Æ Aetata
Founding cohort · forming
Meet Socrates · your personalized tutor

He stays with you until you can explain it yourself.

Socrates works with you on a subject, then talks it through aloud — following your reasoning, and pressing gently where it runs thin. One good answer isn't understanding. You move on when you can say it in your own words, and it's yours.

A spoken lesson, played back. You hear Socrates; you answer aloud, and your words are written down as you say them — the lines below the tutor are your speech, transcribed. Rather read and type? That works too; the record is the same.

One · Socrates draws · Security+ · Cryptography
Client browser Server aetata.com 1 · asymmetric agree a shared key · RSA / DH · slow 2 · symmetric · AES now the data — fast, all of it
On the canvas — what Socrates draws as you talk
SocratesYou said TLS uses asymmetric encryption. For what, exactly?
LearnerTo encrypt the data between the client and the server.
SocratesAll of it?
LearnerYes. That's what makes it secure.
SocratesThen here's something worth sitting with. RSA is thousands of times slower than AES — and your browser still loads a page in under a second. How?
Learner…I suppose it cannot be doing all of it, then.
SocratesGood. So which part?
LearnerThe handshake. Agreeing the key.
SocratesAnd once the key is agreed?
LearnerSymmetric. AES does the rest.
SocratesYou have it now. A minute ago you had a sentence about it. That's the difference we're after.
In the record · Shaky

We'll come back to this tomorrow. You got there, and that's worth something — but you got there with help, and Socrates would rather you had it on your own.

He doesn't hand over the answer. He walks you to it, then checks it holds.
Two · you sketch · Network+ · Subnets
laptop switch router gateway server subnet A subnet B
✏︎ Your sketch — use your phone or tablet; Socrates grades the drawing and your words
SocratesThis laptop wants a server on another subnet. Sketch the path — every hop it takes.
Learner✏︎ answered with a sketch
SocratesGood — I can see the shape. Now talk me through it. What does the router do that the switch can't?
LearnerThe switch only knows MAC addresses inside subnet A. To leave the subnet, the laptop sends to its default gateway — the router — which forwards by IP.
SocratesThat's it. The sketch showed the path; your words showed you know why it works. Both, together — that's the one that counts.
In the record · Proven

Logged, unaided. You drew it and you explained it in your own words. A silent sketch is welcome — but it's the words over the top that prove you own it.

Draw with a finger or a stylus. A sketch is an answer — then he asks you to say it.
iThe method

Recall is cheap. Understanding is expensive.

A question bank teaches you to recognise answers. You grind it, you pass, and within a month the knowledge is gone, because recognising an answer was never the same skill as understanding a subject.

Socrates teaches differently, and much the way a good tutor always has. He explains, then asks you to say it back in your own words, then follows the thread wherever your reasoning is thinnest. It has a name — the Socratic method: he asks, you reason, and the understanding is yours because you built it. The conversation is the teaching. Anyone can sound right once. Talking it through a second and a third time is how a thing stops being borrowed and becomes yours. When words aren't enough, you can sketch it — a diagram or a formula, drawn with your finger or a stylus — and then talk him through it.

This is slower than cramming, deliberately so. What you leave with is knowledge that survives contact with a real problem: the incident at three in the morning, or the interview where the follow-up question arrives.

iiThe record

Four states. Only one of them counts.

Every topic you cover sits in one of four states. Socrates keeps the record for you, so you never have to guess at what you actually know.

Unseen Not yet talked about. He may have taught it. The two of you haven't been over it.
Covered Ground covered, not yet proven. You talked it through once. One good answer isn't understanding. It waits here. 1 pass
Shaky It came out unevenly, or only after a nudge. He'll bring it back. returns
Proven You explained it in your own words, more than once, unaided. Only this state counts. 3 passes

No question bank sits behind this. There is nothing to memorise and nothing to game.

iiiWhat he teaches

Four tracks at launch. One method throughout.

The method never changes: you move on by explaining what you know. What changes is the goal you are working toward.

Candidate

Learn it properly, then sit the exam

Every objective, taught and talked through. Socrates won't call you ready until you can explain the material yourself, so passing becomes a side-effect of understanding it.

€99 / month

Certify

You have the paper. Now have the knowledge.

You hold the certificate and you know where the gaps are. Work through them with someone.

€99 / month

Apply · after launch

Using it, not just knowing it

Apply moves from knowing a thing to doing it, through real scenarios where the knowledge has to survive contact. Interview preparation is one part of it. Founding members receive it first.

CompTIASecurity+SY0-701
CompTIANetwork+N10-009
Amazon Web ServicesSolutions ArchitectAssociate · SAA-C03
Amazon Web ServicesAI PractitionerAIF-C01
ivHow he works

Four things Socrates does differently.

These are constraints written into the product, not preferences. They are the reason the record means anything.

01

He checks before he moves on

Tell him you already know the basics and he'll still walk through them with you. Not to catch you out — because how you explain a thing tells him where to begin, and nobody is a reliable judge of what they half-remember.

02

He doesn't hand you the answer

What he grades against is generated and held on the server. It never reaches your browser. Being told a thing has never been the same as knowing it, and he'd rather walk you there.

03

Your lessons stay yours

Nothing from one learner's session ever enters another's. What you got wrong stays between the two of you.

04

He waits for it to stick

A topic is proven when you've explained it in your own words more than once, on separate days, unaided. Everything short of that, he'll happily revisit.

vThe founding cohort

Learn with him first.

The founding cohort finds what is broken, says so, and keeps the lowest price Aetata will ever offer for as long as they stay.

