Asked most
01 · Getting started
Getting started
The first hour, and what it costs you to try.
Do I need an account?
Not to find out where you stand. Your goal and the Knowledge Scan need nothing from you: no email, no card. To open your full route and keep it, you create an account. This is the order it happens in:
- No accountTell Atlas your goalIn your own words. Atlas tells you which part of the map your route runs through.
- No accountTake the Knowledge ScanAbout 10 minutes. Pause whenever you like and your answers are kept.
- No accountSee where you startAtlas tells you the concept your route begins at, and how many concepts the scan took off it.
- With an accountOpen your full routeEvery step, in order, saved from then on. Still no card. You need to be 16 or over.
Why do I need an account to see my route?
Because a route is not a page you read once. It marks what you have done, moves as you learn and has to be there tomorrow, and all of that needs somewhere to live. The account is free, asks for no card, and your scan answers carry straight into it, so nothing is repeated.
I have no idea where to start. Is that a problem?
That is the normal case, and it is the thing Consiliae exists to solve. You do not have to know your level. The Knowledge Scan finds it, and the map turns it into an order.
I am in my thirties or forties. Is it too late?
No, and you will not be starting at page one either. Most adults who think they lost all of it kept far more than they expect. The scan finds what the years did not erase and begins from there, so the work in front of you is only the part that is genuinely missing.
How much time does this take a day?
A new concept takes about fifteen minutes. A review takes a few minutes more. Consiliae is built for people fitting this around a job, so short and regular beats long and rare.
02 · The map
The map and your route
What the thing actually is, and what it does with your goal.
What is a knowledge map?
Every concept is a node, and an edge between two nodes means the first is a prerequisite of the second. That is the whole idea: knowledge held in the order it actually builds, rather than in the order a syllabus happens to teach it.
Why does my route skip so much?
Because a route is not a syllabus. We take your goal, walk back through its prerequisites, remove everything the scan showed you already hold and keep what is left in order. Most of the map is not on your route, and that is the point.
Can I change my goal later?
Yes, at any time. Use Change goal on your route card, on the map or in Settings. The route redraws around the new destination and everything you have already covered stays covered.
Can I keep a copy of my route?
Yes. Download your route from the map and you get every step on it, in order. It is yours before you pay anything, and on every plan.
Which subjects are on the map?
Mathematics is live, from arithmetic through to calculus: 1,424 concepts. Physics is in development. Chemistry, computer science, biology, statistics, economics and engineering are planned, not built. We would rather say that plainly than imply a map that does not exist yet.
03 · The scan
The Knowledge Scan
The part that decides where you stand.
How long does the scan take, and can I pause it?
About 10 minutes, and you can pause whenever you like. Your answers are kept, and you pick it up from the Knowledge Scan tab exactly where you stopped.
Do I have to take the scan?
Yes, it is part of setup, because it is the only way we can take off your route what you already know. Without it your route would begin at the very first concept on the map, which is exactly the page one we promised you would not start from. If 10 minutes is too much today, start it and pause.
Is the scan a test? What if I get things wrong?
It is not a test and there is no score. A wrong answer is information: it tells us which prerequisite to check next. Nobody sees your answers, and nothing about them is kept as a judgement of you.
Can I retake it?
Yes, from the Knowledge Scan tab. Your current results keep powering your map while you retake, and the map only updates once the new pass is finished. Useful after a long gap, or after a stretch of study somewhere else.
04 · Making it stick
Making it stick
Reviews, streaks, and what happens when life gets in the way.
Nothing ever sticks for me. Why would this be different?
Because review is part of the map rather than something you have to remember to do. A concept comes back just before you would have forgotten it, and the gap stretches each time you hold it. You are never asked to organise your own revision. Spaced reviews need the Student plan.
What happens if I miss a day?
Your streak is part of learning and starts counting from your first lesson. One lesson or one review keeps it going, and if you miss a day you have one Recovery Day a week to cover it. Using it is your call, not something we do behind your back. A streak is a nice thing to keep, not a debt you owe us.
I disappeared for a month. Do I start again?
No. Your map and your route are exactly where you left them. On the Student plan, reviews will have gathered on the concepts most likely to have faded, so the first sitting back is usually revision rather than new ground.
What are leagues, quests and challenges?
A league is a weekly table with other learners, ranked by the XP you earn that week. Quests are small daily targets and challenges are weekly ones. All three are part of learning and start counting from your first lesson. They give the week a bit of shape, and if you ignore them the map works exactly the same. A plan is what lets you keep taking lessons and reviews after your starter lesson.
05 · Plans and payment
Plans and payment
What it costs, and exactly when money moves.
What does Consiliae cost?
Finding out where you stand costs nothing: the full Knowledge Scan, your complete maths map, your personalised route to download and the first lesson on it are free, with no card and no expiry. The Student plan is $9.99 a month or $79.99 a year and opens every concept after that, plus spaced review, streaks, leagues, quests and challenges. The first seven days of it are free. Founding Student places are a separate one-off payment. No ads, on any plan. See pricing.
What do I get before I pay anything?
The scan, the whole map, your route, the concept list to download and your first lesson, quiz and XP included. Nothing expires: you can log in any time to see your route or change your goal. What waits for the Student plan is the rest of the route: lesson two onwards, spaced review, streaks, leagues, quests and challenges.
What happens after my first lesson?
Your streak starts, your first review is scheduled and your XP stands on the board. The next concept on your route is drawn and ready; opening it starts the 7-day free trial of the Student plan. Nothing is charged that day, and if you are not ready, your route waits.
