Memorizing a programming language using spaced repetition software (2013)

There are so many things that you can memorize:

- common standard library method

- code-level design patterns (like the factory pattern)

- system design patterns (like caching in Redis)

- SWE process patterns (like code review or 1-1 meetings)

Why would syntax be the right level of abstraction to repeatedly review?

The space of things you can memorize (or "cache" in your mind) is too large. So a better strategy might not be to use Anki (which optimizes for retention but takes time to set up) and instead "randomly sample" a bunch of different things so that you know the techniques out there. Then you retain the knowledge that you need by actually using it on the job.

I am not disputing reading in the language learning context as a tool for learning, especially when combined with SRS. Doesn't really apply to me since there is no widespread written component for ASL.

By reading, I meant people rereading their old notes instead of actively challenging themselves. That is, no attempt at retrieval-practice that is the basis for spaced repetition. Research said that study method is often regarded as effort in vain.

But that apply to contexts such as studying biology. Reading in a foreign language is a different context in that you are also learning new materials and practicing retrieval at the same time.

Anki is great and I'm a contributor! But it's more of an ancillary tool. SRS shines when it comes to memorizing decontextualized, atomic information (e.g. countries and capitals, the periodic table of elements or writing Japanese kanji), but not for learning a language in general.

I don't see how it's impossible to use anki for contextualized learning. It's the whole point of sentence mining. Rather, with no context, it's essentially useless since I wouldn't know how to use it in context.

Periodic table is a great example for this. When I don't know the answer to questions anki posed, I used related information to retrieve what I need to know.

In my case, I have no reading materials to sentence mine, so I just mine ASL videos.

I have acquired >3,000 words from daily anki usage in Korean. Not only is it possible, it's the only way for me because inputting words into anki (or any SRS system) takes so long.

I interleave two decks: a premade sorted one with 5.8k words, and my personal deck that I occasionally add to.

The issue is that later on, you start delving into ambiguous territory for words. I've found that it's impossible if you maintain a (word in your native language) frontside and (target language word) on the backside.

Now I am slowly migrating to having the definition of the word in Korean on the front, and the target word on the back. I'm sure this won't be perfect, but it's better than having one english word potentially map to many korean words.

Using anki has bolstered my Korean learning because, well, I can recognize more words when I read or watch native material! Previously it was impossible for me to read the news because I had to look up every. single. word. Now it's more like 65-80%, which makes it much more tolerable.

In an ideal world one would learn a word, then put it into anki, but it's simple math. ~1 min per word (very generous) is only 60 words per hour. I usually fluctuate between 1-2 minutes because I have to check 2 dictionaries to make sure it's accurate, then add other data like grammatical type, and so forth. It may be easier for a language that lacks chinese characters, but I have to make 3 dictionary searches to add one card. So I only rarely add anki cards now... I have notebooks filled with lists and lists of words that I wrote down from seeing it in native material, that I just don't have time to manually add into anki.

If I were -only- studying Korean, then I could muster ~2-4 hours a week or so to add anki cards. But I have work, and life, and other hobbies, etc. Any time spent not adding cards, is more time for me to study my other decks, etc.

Its working well so far.