Spaced repetition memory system

A spaced-repetition memory system combines the Testing effect and the Spacing effect to enable efficient memorization of many thousands of facts (Spaced repetition memory systems are extremely efficient). Some people also use them for a broader set of tasks (see below). Spaced repetition memory systems make memory a choice, but they’re not just for rote facts: Spaced repetition memory systems can be used to develop conceptual understanding.

The first consumer system of this kind was Supermemo, created by Piotr Wozniak. It adopted and popularized the term “spaced repetition”; prior literature had used a variety of terms (often referring to more specific facets of the underlying phenomenon).

• Related systems and possibilities:
  • Differences in my approach to spaced repetition systems
  • Implementations:
  • Traditional: Supermemo, Mnemosyne, Anki
  • Unusual variations:
    • Mnemonic medium
    • Execute Program
    • RemNote
    • Mochi
    • Readwise
    • Chessable MoveTrainer
    • Revuu
  • Unusual applications of spaced repetition memory systems
  • Spaced repetition systems can be used to program attention
  • Spaced repetition systems as catechism
  • Spaced repetition memory systems can be used to prompt application, synthesis, and creation
  • Prefer “memory system” to “spaced repetition system”; Perhaps “practice systems”, not “memory systems”
• On properties of memory systems:
  • What’s the maximum intake rate of an efficient spaced repetition memory system?
  • Optimizing spaced repetition system schedules
  • Self-grading vs. machine-grading in spaced repetition memory systems
  • To what extent does spaced repetition memory system practice constitute deliberate practice?
  • SRS retry mechanism
• Barriers to adoption
  • Many people view memory as unimportant to deep creative work
  • Writing good spaced repetition memory prompts is hard
  • Important attributes of good spaced repetition memory prompts
  • Studying another person’s spaced repetition memory prompts is usually ineffective
  • The limiting factor in spaced repetition system capacity is writing enough good prompts
  • Using machine learning to generate good spaced repetition prompts from explanatory text
  • The critical thing to optimize in spaced repetition memory systems is emotional connection to the review session and its contents
  • Memory system practice sessions are too disconnected from activities you actually care about
  • Regular spaced repetition memory practice is an onerous habit to adopt
    • Spaced repetition memory systems don’t rapidly demonstrate their benefits
    • Spaced repetition memory systems make you feel like your memory is worse than it really is
  • Spaced repetition review sessions often become boring and detached without a steady stream of new prompts
  • The dominant culture around spaced repetition memory systems is fixated on meaningless goals
• Responses to common objections
  • SRS are only relevant for rote learning of facts: “school learning”
  • People underrate the importance of memory because of bad experiences with rote memorization in school
  • Existing SRS are almost exclusively used for simple declarative knowledge, contra Spaced repetition memory systems can be used to develop conceptual understanding
  • Memory systems help you focus on deeper engagement by automating away rote memorization
  • Memory augmentation can accelerate the unpleasant early stages of learning a subject
  • (caveat: it’s hard to write prompts for conceptual understanding!)
  • SRS are only for material you don’t care about enough to remember “naturally.” Better to “learn by doing.”
  • External memory aids are sufficient
  • Mnemonic techniques obviate SRS
  • Knowledge learned through SRS doesn’t transfer
  • The real value in SRS comes from making one’s own prompts
  • Maybe! How important is it to write your own spaced repetition memory prompts?
• On algorithms
  • Simple spaced repetition algorithms mistreat expected failures
  • SRS retry mechanism
  • Optimizing spaced repetition system schedules
• Adoption stories
  • Using spaced repetition with young children

References

Branwen, G. (2009). Spaced Repetition for Efficient Learning. Retrieved December 16, 2019, from https://www.gwern.net/Spaced-repetition

Who invented the name: spaced repetition? - supermemo.guru

Writing good spaced repetition memory prompts is hard

People regard flashcards as something trivial from their school days, so they don’t take writing them very seriously. But it’s awfully hard to write good prompts for a Spaced repetition memory system. For example, good prompts:

• access an idea from multiple angles
• capture one precise thought (likely reflective of “Chunks” in human cognition)
• avoid unintentional ambiguity
• are concise
• get to what really matters about the topic, not just what’s easy to memorize

For more, see: Important attributes of good spaced repetition memory prompts

It’s harder than people think

Unfortunately, it’s not obvious when the prompts you’ve written are bad, so people often don’t realize that their prompts are bad. This can cause them to underrate the performance or overrate the tedium of spaced repetition memory practice. More: To what extent do review sessions offer prompt-writing feedback?

One solution: The mnemonic medium may help scaffold prompt-writing through author-provided prompts

It’s taxing even if you know how

Even if one develops the skill to write good prompts, it’s quite time-consuming and cognitively taxing to do it. I believe that this is another significant barrier to widespread adoption.

One solution: The mnemonic medium supplies expert-authored prompts to remove the burden of prompt-writing. Or, maybe Using machine learning to generate good spaced repetition prompts from explanatory text.

References

Matuschak, A., & Nielsen, M. (2019, October). How can we develop transformative tools for thought? https://numinous.productions/ttft

Nielsen, M. (2018). Augmenting Long-term Memory. http://augmentingcognition.com/ltm.html

Using spaced repetition systems to see through a piece of mathematics - Michael Nielsen

https://andymatuschak.org/prompts

Anki Practice Cards: Language, Music, Mathematics - Album on Imgur some examples and notes from Eric Siggy