"Sans Forgetica": The Font Designed to Help You Remember

[Megalith]

Researchers and academics with Australia’s RMIT University have developed a font that supposedly makes it easier for people to remember more of what they read. Created with students in mind, the typeface, dubbed “Sans Forgetica,” works by introducing “obstructions” into its characters.

The font was developed using a learning principle called “desirable difficulty,” where an obstruction is added to the learning process that requires us to put in just enough effort, leading to better memory retention to promote deeper cognitive processing. “Sans Forgetica lies at a sweet spot where just enough obstruction has been added to create that memory retention.”

 

[EODetroit]

Executive Summaries written in this font if you want a new job.

 

[bugleyman]

I went to go download this but forgot what it was called...

 

[haz_mat]

Sounds to me like this would only work for as long as your brain is still learning to read the new font quickly.

 

[pcgeekesq]

Fuggedaboudit. Ugly piece of click-bait hype.

 

[RogueTadhg]

I can see the appeal - everyone wants to learn more, remember more. Until there's studies about this, it's just another font. If / when there are studies and it's proven to work, I can definitely see the font being worth money to students of all kinds.

The human mind is quite powerful at recognizing items. So when you get used to reading it, I doubt that it'll be useful long term.

 

[iamjanco]

Funny. I'd swear the Courier font used in the old Underwood typewriter I got to do HS reports on back in the 60s looked the same way.

Must be my mind is sans something...

 

[jegbus]

Trying as an experiment. Cool looking font. Might keep it just to freak out the family when they see my screen. Don't think I'll remember what I'm reading any more than I already do though.

 

[Poseur]

I doubt it will help, but I'll probably try it. Good way to get people to install viruses...

 

[Prisoner849]

It's a long-known fact that difficult typefaces do help you to remember what you've read; apparently 'effortful' reading is what makes things stick. I suppose this font is as good as any other weird-ass font I've been using in my classes...we'll see. Good that it's free anyhow.

 

[TorxT3D]

i need this.
i can read pages and pages, then if you ask me what i just read?? ummm i cant remember.

 

[c3k]

This is not a thing. The font doesn't matter. What matters is how engaged in the reading process someone is. Ever read the same sentence in a book 3 or 4 times and each time you didn't think you'd just read it? Forgettable prose is part of the problem. The bigger issue is a reader who is not engaged.

Chopping the font makes you focus on what you're doing...until you can read the font easily. While it's hard to read, you'll be engaged. So, in that regard, it'll work. What would work better? Just being focused and engaged in the whatever it is you're reading.

 

[dgz]

I believe the research, though I am questioning the net benefit over the greatly readability that sans serif fonts allow for me. Gonna pass.

 

[RealBeast]

Kids don't even write in cursive anymore, so they will try harder to learn with this?

 

[BB Gun]

meh, if you use it regularly, you stop having difficulty as it becomes the new norm for your brain. For it to really work, you'd need it to randomly change the lettering every time you use it.

BB

 

[Dead Parrot]

Funny. I'd swear the Courier font used in the old Underwood typewriter I got to do HS reports on back in the 60s looked the same way.

Must be my mind is sans something...

A dry worn ribbon coupled with too many corrections using the old wonderful smelling Whiteout will do that.

Kids don't even write in cursive anymore, so they will try harder to learn with this?

Wonder when some enterprising kids will start using cursive as a new secret script because no one can read it anymore?

 

[ghostwich]

Remember when you used to highlight text in Word and change to font to Wingdings?

 

[DanNeely]

If someone gave me printed a document produced using this borderline unreadable garbage fire, the only thing I'd remember after crumpling it up and throwing it away unread is that the giver is a dirtbag who sees nothing wrong with wasting my time. An electronic document may result in higher retention than that depending on how hard unfubaring it to a readable font is; although my undying hatred of the original author is still likely to crowd out anything that was intended to be conveyed.

 

[clockdogg]

Researchers and academics with Australia’s RMIT University have developed a font that supposedly makes it easier for people to remember more of what they read.

Hold the fontphone. It's from Oz. They read with a weird accent upside down while fighting off dingoes. In the Northern Hemisphere we only have to fight off smartphone notifications when trying to read tiny letters in big words on the small screen while slouching standing up to minimize glare. Totally different use case.