with a wasteful delay of one year). Of new ideas that I recommend (with a plea for corrective feedback):

• How to solve any problem?: a model of the creative process based on concept maps
• Pleasure of learning: the implementation of a unidirectional knowledge integration process based on learntropy
• Childhood amnesia: measurements of memory performance in childhood
• Learn drive: a new definition of curiosity that underlies efficient learning
• Toxic memory: how coercive learning can lead to low self-esteem, anxiety, or depression
• Natural creativity cycle: cycles of divergent and convergent neural processing in sleep and in waking
• Knowledge in creative problem solving: the importance of new knowledge in building abstract models
• Neural optimization in sleep: how "disk defragmentation" works in a sleeping brain
• Biphasic life: why we have two peaks of cognitive performance per day
• Best time to nap: how to optimally use naps in a creative lifestyle
• Curing DSPS and insomnia: how to counteract the epidemic of phase shift disorders in electronic societies
• Baby sleep: why children sleep differently and how we can assist healthy circadian development
• Formula for common cold prevention: immune system workout that makes it easy to avoid infections
• Stabilization curve: discovered a century after the forgetting curve, stabilization curve is far more important in the optimization of learning
• Stabilization decay: why it is hard to strengthen stable memories
• Spacing effect gain: mathematical definition and the first ever precise measurement of the spacing effect
• Dyslexia Conspiracy: 25 years of incremental reading earned me a label of a "conspiracy theorist" (originally, I was hoping for a "wise man")

See also:

• comprehensive list at supermemo.guru
• Google Scholar

Opinion

• One language for the world: the world should adopt one official language
• Problem of schooling: compulsory schooling does a great deal of damage to human intelligence
• Declaration of Educational Emancipation: compulsory schooling is a violation of human rights
• Metric system should be adopted and promoted
• Diversity of knowledge underlies wisdom of the crowds. We should all have free access to uncensored knowledge
• Global government is inevitable as much as the brain was inevitable in evolution
• Artificial intelligence will soon pass the Turing test (written before ChatGPT). This process can only be halted by halting the progress of mankind
• Basic income is inevitable as much as the use of blood is inevitable in optimally feeding the brain
• Daylight Saving Time (DST) is one of the worst human inventions in terms of Cost/Value ratio
• I stopped using transportation. I walk or run. I travel only by Google Maps. This is my micro-contribution to saving the environment (and sanity)
• Harm of eyeglasses: I became myopic through ignorance and inattention. I believe that with a dose of prevention, most children can live lives without vision correction
• Optimal diet: Dieting is harmful. Exercise, good sleep, and intermittent fasting might be the be best way towards optimum health
• I stopped being patriotic
• Barefoot running is a great therapy (see: Incremental life)
• Real science is much wider than popularly believed. See: SuperMemo Guru promotes pseudoscience

Apology

My time allocations for e-mail and social media are not sufficient to always respond. E-mail is a more reliable medium because at the very least I import all mail to a dedicated SuperMemo collection that I review regularly. If you believe your mail is super-important, I don't mind if you resend it. For technical reasons, some mail never reaches me.

I do not take on new projects. I get many fantastic propositions and have to refuse due to being booked with plans and tasklists in a perspective that always escapes at the horizon.

I do not travel. Even worse, I love to live barefoot for the greater part of the year. Attendance at conferences is impossible.

For details see: Piotr Wozniak Apology