Memory system practice sessions are too disconnected from activities you actually care about

Retrieval practice in a Spaced repetition memory system often feels so abstract: trying to remember a bunch of material from various books and papers you read in the past, all jumbled, in the form of questions you’ve answered before, in an artificial environment. Generously, perhaps, it’s a kind of Deliberate practice, after Ericsson, but it often feels like a chore in part because it’s not doing the thing, and the practice session’s emotional connection with doing the thing is weak.

Can we create something like a retrieval practice session, but much more strongly grounded in what you actually care about? More clearly connected with your actual goals? Situated in the actual activity or context? Embedded in a social context? Think harder about sociality and memory systems

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References

Michael discusses this in Building a better memory system - Michael Nielsen

Last updated 2023-07-13.