4 ms·

Wait, do people cram because they think it's a particularly effective study technique? I always thought it was just a byproduct of procrastination and putting o

• marksbrown 5y ago
  Think? Know! Cramming works in the short term due to the nature of mass testing. Any sensible person identifies what they will be judged upon and maximises their effort towards that. Especially if we're in a world of credentialism. Which we are.
  • Jtsummers 5y ago
    And people continue with what succeeds. If it worked once, and it worked the next hundred times, why would you change? That it's not efficient or effective in the long-term is irrelevant unless they step back and consider their objectives. Which most people don't seem to do on a regular basis.
  • chenmike 5y ago
    Agreed, I now greatly regret it knowing what I know about the theory of learning, but I crammed my entire way through college and graduated with honors. It's embarrassing to say but I can recall close to 0 of the facts or formulas that I regurgitated onto any of my exams.
    • rramadass 5y ago
      I can assure you that 99% of ALL students have done the same whatever they may claim otherwise. This is simply due to our educational system and social/biological pressures. The way i have tried to remedy this in my own self is to buy lots of books and try and give myself a proper education in the sense of really understanding something to the extent possible with the amount of work and time i am willing to invest. There is no pressure, no deadlines, no competition but simply a desire to learn and understand i.e. knowledge for knowledge's sake. The use of technology in the above endeavour is problematic. The Internet is a huge distraction and time sinkhole and there is too much junk to sift through to get at any actual nuggets. Hence i use it to get an idea of a subject domain and then try to get actual books to study in that domain. The final point is to sit with pen and paper and take notes, read aloud the subject matter to better imprint on the mind, all aimed towards engaging the body with the mind to strengthen the learning process. Typing on a keyboard does not have the same effect.
  • tdeck 5y ago
    I always understood "cramming" to mean studying everything in a condensed block of time in just the few days before an exam. That's orthogonal to prioritizing what to study, which I think most people would agree is a smart strategy. But perhaps the word has different meanings to different people.
• ipnon 5y ago
  It is the most effective studying technique when you have spent the entire semester doing bong rips.
• leetcrew 5y ago
  it really depends on the situation. the gold standard for retaining knowledge is short, active (ie, not just re-reading notes/books) study sessions spread out over many days. but this takes a lot of time discipline. if you don't care about the material and just want to pass the test, I find dumb cramming methods like retyping all the professor's powerpoints the night before work pretty well. I got lots of As in classes I didn't care about that way. I forgot almost all the material later, but it left me with more time to study properly for stuff I was actually interested in.