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Hey! As many have already mentioned in this thread, you might want to look into spaced repetition if you haven’t already. To summarize, it’s a simple algorithm

Hey! As many have already mentioned in this thread, you might want to look into spaced repetition if you haven’t already. To summarize, it’s a simple algorithm that forces you to recall something at an increasing interval until it is committed to long term memory. Anki is a popular app that uses spaced repetition. I personally wasn’t quite satisfied with any of the options out there so I decided to build a new app to solve this problem. Feel free to check it out: https://activerecall.com/ https://activerecall.com/ It allows you to create flashcards using a rich text editor with support for things such as code and latex blocks. I’m using it daily both to learn new software development concepts and for general knowledge. Even with a spaced repetition-tool however there is a lot of nuance that goes into the process of acquiring new knowledge. A couple of pointers here: 1. It’s important to distinguish the learning step and the act of remembering what you’ve learned. Learning for example means using a new programming concept to the point where you understand it. Now that you have that context, you can encode it in the form of question and answer in a spaced repetition based system to ensure that you will remember what you’ve learned. 2. Some things that you want to remember are purely factual, while some require deeper understanding. In the latter case, you’ll want to structure your flashcards in a way that you’re solving a problem when answering it rather than just stating facts. This ensures that you’re actually remembering how to solve something rather than simply stating what the solution is. 3. Some things that seem like they are worth remembering when you first put them into your system will later turn out to be time sinks. Don’t be afraid to just get rid of them or keep them for reference (in my app you can “suspend” cards so that you can still search for them etc, essentially turning them into notes). If you end up trying Active Recall out please feel free to reach out with any questions or if you just want to chat more about learning!

cyanf 4y ago
Hey, this looks interesting. What set this apart from Anki?
- autoconfig 4y ago
  Hey thanks for checking it out. Anki is in many ways a great tool and one that I’ve used extensively myself in the past. I felt that the UI could be improved however and that certain features were lacking. One high-level goal was to build an application with a simpler and more modern user experience. On top of that there were features, small and large, that I wanted and felt could only be realized with a new product. Here are some examples: - Simplified navigation when browsing your content. - A rich card editor that behaves more like one you’d find in a modern note taking application. - Search as a first class citizen. - Dedicated functionality for creating language cards. - Proper code blocks for people learning software development. - A way to easily study all my pending items across all folders. - Improved/seamless synchronization (I’d sometimes get sync failures when using Anki on my phone and on the desktop) With that said, the application is still very much in its early stages and there are a lot more features that will be arriving over the coming months.
  - cyanf 4y ago
    Very cool! Thanks for the detailed answer. I’ll check it out.
type-r 4y ago
Active Recall looks compelling but it makes me uncomfortable that it says "try for free" but there's no mention of pricing that I could find. What's the planned business model? As a user of Anki for multiple years now, longevity with these products is pretty important to me. Separately, it's pretty surprising to me to see the very first review by the "VP of Engineering at Shopify" without mentioning the fact that they are an investor in Active Recall. [0] Feels like this is counter to the FTC's rules on endorsements. [1] [0] https://www.linkedin.com/in/dalmaer/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/dalmaer/ [1] in particular, § 255.5 of https://www.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/attachments/press-releases/ftc-publishes-final-guides-governing-endorsements-testimonials/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf https://www.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/attachments/press-re...
- autoconfig 4y ago
  > Active Recall looks compelling but it makes me uncomfortable that it says "try for free" but there's no mention of pricing that I could find. What's the planned business model? As a user of Anki for multiple years now, longevity with these products is pretty important to me. Hey! This will turn into a subscription service at some point but I’m still working out the exact pricing model. Any data that you put into the system however will always be available to you and exportable regardless of if you decide to pay or not. This is mentioned in an email when you sign up but I realize that the communication could be better around this. > Separately, it's pretty surprising to me to see the very first review by the "VP of Engineering at Shopify" without mentioning the fact that they are an investor in Active Recall. [0] Feels like this is counter to the FTC's rules on endorsements. Dion was using the product long before he invested and it’s not something that we’ve been trying to explicitly hide (as you saw on his LinkedIn profile). I have updated the review to state that he’s an investor. Thank you for calling this out.

cyanf 4y ago

Hey, this looks interesting. What set this apart from Anki?

autoconfig 4y ago
Hey thanks for checking it out. Anki is in many ways a great tool and one that I’ve used extensively myself in the past. I felt that the UI could be improved however and that certain features were lacking. One high-level goal was to build an application with a simpler and more modern user experience. On top of that there were features, small and large, that I wanted and felt could only be realized with a new product. Here are some examples: - Simplified navigation when browsing your content. - A rich card editor that behaves more like one you’d find in a modern note taking application. - Search as a first class citizen. - Dedicated functionality for creating language cards. - Proper code blocks for people learning software development. - A way to easily study all my pending items across all folders. - Improved/seamless synchronization (I’d sometimes get sync failures when using Anki on my phone and on the desktop) With that said, the application is still very much in its early stages and there are a lot more features that will be arriving over the coming months.
- cyanf 4y ago
  Very cool! Thanks for the detailed answer. I’ll check it out.

type-r 4y ago

Active Recall looks compelling but it makes me uncomfortable that it says "try for free" but there's no mention of pricing that I could find. What's the planned business model? As a user of Anki for multiple years now, longevity with these products is pretty important to me. Separately, it's pretty surprising to me to see the very first review by the "VP of Engineering at Shopify" without mentioning the fact that they are an investor in Active Recall. [0] Feels like this is counter to the FTC's rules on endorsements. [1] [0] https://www.linkedin.com/in/dalmaer/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/dalmaer/ [1] in particular, § 255.5 of https://www.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/attachments/press-releases/ftc-publishes-final-guides-governing-endorsements-testimonials/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf https://www.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/attachments/press-re...

autoconfig 4y ago
> Active Recall looks compelling but it makes me uncomfortable that it says "try for free" but there's no mention of pricing that I could find. What's the planned business model? As a user of Anki for multiple years now, longevity with these products is pretty important to me. Hey! This will turn into a subscription service at some point but I’m still working out the exact pricing model. Any data that you put into the system however will always be available to you and exportable regardless of if you decide to pay or not. This is mentioned in an email when you sign up but I realize that the communication could be better around this. > Separately, it's pretty surprising to me to see the very first review by the "VP of Engineering at Shopify" without mentioning the fact that they are an investor in Active Recall. [0] Feels like this is counter to the FTC's rules on endorsements. Dion was using the product long before he invested and it’s not something that we’ve been trying to explicitly hide (as you saw on his LinkedIn profile). I have updated the review to state that he’s an investor. Thank you for calling this out.