Ask HN: What are your best learning methods/hacks/tips?

This blog post may be useful, it's a summary of learning strategies: https://becomingoverhuman.wordpress.com/2018/11/30/how-i-lea...

This will come up in any Hackernews thread that mentions spaced repetition, so I might as well mention it to get it over with.

Supermemo [1].

SuperMemo is the king of spaced repetition software.

Anki uses the algorithm from an earlier version of SuperMemo - SM2. The current version of the algorithm used in SuperMemo is SM17.

The benchmark for the algorithm's performance is the repetition workload. I don't have the numbers close hand. But the point is that the repetition intervals in SuperMemo will increase much faster than in Anki, but you will have the same, if not better, retention rate.

Also, it has Incremental reading.

To be honest, I used Anki on and off for more than five years. SuperMemo scared me, with its ugly non-conventional interface. But in the end, I succumbed, and now for the first time, I actually do my repetitions every day for 4 months now.

This despite the fact that I have to boot into Windows from Mac OS every time I need it.

It helped me learn Python and a bunch of other less practical things.

Of course, spaced repetition is not all you need for better learning. Most of what you need to know is covered in the Coursera Learning How To Learn course.

Jim Kwik is also good.

[1]: https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Main_Page

I have tried a few times to get on the anki/supermemo bandwagon but have always struggled a bit figuring out how to structure the cards. Maybe I just have some hangups with it but would love to see a good workflow or best practices for incorporating it into my study.

I think specifically I would second guess myself for the syntax of the cards I was creating - and if there was another better way to do it. I always wanted to find almost like a guided walkthrough that would take me through the whole process or something and help me build the skills associated with it.

1 - While learning some subject learn surrounding concepts or related facts as well. For example, if you are learning Calculus - learn the historical context, infinitesimal approach. If you are preparing for an exam and your text book gives one method and a specific topic, try learning related additional concepts and additional methods. This will help in not forgetting the core concept of technique. A close approximation scenario(not entirely true - but gives you an idea): you learn one forget one, learn four and retain two.

2 - Spaced Repetition - people have covered already.

3 - Active Recall - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_recall

4 - Active Learning - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_learning

Edit: Paragraph alignment

It definitely depended on the kind of notes, but pretty much!

For something like an algorithms or math class, I would have the problem one side and a summary of how to do it on the other side. This meant I wouldn't focus on the answer itself but more the process. Definitions and terms are also easy, where I would have the term on one side and a summary on the other.

Sometimes I skipped the bite-size and would make cards like "Review Lecture N." This doesn't seem exactly like The Anki Way of breaking down into small parts, but it was good for keeping track of when I should be reading over my notes periodically.