science

ReMarkable

ReMarkable is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand ReMarkable rather than just read about it. In short: reMarkable is a range of E Ink writing tablet for reading documents and textbooks, sketching and note-taking that attempts to fully replicate paper writing. Developed by a Norwegian startup company of the same name, the devices are geared towards students, academics and professionals. reMarkable uses electronic paper reading displays and tablet computer writing system.

Key takeaways

ReMarkable belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect ReMarkable to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of ReMarkable from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

reMarkable is a range of E Ink writing tablet for reading documents and textbooks, sketching and note-taking that attempts to fully replicate paper writing. Developed by a Norwegian startup company of the same name, the devices are geared towards students, academics and professionals. reMarkable uses electronic paper reading displays and tablet computer writing system.

Writing Tablets

Current

Paper Pure Medium sized device with greyscale display. Replaces Remarkable 2.

Paper Pro Large format colour device with reading light

Paper Pro Move Smallest tablet in the range, featuring a colour display and front light

Discontinued

ReMarkable 2 An iteration on its predecessor, it was marketed as the 'World's Thinnest Tablet'

ReMarkable The original product. Features greyscale display.

Operating system ReMarkable uses its own operating system, named Codex. Codex is based on Linux and is optimized for electronic paper display technology.

Community support As Codex is based on Linux and an open source ecosystem, it has gained community projects and 3rd party software for it. The device is accessible through SSH, allowing the installation of 3rd party software. Many packages are accessible through Toltec, a community-maintained free software repository. The Cloud system has been reverse engineered and an open source alternative has been created.

Alternative operating systems An alternative free operating system, Parabola-rM, has been made to replace Codex. Parabola-rM aims to turn the device into a full-fledged computer, allowing typical desktop Linux applications to be run, with the caveat that this is not a supported configuration.

Reception Of the first generation of the tablet, Remarkable 1 (or ReMarkable RM100 as known by its model number), launched in late 2017, suffered some criticism due to sluggishness when loading and unloading files. The Bad Voltage podcast stated that the lack of integrations with other software limits the device's usefulness for taking notes for some users, and there is no official third-party app ecosystem, but the ability to add software via unofficial hacks offers interesting possibilities. The second generation Remarkable 2 was released in May 2020, and a review by Wired, stated it "excels at taking your handwritten notes, but it doesn't do much else well." Other media outlets have seen the lack of a distraction or ability to do much else as positives.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with ReMarkable

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what ReMarkable claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to ReMarkable before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about ReMarkable ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of ReMarkable

In research: ReMarkable appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses ReMarkable in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: ReMarkable is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Crowdfunded consumer goods, Dedicated ebook devices, Electronic paper technology, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for ReMarkable outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study ReMarkable in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what ReMarkable means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain ReMarkable out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is ReMarkable in simple terms?

Why does ReMarkable matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study ReMarkable?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on ReMarkable.