The Problem With Cramming We've all been there. The night before an exam, you are hunched over your desk, full of caffeine and desperate, trying to cram material into your brain in a single marathon session. Your eyes are scanning pages, your fingers are flying across notes, and you are telling yourself: "I'm learning." You are not! Cramming is a cognitive illusion. It creates the illusion of learning because information enters your short-term memory. You can recall facts fo