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Spaced repetition

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Re: Spaced repetition

#101

Post by thesz »

Afforess wrote: post #2

I find it very frustrating that spaced repetition is the best recourse we (humans) have to remember information. I am regularly concerned with the number of thoughts and interesting ideas I have each day, and don't manage to write down or otherwise preserve. I have begun recording some minor annotations and idle thoughts on paper a month ago and after reviewing them today, I am shocked at how many I simply do not rec…

Exercise makes you learn better: http://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2012/10/12/...

Walk every day, reviewing your interesting ideas, they will last with you.

I did and continue trying to do (it is harder now).

Re: Spaced repetition

#102

Post by sharp11 »

kevinstubbs wrote: post #80
sharp11 wrote: post #70

I believe SRS is overused. The spacing effect is, of course, real and quite important. However, it lends itself to decontextualizing what you're learning. For example, foreign language vocabulary is best learned in context (ie., in sentences, within conversations). That's the only way to know how it's actually used. Otherwise, you're just learning a mapping between first and second languages. There are other benefits…

Spaced repetition and learning in context are not mutually exclusive. [0] Secondly, there are many many advantages to learning vocabulary out of context. I am very interested in foreign languages, and have self-studied to elementary proficiency in Italian, German, and Russian. Memrise is my go to app for picking up vocabulary out of context, because it is the fastest path to a bigger vocabulary. For a lot of vocabula…

Thanks for the link to that paper -- I hadn't seen that. I agree that SR and learning in context are not mutually exclusive--but they're challenging to integrate. Duolingo is not a good example -- they teach through random sentences, out of context.

Your examples - concrete nouns - are where you miss the least by simply mapping onto English. But I would suggest that this is the very easiest part of learning a second language.

I think many learners underestimate how much of language is not derivable by plugging vocabulary into grammar rules. There's so much that is just "that's how we say it". And you need to pick that up in context.

Re: Spaced repetition

#103

Post by ionforce »

ukoki wrote: post #17

Spaced repetition flashcard apps are the "Smoke on the Water" of developer side-projects. Here's my attempt: http://cardflashapp.com

> the "Smoke on the Water" of developer side-projects

What do you mean by this?

Re: Spaced repetition

#104

Post by summarite »

ktRolster wrote: post #50
Afforess wrote: post #2

I find it very frustrating that spaced repetition is the best recourse we (humans) have to remember information. I am regularly concerned with the number of thoughts and interesting ideas I have each day, and don't manage to write down or otherwise preserve. I have begun recording some minor annotations and idle thoughts on paper a month ago and after reviewing them today, I am shocked at how many I simply do not rec…

I find it very frustrating that spaced repetition is the best recourse we (humans) have to remember information. I've worked on this for a while. I've written several different memory programs, for helping to review and memorize things. I have some thoughts that may help you feel better: In the end, spaced repetition is not what causes people to memorize things. You can review an object over and over and over......50…

what is connected sticks. you remember one thing because it connects to something else you know and you forget another as it's not connected. or much more likely: it is actually in your memory (ie neutral pathways that 'represent' that item exist, but you have no way of actively or consciously recalling it as you cannot find those pathways in your own mind. all that works by association, so connection is key - and then you need strong connection and repeated use to make sure it's not overwritten (the connections get weaker as each neuron makes new or uses other connections) and continues to be connected.

Re: Spaced repetition

#105

Post by summarite »

laichzeit0 wrote: post #89
yermierc wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can completely relate to that frustration. I came from an engineering background before I went to medical school and I struggled a lot with the different styles of learning (applied principles at MIT vs. knowledge acquisition in med school). The biggest mistake you can make is think that your ability to remember is just an innate ability instead of a skill that can be cultivated. The problem with spaced repetition…

Wish it could import Supermemo knowledge (with history). Simply can't afford switching to a new tool at this point (7 year Supermemo user with thousands of knowledge items).

If i may ask: how do you feel supermemo aided you? How regularly/much do you use it? What items do you store and what card models have you come to prefer (cloze, q-a, ...?) How has this impacted your life?

I have seen some kind of supermemo import for anki, not sure if it's maintained. Possibly it was just a script someone created - sorry can't find it right now.