How does the 7-day trial work?
Seven days of the full Student plan, one trial per learner. When you start, you choose monthly or annual and when you want your reminder: one, two or three days before the end.
- TodayYour seven days startYou add a card at secure checkout with Stripe. Nothing is charged.
- Before it endsWe email youThe end date, the exact amount and a direct link to manage your trial.
- Day sevenYour plan startsCharged only if you have not cancelled. Cancel and your map, route and progress stay exactly where they are.
When am I charged, and how do I cancel?
Nothing is charged when the trial starts. The first payment is at the end of it, for the plan you chose. To cancel, open Plan and billing from your account menu, any time before the next renewal. Your map, your route and your progress all stay, and you can pick a plan up again whenever you like.
Can I pause instead of cancelling?
Yes, for one, two or three months. Choose Cancel or pause in Plan and billing and you are offered it. Nothing is charged while you are paused, your map and route stay put, and billing picks up again on the date you chose. Pausing is available once in any twelve months.
Monthly or annual?
Monthly is $9.99. Annual is $79.99, which works out at $6.67 a month and saves $39.89 over twelve monthly payments, about four months free.
What are Founding Students?
Three hundred lifetime places, sold in three groups of 100 at $139, $169 and $229. The Student plan is a subscription to Mathematics. A Founding place is one payment for lifetime access to Mathematics and every subject we add after it, plus your name on a map node, a vote on which region we draw next and a direct line to the three of us. It comes with 14 days to change your mind. Read the full vision.
I already pay annually. Can I move to a Founding place?
Yes, and you only pay the difference. Once your first annual payment has been taken, the upgrade is $59.01 while the $139 group is open, then $89.01 and $149.01 as the price steps up. It is not available during a trial, because nothing has been paid yet.
Is tax included, and who takes the payment?
Yes, the price you see is the price you pay. Checkout is handled by Stripe, so your card details go to them and never touch our servers.
06 · The honest state
Beta, data and what is not built yet
Where things stand, and what we do with what you give us.
Is Consiliae still in beta?
Yes, a public beta. Mathematics is open to everyone and the plans are real: you can start a trial or pay today. Beta means we are still refining it in the open, and some of it will change as we watch how people actually use it. When something changes, we will say so in the Journal. Read the Journal.
What do you do with my data, and can I delete it?
We use it to place you on the map and time your reviews. We do not run ads against it, and we do not show anyone what you got wrong. To delete everything, open Settings from your account menu and choose Delete account: it permanently removes your account and all your learning data. If you only want a fresh start, Reset my map in the same place clears your progress and keeps the account.
What is still missing?
Plenty. Maths is the only finished region. Physics is being drawn. Anything marked planned in the product is exactly that, and we would rather label it than let you find out later.
You are two people. What if Consiliae shuts down?
Then we refund the time you paid for and did not get: any unused part of a monthly or annual subscription, back to you pro rata. For Founding Students, the last twelve months are refunded. We also publish the structure of the map openly, so the work does not vanish with us. We have more conviction than capital, and we would rather say what happens in the bad case than pretend it cannot happen.
Something is broken, or I want a concept added.
Tell us. Use Feedback in the app header or your account menu. The ideas board is public, so you can see and vote on what others have asked for, and both of us read all of it. A lot of what exists now started there.
07 · Learning maths
Learning maths, straight answers
The questions everyone asks about learning maths itself.
Is being good at maths a talent, or can anyone learn it?
The evidence sides with practice. What looks like talent is usually an unbroken chain of prerequisites: each concept was solid before the next arrived. What looks like lacking talent is almost always a broken chain, a specific missing step that made everything after it feel impossible. Chains can be repaired at any age.
Should I do maths every day, and how much is enough?
Short and daily beats long and occasional. Twenty to thirty focused minutes most days outperforms a weekend marathon, because spacing is when memory consolidates. Consistency also feeds the review schedule: a little every day keeps old concepts alive while new ones arrive.
How do I get faster at mental maths?
Speed is retained fundamentals, not tricks. People who calculate quickly have number bonds, times tables and fraction moves so practised they cost no thought. Drilling those foundations, and keeping them alive with spaced review, does more for speed than any shortcut technique.
What is the best way to study maths?
Three rules cover most of it: solve problems rather than rereading notes, study concepts in prerequisite order so nothing feels arbitrary, and space your review instead of cramming. Rereading and highlighting feel productive and do almost nothing; retrieval and spacing are what the evidence supports.
Why do I forget maths I understood?
Because understanding and remembering are different processes. Everyone loses most of what they learn once, usually within weeks, unless it is revisited on a schedule. Forgetting is the default, not a personal failing; retention comes from spaced review timed to land just before the fade.
How long does it take to get good at maths?
It depends almost entirely on where you start, which is measurable rather than guessable. Most adults are further along than they believe, and rusty topics repair far faster than they took to learn. Months of steady evenings reach comfortable algebra from almost any start; the scan makes the estimate personal.
Is it normal to feel stupid when learning maths?
So normal it is practically the default experience, and it is nearly always misdiagnosed. Maths punishes missing prerequisites more than any other subject: work built over a gap feels confusing in a way that reads as personal failure. It is not a verdict about you; it is a signal that something specific, further back, needs repairing.
Still holding a question?
Write to us and you will get one of the two of us, not a help desk. Or skip the reading and let Atlas show you the map instead.


