Why the Reboot?

Why the Reboot?

Some people have asked, “Why the reboot?” Good question! It’s been working great for lots of people. We even have users who haven’t missed a day in over a year. Their dedication astounds us! We meer mortals are lucky if we put on clean clothes in the morning.

Ironically, the reason we have changed our product is because we believe in it.

We believe that thorough knowledge of keyboard shortcuts can unleash creativity through fluidity. We believe that a good spaced repetition algorithm can help people learn faster and with greater retention. And we believe that most people are willing to work today to be better tomorrow.

The question is, how do we convince the world of our ideas?

Do you remember in those old Roadrunner and Coyote cartoons? Coyote had a nasty habit of running off cliffs. Normally, he’d run off the cliff and keep running, as if the ground was still there, defying gravity. Eventually and inevitably he’d look down, realize that the ground was no longer beneath him, and fall straight down. Education, habit building, and growth are kind of like this. As long as you don’t look down, as long as you keep going, eyes on the horizon, anything can be accomplished.

So how do we keep from looking down?

The answer lies somewhere between distraction and entertainment. A pedagogy needs to be compelling enough that you don’t mind learning. Entertaining enough that you enjoy doing what you wouldn’t normally do.

Simply put: we wanted shortcutFoo to be more entertaining that it could be more effective. We wanted to build something that tricked you into being the person you’ve wanted to be.