51–60 of 113 posts
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I'd like to learn Mandarin. Can you give details on how you're doing this? Like what you use for initially learning the material and what you use for SRS?
Definitely - contact me at the email in my profile and I can tell you more about my specific approach for Mandarin. (Don't want to sidetrack the thread too much.)
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I have been using SRS to learn Mandarin Chinese for the last 2 years now and I can also verify it is extremely effective when used correctly, and when understanding its' advantages and limitations. I think sentences are also a much better way to learn than learning single vocabulary words, because they show the usage of the word in context. This is very important for speaking naturally and idiomatically. Once you get…
I'd like to learn Mandarin. Can you give details on how you're doing this? Like what you use for initially learning the material and what you use for SRS?
I always like sticking to the very best, so SuperMemo was the choice for me. I remember spending a couple of weeks just reading the whole website ( http://www.supermemo.com/ ) because it contained so much interesting information on learning and memorization. It also took a while to understand how to use the program properly because it probably has one of the worst UIs one can imagine ;-). Anyways, I ended up dumping…
> Anyways, I ended up dumping SuperMemo because once my item database > grew I became too lazy to spend 30 minutes (or more!) each > day going through this drill. Yeah, same happened to me. But I didn't catch on so soon, and I found myself spending 2 hours/day on it before I started to scratch my head. When I started, it wasn't obvious, but clearly there is an upper limit on the rate of new entries that the system ca…
That's fairly similar to Wozniak's estimates: http://www.supermemo.com/articles/theory.htm
In the FAQ he estimates that probably 200k is the max for most people.
> Anyway, then I realized this was all stupid because I remembered everything anyway. So now I'm off SuperMemo. Hooray memory!
Fortunate for you, but the rest of us must make do with our fallible memories. :)
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Using flashcards to learn mathematics, computer programming, physics, or anything requiring more creative or analytical thought is not so useful. For these subjects the number of raw facts required is usually smaller, and the thought processes, concepts and problem solving ability are much more important. My programming flash card usually consists of evaluating pieces of code like: Question --> Evaluate the following…
The danger is that it's very possible to memorize 100s of answers like this without having any idea of how the code is working. Imagine if instead of static flashcards there the SRS worked on items like: - puts - the '+' operator - variables - functions Then an algorithm would generate problems incorporating those concepts. The exact same problem would never appear twice so you can't learn by rote and it ensures you…
But so far no one has stepped up and done the programming & card writing to demonstrate it, aside from perhaps Khan Academy (they generate questions, AFAIK, and are supposed to have incorporated spaced repetition at some point).
Comprehensive, as usual. An obligatory nitpick: > At least with physical fitness there isn’t a precisely dismaying number indicating how far behind you are! Many sports are precisely measurable and in such sports, the measurements determine who has won, to various resolutions. Shortest running time over a given distance, heaviest weight snatched, furthest distance jumped and so on. Athletes in such sports can very ac…
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I've previously had good experiences with ProVoc (and now iVocabulary, a fork of ProVoc) but stopped using it and instead use Duolingo now because I lacked a good flashcard resource. I didn't have the time to think up new flashcards and learn them on a regular basis. Where do you get your sentences from for Anki? Is there a good repository online that you'd recommend (preferably with some kind of community review)?
I recommend creating your own cards, they just feel more weighty. I did jump start my sentence deck with the 500 card starter deck from AllJapaneseAllTheTime ( http://www.alljapaneseallthetime.com/blog/my-first-sentence-... ). Yet those cards feel different. If I were to redo things I would start from zero and build cards as you go. My process is to add 4 cards everyday. These sentences come from posts in my RSS feed…
Some words are so well known that new cards do not contain their pronunciation. A new card may have 7 kanji words but only the hiragana for only 2 of those words. Likewise a card may only contain translation for one or two words. As time goes on I also select more difficult sentences. In both cases a premade deck cannot match your learning curve like self-made decks can.
I must also give credit for AllJapaneseAllTheTime for getting me excited about learning and for how to use SRS.
A typical card of mine might be: Front: エナメル質は歯の歯冠の最表層にある、 Back: 質＝しつ//quality 歯＝は//tooth 歯冠＝しかん//tooth crown 最＝さい//most 表層＝ひょうそう//surface
That example has every pronunciation and translation. A real card would not have 歯 at all since I know it by heart. 質 and 最 would not have translations. Also notice how this is not a full sentence. Japanese often features many run-on sentences so I split them. Also notice there is no sentence scope translation.
AllJapaneseAllTheTime now suggests a newer format which features partial-ization of compound words which should work better for new decks: http://www.alljapaneseallthetime.com/blog/10000-sentences-is...
Does anyone know of any command line spaced repetition tools? if not could be a fun side project.
Spaced repetition, also known as rote memorization, is a terrible way to "learn" anything. The trouble is, you aren't learning at all, you're hacking your brain to force information into it that has no relevance and really doesn't want to be there. It's not a useful or pleasurable activity. It definitely won't make you smarter. Even Mr. Supermemo himself admitted that after FIVE YEARS of constant daily marathon memor…
From the link:
> This is a translation of a popular scientific article about memory and learning written by J.Kowalski, Poland, for Enter in November 1994. Translator comments are placed in square brackets... > Simulation experiments based on Wozniak's model of learning show that a student who stops repetitions after a 5-year-long work with SuperMemo is likely to forget 60% of the learned material in the first year after the cessation! [this figure has later been proven exaggerated]
Isn't that a rather dishonest description?
> I'll propose an alternative to rote memorization for learning: critical thinking.
Memorization fosters understanding: http://www.gwern.net/Spaced%20repetition#abstraction
I think spaced repetition software, which typically involves flashcards, is great for memorising a large quantity of facts. E.g. for learning foreign language vocabulary, anatomy, etc... For this kind of learning it can really save you time, especially when you have 100s or 1000s of items to remember. Using flashcards to learn mathematics, computer programming, physics, or anything requiring more creative or analytic…