4 ms·

I read the readme, now can someone explain what this is like I'm stupid?

degenerate 5y ago
This page explains it a bit more, and gives a demo: https://docs.withorbit.com/ https://docs.withorbit.com/ It looks like a flash card widget that you can embed in your blog. Honestly I have no idea what the context is for needing this, perhaps the authors could point to a real-world use case? I don't understand what the "Forgotten" and "Remembered" buttons do, or why a new question pops up when I click one. It seems to loop forever through different cards in a random pattern. This page doesn't do a great job of explaining the project from a 50-foot level, and the homepage is even worse at that.
- whimsicalism 5y ago
  Are you familiar with Anki?
- spelunker 5y ago
  I found the docs as well. The docs jump right in and use words like "prompts", "prose", and talking about writing a bunch. I guess maybe this is intended for authors? The inspiration listed is a digital book (https://quantum.country/ https://quantum.country/). Some context sure would be nice. Agreed, none of the documentation does a good "elevator pitch" or summary of what the product is, or the intended audience. neat font though.
  - rolisz 5y ago
    The digital book is made by the same guy, Andy M. and Michael Nielsen. Orbit seems to be a platform to enable anyone to build similar content, with mnemonic content (flash cards basically) built in.
- dvfjsdhgfv 5y ago
  Yes, they really try hard to make it as obscure as possible. Here is my take. Imagine you publish an article on some complex subject matter - the kind that requires a pause and reflection after each sentence. Imagine that after a paragraph or two there is a widget where you can test your understanding of the above paragraph. It seems useful to me, but of course it depends on the actual implementation.
- mcguire 5y ago
  As whimsicalism says, it's like Anki. You get the question and then the answer; if you remember the answer, the question won't be re-asked for a longer time, if you don't, the question will be re-asked sooner. It appears (?) to be a sort of global tool---you embed your flashcards into the text you are writing and the reader gets asked your questions in addition to questions from the math book they read last week or last month.
StavrosK 5y ago
It's a thing for learning stuff that fits on cards.
- anotha1 5y ago
  Perfect, thanks!
  - StavrosK 5y ago
    Haha, you're welcome!
waynesonfire 5y ago
decentralized, right in the readme. what more do you need to know?
caslon 5y ago
I haven't used it/had no idea about it until reading this post, but here's my attempt. You aren't stupid, it's just that the genre of projects (spaced-repetition systems) Orbit is in is pretty niche. It mentions that it more or less wants to be a more generalized version of Anki. Anki is basically an application that goes, "Hey. Here are some flashcards you haven't seen in a while. Do you still know the answers?" The specific timing of these depends on how many times you've gotten them right in the past, with the aim of getting the information into your long-term memory. Anki is incredibly useful for memorization. However, because of how limited it is, it's only really gained popularity in the medical student space and the language-learning community. It's not really extensible beyond what you'd expect from flashcards that you can embed video in. What Orbit seems to claim to do is have a very extensible system for spaced-repetition, so that the underlying principles can be used for a wider array of things. However, it doesn't appear to be aiming for mass uptake; rather, it's mostly a research vessel to gain an understanding of the problem domain.
- anotha1 5y ago
  I'm really stupid and/or lack the attention for this, but thank you for trying!
- redrobein 5y ago
  > because of how limited it is... What is so limiting about Anki? Anki cards are also fully javascript capable, and anything you can't achieve with just js you can do with their python addon api. From what I've seen the only use case Orbit serves that Anki doesn't is the ability to embed cards on your own pages.
  - jkhdigital 5y ago
    I don’t think it’s the tool itself, rather the technique. I used SRS to learn kanji and it was nothing short of miraculous. I also used it to study extremely efficiently for well-defined examinations (e.g. proficiency exams for some basic college courses). However, I’ve also tried SRS on other subjects with less success. One challenge is that in many knowledge domains, it’s not entirely clear what is worth remembering. Sure, you can purge cards that turn out to be unimportant, but the process of creating the cards in the first place can be awfully time-consuming so it starts to feel less efficient.
asoneth 5y ago
Orbit looks like a way to publish content with accompanying spaced repetition. Spaced repetition is a technique to efficiently improve long-term recall. The most accessible primer on spaced repetition I've seen is Nicky Case's interactive exploration at https://ncase.me/remember/ https://ncase.me/remember/

