De Fluency Illusion

The easier learning feels, the more we think we’ve mastered it — but often the opposite is true. In general, we’re fairly good at judging what we do or don’t know. This self-awareness helps us decide what’s worth practicing, reading, or reviewing. But when learning feels easy, we may mistakenly assume we truly understand or remember the material. That’s when we fall into the fluency illusion — unknowingly fooling ourselves. A well-known example is rereading: when we reread a text, we recognize more, which gives us the false sense of learning. In reality, recognition does not equal understanding or memory. Rereading is one of the most common learning strategies among students, yet one of the least effective. Another example is short-term repetition of facts (also known as cramming). Because the information feels easier to recall with each repetition, it seems like learning is taking place. But in truth, the knowledge is only stored superficially and often fades quickly from memory.