Spaced repetition is merely an optimal way of organizing repetition. All of the “brilliant” people you’ve met almost certainly study their topics constantly, an

Spaced repetition is merely an optimal way of organizing repetition. All of the “brilliant” people you’ve met almost certainly study their topics constantly, and this daily exposure is itself a form of repetition. This misconception is a common mistake by people that think Anki / SRS are equivalent to the spacing effect itself. That is not the case. The spacing effects exists independently of any particular software implementation. I don’t think any one claims that memorizing a bunch of facts will make you a genius; rather that if you are aiming for optimal learning and memory, SRS is pretty much the gold standard and is backed up by tons of scientific research.