Re: Spaced repetition

#106

Post by summarite »

thesz wrote: post #101
Afforess wrote: post #2

I find it very frustrating that spaced repetition is the best recourse we (humans) have to remember information. I am regularly concerned with the number of thoughts and interesting ideas I have each day, and don't manage to write down or otherwise preserve. I have begun recording some minor annotations and idle thoughts on paper a month ago and after reviewing them today, I am shocked at how many I simply do not rec…

Exercise makes you learn better: http://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2012/10/12/... Walk every day, reviewing your interesting ideas, they will last with you. I did and continue trying to do (it is harder now).

There's a very convincing and well researched book on this issue: Spark! How exercise will improve the performance of your brain.

The gist: aerobic exercise helps neurogenesis and connectivity in the brain. Running is best if i remember correctly, or maybe that was just my private conclusion.

Re: Spaced repetition

#107

Post by summarite »

jyriand wrote: post #88
Afforess wrote: post #2

I find it very frustrating that spaced repetition is the best recourse we (humans) have to remember information. I am regularly concerned with the number of thoughts and interesting ideas I have each day, and don't manage to write down or otherwise preserve. I have begun recording some minor annotations and idle thoughts on paper a month ago and after reviewing them today, I am shocked at how many I simply do not rec…

Not sure if spaced repetition is the best resource we have. I haven't researched it, but the question I have is: how much of everyday's information is stored in the unconscious. Using hypnosis people can remember long forgotten things(assuming these are actual memories and not produced by imagination). I have actively tried to use unconscious processes to remember some trivial stuff. Easiest way to experiment this is…

What also helps is to try to actively recall the context in which an item was learned: What's her name? Oh, i met her at a party. It was at Steve's place. She was holding a glass, possibly with water. She was with someone, i think her cousin... etc

Re: Spaced repetition

#108

Post by summarite »

cpchen wrote: post #73
ajkjk wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you know they have better payoff and retention?

I don't have any studies, but check the wikipedia page for examples of Memory Championship winners using the method to, for example, memorize a deck of shuffled cards or a random sequence of digits. I bet Moonwalking with Einstein would have some references in the scientific literature.

The issue with the methods is that you have to use them actively. As the author's mentor says in the book: most of the memory champions have horrible memory in normal situations, they were just desperate to change that, so they pursued mnemonic techniques. You might have an elaborate system to remember hundreds of playing cards in a loci palace (which takes months and lots of repetition to develop!!) and still frequently lose your key or forget names.

You can develop/discover and consciously apply mnemonic techniques for each situation (eg remembering names at a party by associating the name with prominent features of the face or funny analogies) but if you don't use them they'll be of little help.

Bill Clinton (or was it JFK??) is said to have all his life kept a notebook with him and scribbled down any personal facts revealed in a situation - name, alma mater, etc - and was then able to recall them when meeting the same person years later. He must have had an impressive system and much dedication - but also must have been a bit awkward to talk to when everything you say is recorded (apparently a good listener though).

Re: Spaced repetition

#109

Post by summarite »

michaelcampbell wrote: post #100
executesorder66 wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would you mind telling me what those other techniques are? Have you used them, and how well have they worked for you?

I'm trying, and I have no basis to back this up, so value this what you are paying for it... =) A couple of the techniques are: * Mix things up. Doing "learning" in an all of one thing, then all of another, is less helpful than mixing up topics. Baseball players that practice hitting 20 fastballs, then 20 sliders, etc. do less well OVERALL than one where the pitcher randomly picks a type of pitch one after another. *…

exactly. it's all about association and the connecting and strengthening of neural pathways.

Re: Spaced repetition

#110

Post by summarite »

vidarh wrote: post #93
berntb wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My model for notes is converging on Org Mode. But... With a review process every day and every week, GTD-style. I see this need from my notes over the last couple of years from the job. Not usable for documentation (as I had planned) or helpful for other people. I read about a guy at MIT(?) that could be mobile with a relevant setup years ago. It should be simpler now than it was for Mann et al. Just use an eyeglasse…

> But... With a review process every day and every week, GTD-style. I see this need from my notes over the last couple of years from the job. Not usable for documentation (as I had planned) or helpful for other people. I've resorted to a big folder of paper for this very reason. I really want to do it all electronically, but my experience is for my own part I'm too likely to go off and start jotting notes in some ran…

sounds like a typical case of "perfect is the enemy of good (enough)"
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