Leteo is an open-source psychological memory-testing tool that blends cognitive science with interactive storytelling.
It invites users to detect subtle distortions in short narratives—mirroring how the human mind stores and modifies memories.
Leteo is a CLI-based software that evaluates your cognitive ability to recognize memory distortions. You'll read short literary-style stories, then face altered versions with minimal but deliberate changes. Your task is to detect which stories are true and which contain implanted false details.
Inspired by research on false memories and the mythological River Lethe (Leteo), this project offers a reflective and immersive experience. Users progress through levels and receive personalized feedback based on their memory accuracy.
⚠️ Some stories involve suspense, psychological tension, and mature themes. Recommended for ages 14+.
The narratives in Leteo draw influence from authors such as Edgar Allan Poe, Horacio Quiroga, Alfred Hitchcock, and W.W. Jacobs. The tone evokes ambiguity, unease, and subtle horror. The stories explore cognitive dissonance, memory distortion, and identity.
As a psychologist, I wanted to create an interactive experiment on memory formation and distortion. As a developer, I aimed to translate abstract psychological concepts into code, merging two disciplines often seen as separate.
Leteo is both a learning tool and a mirror: it lets you test your memory while observing its inherent vulnerabilities.
- Language: Python 3
- Interface: Command Line (CLI)
- Editor: VS Code on Linux
- Testing: Pytest
- Modularity: Fully OOP and modular architecture
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Clone the repository:
git clone https://github.com/diegomind/leteo.git cd leteo -
Set up a virtual environment and install dependencies:
pip install -r requirements.txt
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Launch the program:
python3 main.py
Leteo/
├── main.py
├── core/
│ └── models.py
├── modules/
│ ├── creator.py
│ ├── evaluator.py
│ ├── game.py
│ ├── validate.py
│ └── welcome.py
├── i18n/
│ └── langs.py
├── tests/
│ ├── test_*.py
├── utils/
│ └── tools.py
├── images/
│ └── screenshot*.png
├── README.md
├── LICENSE
└── requirements.txt
To run tests:
cd tests
pytestAll key components are covered by unit tests, including story generation, evaluation logic, and validation.
Leteo is structured around reusable OOP principles:
Story: Base class for true memory narratives.Event: Subclass that injects false memory elements (one per line).langs.py: Stores multilingual versions and structured story data.
Each memory challenge includes:
storyX: 5-line original story.storyX_false: Same structure, with one additive distortion per line.
Design rules:
- Only one subtle addition per line (no substitutions).
- Maintain consistent tone, symbolism, and narrative coherence.
- Avoid modern references or anachronisms.
These constraints ensure memory load is psychological, not stylistic.
Some stories were co-created using GPT-4 under strict human supervision. Prompts were engineered to respect tone, avoid substitution edits, and preserve narrative coherence. AI was used to expand the story bank while maintaining psychological integrity.
Contrary to popular belief, memory isn't a perfect storage device. It’s dynamic, interpretive, and shaped by attention, emotion, context, and suggestion.
- Encoding involves both bottom-up (data-driven) and top-down (conceptual) processing.
- Retrieval can be distorted by cues, emotions, or bias.
- Elizabeth Loftus showed how false memories can be implanted.
- Daniel Schacter described “memory sins” like transience, bias, and misattribution.
Leteo explores these concepts interactively, prompting reflection on what we think we remember.
- CLI-only (a GUI version is planned).
- No persistent score tracking yet.
- No formal experimental validation (this is a prototype).
- Future versions may integrate emotion, attention, or pattern recognition components.
Created by a Colombian psychologist with postgraduate training and experience in health, education, and organizational psychology. Now self-taught in software development, I explore the cognitive sciences through programming.
Leteo is the first step in a broader line of cognitive-interactive tools.
Licensed under the MIT License.
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