Reviewing Flashcards

The Review tab is the core of FeynmanLM. Unlike traditional flashcard apps where you just flip a card and rate yourself, FeynmanLM uses an AI tutor to evaluate your understanding, ask follow-up questions, and only let you move on when you've actually grasped the concept.

Starting a Review Session

From the Setup screen (the home screen):

1. Choose a Review Mode:

   • Due Cards — only cards due today based on the spaced-repetition schedule (recommended for daily use)
   • New Cards — only cards you haven't reviewed yet
   • All Cards — everything in your decks

2. Filter by deck or tag (optional):

   • Tap All Decks to pick a specific deck (e.g., Papers, or a sub-deck like Papers > ML)
   • Tap All Tags to filter by topic (e.g., transformers or mitochondria)

3. Tap Start Review.

Answering a Question

On the question screen:

• Read the question. The app shows a rephrased version by default — it asks the same thing as the original card but in fresh wording, so you can't pass by pattern-matching the phrasing. Tap Original / Rephrased to toggle.
• Type or speak your answer.
  • Tap the mic button to answer by voice — your speech is transcribed in real time as you speak.
  • Type in the text field if you prefer.
• Tap Submit (or tap the send button after dictating).

Source context is available on the question screen: if the card came from a specific article or book chapter, you can tap to open it. Toggle Context on to include the source text in the AI's evaluation.

Understanding the Feedback

After submitting, the AI evaluates your answer against a rubric:

• Score — a percentage based on how well your answer covers the key concepts, mechanisms, and causal reasoning.
• Feedback — specific, targeted commentary on what you got right and what was missing.
• Expected Answer — the full model answer, collapsed by default. Expand to compare.

The AI doesn't give generic feedback like "you missed some key points." It names the specific mechanism or concept that was absent and explains why it matters.

The Understanding Gate

If Force Understanding is enabled in Settings (it is by default), you cannot move to the next card until you reach the configured threshold (default: 80%).

When your score falls short:

1. The AI asks a targeted follow-up question focused on the most important missing point — with a hint.
2. You answer again (typed or spoken).
3. This loop continues for up to 3 iterations.
4. After 3 failed iterations, the correct answer is revealed, and you must repeat it aloud to unlock progression.

This is the Feynman technique in practice: you don't move on until you can articulate the concept correctly.

SRS Outcome Buttons

Once you've met the understanding threshold (or after a correct answer), rate your recall:

Button	Meaning	Next review
Got it	Fully understood and recalled well	Spaced out further (days → weeks)
Again	Struggled or needed the hint	Comes back soon (tomorrow or same session)
Skip	Skip this card without recording an outcome	No change to schedule

The spaced-repetition algorithm uses these ratings to schedule the optimal next review date for each card.

Discussion (optional)

After any answer, tap Discuss to open a chat about the card:

• Ask follow-up questions about the concept
• Request a simpler explanation
• Explore edge cases or related ideas
• Create a new flashcard from the discussion

Tap Source (when available) to chat specifically about the source material the card came from.

Hands-Free Mode

Toggle Hands-Free Mode on the Setup screen to review without touching your device:

• The question is read aloud automatically
• After the question, the app listens for your spoken answer
• Feedback is read aloud
• Say again, got it, skip, or discuss to navigate
• In the Discussion screen, say back or resume review to return

Hands-free mode is designed for walking, commuting, or any situation where you can't look at a screen.

Tips

• Review daily — even 10 minutes of due-card review is far more effective than a long weekly session.
• Use voice — speaking your answer out loud forces you to commit to a complete explanation, which is harder to fake than recognizing a correct answer.
• Don't skip the follow-ups. The follow-up questions are where the real learning happens — they target exactly the gap in your understanding.
• Discuss freely. The Discussion chat is low-cost; use it whenever you're curious or confused about a card.