39/ month for Candidate
The founding rate, held for the life of your subscription. Standard pricing announced at launch.
  • 01Full Candidate access: every track, every lesson, the readiness verdict.
  • 02The founding rate, held while the subscription stays active. Everyone after the cohort pays more.
  • 03A direct feedback line. Founding members decide what gets built next.
  • 04First access to Apply when it is released.

Socrates is an AI tutor. No payment now. See the privacy notice.

viStraight answers

Questions worth asking.

What am I signing up for right now?
The queue, not a charge. You are asking to be held a place and emailed once, when founding subscriptions open. You decide then. Nothing is taken now.
Is Socrates a person?
No — Socrates is a purpose-built AI tutor. A software system with a voice.
What is a lesson actually like?
A conversation. Socrates explains something, then asks you to talk it back to him in your own words, and follows up wherever the reasoning gets thin. It sounds like being taught by someone who is genuinely listening, because that is what it is. There is no multiple-choice bank to recognise your way through.
Can I draw my answer?
Yes. Sketch a diagram or a formula with your finger or a stylus — on your phone, tablet, or desktop — and it lands on the shared desk as your answer. A silent sketch is welcome; then Socrates asks you to talk him through it, because the drawing shows the shape and your words show you understand it. He grades them together.
Do I have to speak out loud?
It's the most natural way — talking a thing through is how you find the edges of what you know, and it's how Socrates works best with you. But no, it isn't forced. You can type your answers and read his, and you'll reach the same place — everything spoken is also written down. So a quiet room, a shared desk, or being hard of hearing never shuts you out. Voice is the default, not a gate.
What if English isn't my first language?
You're in good company — many people taking these certifications study in a second or third language. Socrates speaks clear, plain English by design, and he's patient: ask him to slow down or say it another way, and read along as well as listen — nothing advances until it's clear to you. Lessons are in English for now; teaching in other languages is something we may add in future.
Is there an app?
Socrates runs in your browser — phone, tablet, or computer. Nothing to install; open the page, sign in, talk. Native apps may come later.
Will he be hard on me?
He is patient, and he is not easily satisfied. Those are not in conflict. He'll sit with a topic as long as you need, ask again a different way, and come back to it tomorrow if it hasn't settled. What he won't do is tell you you're ready when you aren't. That would be the unkind thing.
What if I already know the basics and want to skip ahead?
He'll go through them with you anyway, briefly. Not to slow you down — how you explain the foundations tells him exactly where to start, and if they turn out to be solid you'll be past them in minutes. If they don't, you'll be glad he looked.
Why do Candidate and Certify cost the same?
Because the teaching doesn't get easier depending on what you tell us about yourself. Socrates finds out where you stand by talking with you. The two tiers differ in the goal you are working toward and the record you leave with, not in the work.
Will Aetata get me through the exam?
Aetata stands behind the teaching, not the exam. What we can say is that, by Socrates' standards, you understood the material and could explain it in your own words. What happens in the exam room is yours. Anyone promising otherwise isn't telling you the truth.
Is €39 really held for the life of the subscription?
For as long as it stays active, yes. Candidate is otherwise €99. The founding rate is not guaranteed on return after a cancellation.
Can he teach a language, or anything outside a certification?
Not yet. Four tracks at launch — more tracks and subjects will follow.
Is Aetata affiliated with CompTIA or AWS?
No. Aetata is an independent study tool, and it is neither affiliated with nor endorsed by CompTIA or Amazon Web Services. Certification names and exam codes are the trademarks of their respective owners.
viiPrivacy

Privacy notice

This notice covers the founding waiting list only. A full privacy policy applies once Aetata launches as a service.

Who is responsible for your data
John Couston, an individual established in the Slovak Republic, trading as Aetata, is the data controller. Contact: support@aetata.com.
What is collected, and why
Your email address, the date you submitted it, and which of the two permissions you gave. There are exactly two purposes, and they are separate: (1) to email you once, when founding places open; (2) if you ticked the second box, to send you occasional notes on how the build is going — a few a month at most. Your address is not used for marketing, profiling or automated decision-making, and it is not enriched with data from any other source.
On what legal basis
Your consent, under Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR, given by ticking each box separately. The two permissions are independent: you may withdraw either without affecting the other. Leaving the build-updates box unticked has no effect on anything else. Withdrawal is as easy as consent — use the unsubscribe link in any email, or write to support@aetata.com. Withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before it.
Who else sees it
Two providers process it on Aetata's behalf, under written data processing agreements, and only on Aetata's instructions: Cloudflare (page hosting, storage of the waiting list, and the automated deletion job) and Resend (sending email). It is never sold, rented or shared with anyone else. Where a provider sits outside the EEA, transfers are covered by Standard Contractual Clauses.
How long it is kept
If you gave only the first permission, your address is deleted as soon as the founding email has been sent, and in any case no later than twelve months from signup — whichever comes first. If you also gave the second permission, your address is kept while you are receiving build updates, and is deleted when you unsubscribe, when the founding cohort closes, or after twelve months of no contact — whichever comes first. Deletion is automatic and runs nightly. It is not a reminder to a person. Earlier deletion on request is carried out promptly.
Your rights
You have the right to access your data, correct it, erase it, restrict or object to its processing, and to receive a copy of it. Write to support@aetata.com and you will have a response within one month. You may also complain to a supervisory authority: in Slovakia, the Office for Personal Data Protection, or the authority in your own EU country.
Cookies, tracking and visit counts
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