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Yearly analytics on my spaced repetition results

natemeyvis.com

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Re: Yearly analytics on my spaced repetition results

#71

Post by Theaetetus »

rjh29 wrote: post #61
pessimizer wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Professonal quizzers can absorb huge amounts of information but typically don't use flashcards. Professional quizzers almost all use flashcards. Jeopardy! people definitely do. The range of questions that you can ask in a general knowledge quiz are surprisingly limited. You're not going beyond a surface-level overview on anything. Do a ton of general knowledge flashcards for a year and you'll annihilate people at p…

Ken Jennings doesn't! I am speculating though so I'll defer to your knowledge here. I was trying to say, for some people it comes naturally. I doubt the majority of quizzers are doing 300k reviews a year. Reminds me of that guy who "mastered the NYT Crossword" by flashcarding questions/clues. I also learned to do the Saturday consistently - just by doing the crossword every day for a while. You don't always need flas…

I'm quite sure you're right and most quizzers are not doing 300k reviews a year. I'm an odd case in a few ways.

Re: Yearly analytics on my spaced repetition results

#72

Post by elil17 »

hn_user82179 wrote: post #27
elil17 wrote: post #19

As someone who did about 51k in 2025, oh my goodness how would you possibly have time for 300k?

I did 10k reviews. Admittedly, very streakily - so spurts intense study for 2-3 months than several months off - I think about 2.5 spurts total. I felt pretty wrung out after. 51k is a ton, congrats!

Thank you! I feel very proud of it.

Re: Yearly analytics on my spaced repetition results

#73

Post by vjerancrnjak »

yodsanklai wrote: post #33

They barely mention why they're even doing this. I see flashcard as a means to something (e.g. learning a language, preparing for a test...). The measured outcome should be the success in task, rather than the number of reviewed cards.

Reading the article I did not ask at all the question for why they're doing this.

I see no reason why that is important.

Re: Yearly analytics on my spaced repetition results

#75

Post by satisfice »

diimdeep wrote: post #17
satisfice wrote: post #5

Does doing this have utility? What problem does it solve? Years ago, I memorized 1034 digits of pi just to see what it felt like (reciting pi from memory felt like walking through a forest at night without bumping into any trees). So, there was some value in that experience. I wonder what this guy gets out of it?

Very cool, and have you actually used forest as memory palace ? this and chunking + imagery mapped to digits, is what got suggested to me just now by chatbot as technique that memory athletes use; got curious myself but never tried something like this.

I didn't want to use any suggested techniques to memorize the digits, because I felt like that was cheating. So I developed my own: I found a sequence of irregular rhythms in the numbers, like a succession of short, distinct cheerleading chants at a football game. I piled them on top of each other until they started collapsing under their own weight, which was right around a thousand digits.

I found that when I went through the sequence, each chant felt like a little landmark that I could feel but not see. Hence, the sensation of having blindsight (Google it). When I tried to recite the digits as fast as I possibly could, my head started hurting as if I were being struck my tree branches.

Re: Yearly analytics on my spaced repetition results

#76

Post by anon7000 »

yesitcan wrote: post #34
yodsanklai wrote: post #33

They barely mention why they're even doing this. I see flashcard as a means to something (e.g. learning a language, preparing for a test...). The measured outcome should be the success in task, rather than the number of reviewed cards.

Yeah, can anyone else that does this explain what the point is? Genuinely curious.

I’ve thought about using spaced repetition myself. I have ADHD and I tend to forget about things I’ve learned. There are certain skills or hobbies I enjoy doing that benefit from knowing things, and i just want to better remember things I already learned.

For example, maybe I read a book that has a really key insight about how my brain works with ADHD. I’m not going to remember or apply that insight to my life unless I spend some time trying to remember it. By default it’s not going to stick for very long.

Re: Yearly analytics on my spaced repetition results

#77

Post by anon7000 »

Theaetetus wrote: post #50
santoshalper wrote: post #6

I read the author's attempt to explain why memorization is important, and found myself unconvinced. Of all the things we consider to be "intelligence", memorization of facts seems like one of the least valuable in the Internet-era. That said, I am open to hear some counter-arguments (pro-memorization). Of course, if you simply enjoy the process of memorizing facts, then no explanation is needed - it is entertainment…

See my other comments here for some of my motivations, but also: Even in the Internet age, getting the latency from "fast" to "effectively zero" has a lot of value for staying in flow, synethesizing information, etc. Your memory is the ultra-low-latency fact retrieval system you always have. No, you definitely don't want to use it for everything, but it definitely does complement modern tools in important ways.

Yep. There are plenty of activities, skills, hobbies, whatever, where being able to remember something in the moment is very helpful. Sometimes it’s an edge case, maybe it’s a safety thing. You just want to remember whatever it is.

Or, hell, just for conversations, I’d love to better remember insightful things I read about and then promptly forgot.

Re: Yearly analytics on my spaced repetition results

#78

Post by Theaetetus »

anon7000 wrote: post #76
yesitcan wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, can anyone else that does this explain what the point is? Genuinely curious.

I’ve thought about using spaced repetition myself. I have ADHD and I tend to forget about things I’ve learned. There are certain skills or hobbies I enjoy doing that benefit from knowing things, and i just want to better remember things I already learned. For example, maybe I read a book that has a really key insight about how my brain works with ADHD. I’m not going to remember or apply that insight to my life unless…

It's likely to be worth trying! Good luck.
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