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I'll add something here, since I'm writing an application focused on language learning: Pick an area to focus on, and provide lots of automation for the user.

by donw 18y ago

I'll add something here, since I'm writing an application focused on language learning: Pick an area to focus on, and provide lots of automation for the user. Even though my application is very beta, it automates a lot of the drudgery in building studylists, which differentiates my software from all the other spaced repetition systems out there. This has gotten a pretty positive response so far, and has the added advantage of being very difficult to duplicate, giving you a big competitive edge. Not sure how this could be applied to subjects other than language, and doing it for language is hard enough, but that's what makes this an interesting problem. :) Also, I've dug around quite a bit, and talked to a few other researchers, and have yet to find any proper studies on the effectiveness of SuperMemo algorithm itself. There are lots of testimonials, but nothing involving a control group, and so until I see some hard data, I'm going to remain a little skeptical. If anybody knows of such a study (with associated data), please let me know. Of course, since I'm building a learning system, this puts me in a good position to undertake such an experiment. grin Which I plan to do next semester, using a few hundred students' worth of Japanese classes.

whacked_new 18y ago
Wozniak is a published researcher and Supermemo is basically the fruit of his PhD thesis.
- donw 18y ago
  I'm aware that Wozniak is a published researcher, as I've read a good chunk of his work; what he's done on memory plasticity is very solid, and provides a really good argument for spaced repetition. But nowhere in the doctoral thesis is there a link to any sort of scientific study on the effectiveness of the various iterations of the SuperMemo algorithm. If I'm wrong, please tell me where I can find the information I'm looking for, because it would make my life much easier. Jesus, Mohammed, Yaveh, and Gordon Ramsay could all come down from on high and hand me a learning method that they all swear by, but until I saw some solid data proving its effectiveness, I would remain skeptical.
  - whacked_new 18y ago
    If you are looking for the most efficient algorithm, then I can say with good confidence that nobody has it figured out yet. The biggest problem with SM is that it is designed for declarative knowledge. I consider it revolutionary in this area, but nevertheless, focusing entirely on declarative knowledge isn't the best strategy either. I'm not so sure about plasticity -- what kind of plasticity is this? How would you test it? Synaptogenesis is out of the question (because this is not a cellular-scale operation). Standardized tests? That itself is full of confounds. I have come across some studies regarding memory decay. Perhaps some algorithm is involved. If you dig around I'm sure you can find something, but conclusive data about the effectiveness of various aglos... you'd think that if it exists, the whole world would know by now.
helveticaman 18y ago
Upvote for using hundreds of student hours. Free labor is good for startups! I also resent the fact that your time is viewed as worthless if you don't have a college degree.
- donw 18y ago
  It's not even about free labor. The students in the classes will get free access to my learning system, which has all their class materials built-in, and so no matter what the result of the experiment, the people who use the system will at least reap the same level of benefit that they would with traditional flashcards, and with far less work. So, I'm doing something to help them, and in return, getting some data to improve the system. Truly the epitome of a win-win scenario. And, actually, I do have a college degree. Two of them, to be precise, and I rather wish they had been printed on toilet paper, so they'd be worth something. I've met many college-educated idiots, and many self-educated geniuses. I've also met a similar number of fantastically intelligent college graduates, and self-educated morons. The true test of intelligence, in my experience, is action. Those with intelligence act, create, build, and contribute to making humanity better, whether they want to or not. So, you've been upvoted for being agreeable. :)
pchristensen 18y ago
I'm definitely looking forward to your launch. Sounds great!

by donw 18y ago

whacked_new 18y ago

Wozniak is a published researcher and Supermemo is basically the fruit of his PhD thesis.

donw 18y ago
I'm aware that Wozniak is a published researcher, as I've read a good chunk of his work; what he's done on memory plasticity is very solid, and provides a really good argument for spaced repetition. But nowhere in the doctoral thesis is there a link to any sort of scientific study on the effectiveness of the various iterations of the SuperMemo algorithm. If I'm wrong, please tell me where I can find the information I'm looking for, because it would make my life much easier. Jesus, Mohammed, Yaveh, and Gordon Ramsay could all come down from on high and hand me a learning method that they all swear by, but until I saw some solid data proving its effectiveness, I would remain skeptical.
- whacked_new 18y ago
  If you are looking for the most efficient algorithm, then I can say with good confidence that nobody has it figured out yet. The biggest problem with SM is that it is designed for declarative knowledge. I consider it revolutionary in this area, but nevertheless, focusing entirely on declarative knowledge isn't the best strategy either. I'm not so sure about plasticity -- what kind of plasticity is this? How would you test it? Synaptogenesis is out of the question (because this is not a cellular-scale operation). Standardized tests? That itself is full of confounds. I have come across some studies regarding memory decay. Perhaps some algorithm is involved. If you dig around I'm sure you can find something, but conclusive data about the effectiveness of various aglos... you'd think that if it exists, the whole world would know by now.

helveticaman 18y ago

Upvote for using hundreds of student hours. Free labor is good for startups! I also resent the fact that your time is viewed as worthless if you don't have a college degree.

donw 18y ago
It's not even about free labor. The students in the classes will get free access to my learning system, which has all their class materials built-in, and so no matter what the result of the experiment, the people who use the system will at least reap the same level of benefit that they would with traditional flashcards, and with far less work. So, I'm doing something to help them, and in return, getting some data to improve the system. Truly the epitome of a win-win scenario. And, actually, I do have a college degree. Two of them, to be precise, and I rather wish they had been printed on toilet paper, so they'd be worth something. I've met many college-educated idiots, and many self-educated geniuses. I've also met a similar number of fantastically intelligent college graduates, and self-educated morons. The true test of intelligence, in my experience, is action. Those with intelligence act, create, build, and contribute to making humanity better, whether they want to or not. So, you've been upvoted for being agreeable. :)

pchristensen 18y ago

I'm definitely looking forward to your launch. Sounds great!