This page explains it a bit more, and gives a demo: https://docs.withorbit.com/ https://docs.withorbit.com/ It looks like a flash card widget that you can embed in your blog. Honestly I have no idea what the context is for needing this, perhaps the authors could point to a real-world use case? I don't understand what the "Forgotten" and "Remembered" buttons do, or why a new question pops up when I click one. It seems to loop forever through different cards in a random pattern. This page doesn't do a great job of explaining the project from a 50-foot level, and the homepage is even worse at that.

whimsicalism 5y ago
Are you familiar with Anki?
spelunker 5y ago
I found the docs as well. The docs jump right in and use words like "prompts", "prose", and talking about writing a bunch. I guess maybe this is intended for authors? The inspiration listed is a digital book (https://quantum.country/ https://quantum.country/). Some context sure would be nice. Agreed, none of the documentation does a good "elevator pitch" or summary of what the product is, or the intended audience. neat font though.
- rolisz 5y ago
  The digital book is made by the same guy, Andy M. and Michael Nielsen. Orbit seems to be a platform to enable anyone to build similar content, with mnemonic content (flash cards basically) built in.
dvfjsdhgfv 5y ago
Yes, they really try hard to make it as obscure as possible. Here is my take. Imagine you publish an article on some complex subject matter - the kind that requires a pause and reflection after each sentence. Imagine that after a paragraph or two there is a widget where you can test your understanding of the above paragraph. It seems useful to me, but of course it depends on the actual implementation.
mcguire 5y ago
As whimsicalism says, it's like Anki. You get the question and then the answer; if you remember the answer, the question won't be re-asked for a longer time, if you don't, the question will be re-asked sooner. It appears (?) to be a sort of global tool---you embed your flashcards into the text you are writing and the reader gets asked your questions in addition to questions from the math book they read last week or last month.

StavrosK 5y ago

It's a thing for learning stuff that fits on cards.

anotha1 5y ago
Perfect, thanks!
- StavrosK 5y ago
  Haha, you're welcome!

waynesonfire 5y ago

decentralized, right in the readme. what more do you need to know?

caslon 5y ago

I haven't used it/had no idea about it until reading this post, but here's my attempt. You aren't stupid, it's just that the genre of projects (spaced-repetition systems) Orbit is in is pretty niche. It mentions that it more or less wants to be a more generalized version of Anki. Anki is basically an application that goes, "Hey. Here are some flashcards you haven't seen in a while. Do you still know the answers?" The specific timing of these depends on how many times you've gotten them right in the past, with the aim of getting the information into your long-term memory. Anki is incredibly useful for memorization. However, because of how limited it is, it's only really gained popularity in the medical student space and the language-learning community. It's not really extensible beyond what you'd expect from flashcards that you can embed video in. What Orbit seems to claim to do is have a very extensible system for spaced-repetition, so that the underlying principles can be used for a wider array of things. However, it doesn't appear to be aiming for mass uptake; rather, it's mostly a research vessel to gain an understanding of the problem domain.

anotha1 5y ago
I'm really stupid and/or lack the attention for this, but thank you for trying!
redrobein 5y ago
> because of how limited it is... What is so limiting about Anki? Anki cards are also fully javascript capable, and anything you can't achieve with just js you can do with their python addon api. From what I've seen the only use case Orbit serves that Anki doesn't is the ability to embed cards on your own pages.
- jkhdigital 5y ago
  I don’t think it’s the tool itself, rather the technique. I used SRS to learn kanji and it was nothing short of miraculous. I also used it to study extremely efficiently for well-defined examinations (e.g. proficiency exams for some basic college courses). However, I’ve also tried SRS on other subjects with less success. One challenge is that in many knowledge domains, it’s not entirely clear what is worth remembering. Sure, you can purge cards that turn out to be unimportant, but the process of creating the cards in the first place can be awfully time-consuming so it starts to feel less efficient.

asoneth 5y ago

Orbit looks like a way to publish content with accompanying spaced repetition. Spaced repetition is a technique to efficiently improve long-term recall. The most accessible primer on spaced repetition I've seen is Nicky Case's interactive exploration at https://ncase.me/remember/ https://ncase.me/remember/