The current version of the supermemo algorithm is SM-18. The author thinks SRS has gotten way better since the author was previously using an out of date version of the algorithm, SM-2.
Spaced repetition systems have gotten better
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Re: Spaced repetition systems have gotten better
#22Why does everybody want to learn Japanese? What makes Japanese so enticing? Why not Mandarin or at lead Spanish?
Re: Spaced repetition systems have gotten better
#23I’ve been using Anki for about a decade now, and as far as I’m concerned, the only real improvements needed are design/UI based. It is functionally irrelevant if the algorithm is optimized or not when the actual user interface seems boring to potential users. While I do like that Anki has power user options, it’s also very unintuitive to the average person just looking into it. Which is really a shame, as the spacing…
Compared to i.e Duolingo, the app is quite boring. I still have been using it for years. But I sometimes wonder if adding a bit of gamification may help. For instance, streaks, sound effects, etc. Obviously, those should be optional
Re: Spaced repetition systems have gotten better
#24I’ve been using Anki for about a decade now, and as far as I’m concerned, the only real improvements needed are design/UI based. It is functionally irrelevant if the algorithm is optimized or not when the actual user interface seems boring to potential users. While I do like that Anki has power user options, it’s also very unintuitive to the average person just looking into it. Which is really a shame, as the spacing…
I love Anki but it’s an archetypal example of “designed by an engineer”. It’s powerful, with a lot of depth to its features - but it’s also hideous, clunky and unintuitive, and it takes a long time to figure out how to use it effectively. An HN-reading tech nerd can probably figure it out, but your average Duolingomaxxing normie? No chance.
I think the default settings are fine for 99% of the users. I've used them to "master" a language and I've been more than fine. Actually, I'd argue I was more effective than people who didn't use SRS.
Re: Spaced repetition systems have gotten better
#25Pretty OT: A few month ago I tried to marry my simple note system with anki. My goal was to be able to send simple front/backside cards to an api and it would get integrated and I can use it immediately. Ofc, when I edit cards via my notes-backend, the cards in anki should update too. Long story short: not possible with anki. It took like an entire day for me to realize its just not possible without diving deep into…
Every anki card is just a webview. Its very possible to call an api
Then you should be able to link me to some docs.
Re: Spaced repetition systems have gotten better
#26Language vocab seems a good use case. What other things are people here using spaced repition for?
Anything you wanna the retain the knowledge of. Basic usage is remebering shortcuts, names of people, apis, you name it. More advanced usage is you can break down complex concepts into atomic cards, which helps you remember how things work.
Re: Spaced repetition systems have gotten better
#27Spaced repetition has been all the rage for 20 years now. Dozens of apps, thousands of lectures, and it turns out its not really a silver bullet. There's nothing really wrong with it, it's just that people tend to fall off the same way they do on any other education pattern. A couple years ago I was thinking "If Google and Apple really cared about kids they would make a spaced repetition unlock system", where by you…
If you're expecting it to be a silver bullet, then you're in for a bad time. You still have to do the work. It's a lever or a pulley, nothing more.
> You still have to do the work
Spaced repetition is doing the work.
Re: Spaced repetition systems have gotten better
#28Why does everybody want to learn Japanese? What makes Japanese so enticing? Why not Mandarin or at lead Spanish?
I'd say it's confirmation bias. In my personal circle, not a lot of people are interested in the Japanese language, but I know a few who took at least a few lessons on Mandarin or Spanish.
I've learned Japanese and part of the reason is that I thought kanji were attractive. I remember watching anime on TV when I was a kid and seeing the opening credits with Japanese characters looked soo cool.
Re: Spaced repetition systems have gotten better
#29I’ve been using Anki for about a decade now, and as far as I’m concerned, the only real improvements needed are design/UI based. It is functionally irrelevant if the algorithm is optimized or not when the actual user interface seems boring to potential users. While I do like that Anki has power user options, it’s also very unintuitive to the average person just looking into it. Which is really a shame, as the spacing…
Compared to i.e Duolingo, the app is quite boring. I still have been using it for years. But I sometimes wonder if adding a bit of gamification may help. For instance, streaks, sound effects, etc. Obviously, those should be optional
I used to be something of an Anki evangelist and recommended it to anyone that would listen. But the minute I showed it to someone that isn’t already technically-minded, their eyes glazed over and they lost interest immediately.
I think it just needs a fresh minimal design, a tutorial, and some premade decks that aren’t just the half-baked free ones.
Re: Spaced repetition systems have gotten better
#30Language vocab seems a good use case. What other things are people here using spaced repition for?
I'm using it to memorize all of the Paris métro stops and study for the French drivers license test. It was also a huge boon when I prepared for my citizenship interview.
I tried it for a while with my eldest child (then aged 3) to help her remember numbers, letters, etc. She didn't find it very fun past the first couple of times, so I figured I wasn't going to hoist it on her.