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I am a very slow learner, I have colleagues who learn things very quickly. Two things that have helped be speed things up is these two: - Spaced repetitions -

I am a very slow learner, I have colleagues who learn things very quickly. Two things that have helped be speed things up is these two: - Spaced repetitions - Active recall

taeric 1y ago
Something that I keep meaning to dive more on here, is an exploration of why spaced repetition and active recall work. I saw a study once that indicated it was largely the "guess and check" aspect of combining these that worked. That is, some people will approach spaced repetition as a means to re-consume the information. But, sadly, that doesn't really work. Instead, those that use it as a means to attempt active recall, effectively "guessing" the answer and then immediately checking that result do see massive gains. To that end, I'm curious if this describes your approach when it works?
- Alifatisk 1y ago
  I think it works because if you see your memories in the brain as a road, it will make sense. Any memory or association you create between two things builds a tiny little road. Your brain scales that road based on how much you use it. Any time you recall that memory by repetition, the road gets stronger, the stronger it is, the more persistent it stays as memory. If you don't use it at all, then at the end, it will get demolished to free the space (you forget). That is the mental model I have of it, I don't know how accurate it is though.
  - taeric 1y ago
    My point was that just seeing the road is not enough to remember it, it seems. You have to predict what is at the end of the road, as well. This is why "flash cards" have the question on one side and the answer on the other. If you just looked at all on one side, then you lose retention. I think the idea is that you want to get your mind trained to create the answer based on the prompt. You don't, necessarily, remember the answer and the prompt, together. Instead, you want you mind to be able to make the answer.
greenavocado 1y ago
The elephant in the room that makes or breaks learning GENERALLY is encoding ability. Spaced repetition is far less effective if you don't build meaningful encodings for knowledge you are learning. Next up is LEARNING first, then remembering. Grinding trivia is not learning. Combine elaborative encoding + self-explanation + dual coding as your core encoding triad. Use mnemonics selectively for hard-to-remember facts. Embed spaced and interleaved practice into your review schedule via tools like Anki or RemNote.
- rahimnathwani 1y ago
  "Next up is LEARNING first, then remembering." This is true for many things, but there are exceptions. For example, my son studied the international phonetic alphabet (IPA) using Anki, without any prior exposure. Now, when he uses a dictionary (paper or online), he can verify the pronunciation of an unfamiliar word. Another example: foreign language vocabulary. These are rote facts. There's no meaningful distinction between 'learning' a foreign word and 'remembering' that word. You cannot say you've 'learned' a word if you cannot already 'remember' it.
- pessimizer 1y ago
  > Next up is LEARNING first, then remembering. Grinding trivia is not learning. You haven't learned anything you can't remember, you've just heard it once. Also, this is horseshit on its face. Sometimes I just need to to remember what dots and dashes in what order mean "J," or how -ar verbs are conjugated in the progressive past. Learning things and remembering them is the same thing. Once you have the facts remembered you can abstract groups of them into parameterized functions, and abstract those parameterized functions, and test how they work in strange contexts, etc. But these are all rewards you get for remembering things. On the other hand, I see no benefit in thing that I "learned" yesterday that I don't remember today. edit: I agree 100% with the prescription, though. But creating lots of spurious associations around pieces of data you want to remember is a temporary measure until you can make more real and useful associations. The process of creating real and useful associations between new information and old knowledge is what I'm referring to when I say "learning." It happens whether you want it to or not. It's a product of the sheer amount of repetition times the salience of the new fact to old knowledge. [edit: although number of sleeps seems to have an effect.]

I am a very slow learner, I have colleagues who learn things very quickly. Two things that have helped be speed things up is these two: - Spaced repetitions - Active recall

taeric 1y ago

Something that I keep meaning to dive more on here, is an exploration of why spaced repetition and active recall work. I saw a study once that indicated it was largely the "guess and check" aspect of combining these that worked. That is, some people will approach spaced repetition as a means to re-consume the information. But, sadly, that doesn't really work. Instead, those that use it as a means to attempt active recall, effectively "guessing" the answer and then immediately checking that result do see massive gains. To that end, I'm curious if this describes your approach when it works?

Alifatisk 1y ago
I think it works because if you see your memories in the brain as a road, it will make sense. Any memory or association you create between two things builds a tiny little road. Your brain scales that road based on how much you use it. Any time you recall that memory by repetition, the road gets stronger, the stronger it is, the more persistent it stays as memory. If you don't use it at all, then at the end, it will get demolished to free the space (you forget). That is the mental model I have of it, I don't know how accurate it is though.
- taeric 1y ago
  My point was that just seeing the road is not enough to remember it, it seems. You have to predict what is at the end of the road, as well. This is why "flash cards" have the question on one side and the answer on the other. If you just looked at all on one side, then you lose retention. I think the idea is that you want to get your mind trained to create the answer based on the prompt. You don't, necessarily, remember the answer and the prompt, together. Instead, you want you mind to be able to make the answer.

greenavocado 1y ago

The elephant in the room that makes or breaks learning GENERALLY is encoding ability. Spaced repetition is far less effective if you don't build meaningful encodings for knowledge you are learning. Next up is LEARNING first, then remembering. Grinding trivia is not learning. Combine elaborative encoding + self-explanation + dual coding as your core encoding triad. Use mnemonics selectively for hard-to-remember facts. Embed spaced and interleaved practice into your review schedule via tools like Anki or RemNote.

rahimnathwani 1y ago
"Next up is LEARNING first, then remembering." This is true for many things, but there are exceptions. For example, my son studied the international phonetic alphabet (IPA) using Anki, without any prior exposure. Now, when he uses a dictionary (paper or online), he can verify the pronunciation of an unfamiliar word. Another example: foreign language vocabulary. These are rote facts. There's no meaningful distinction between 'learning' a foreign word and 'remembering' that word. You cannot say you've 'learned' a word if you cannot already 'remember' it.
pessimizer 1y ago
> Next up is LEARNING first, then remembering. Grinding trivia is not learning. You haven't learned anything you can't remember, you've just heard it once. Also, this is horseshit on its face. Sometimes I just need to to remember what dots and dashes in what order mean "J," or how -ar verbs are conjugated in the progressive past. Learning things and remembering them is the same thing. Once you have the facts remembered you can abstract groups of them into parameterized functions, and abstract those parameterized functions, and test how they work in strange contexts, etc. But these are all rewards you get for remembering things. On the other hand, I see no benefit in thing that I "learned" yesterday that I don't remember today. edit: I agree 100% with the prescription, though. But creating lots of spurious associations around pieces of data you want to remember is a temporary measure until you can make more real and useful associations. The process of creating real and useful associations between new information and old knowledge is what I'm referring to when I say "learning." It happens whether you want it to or not. It's a product of the sheer amount of repetition times the salience of the new fact to old knowledge. [edit: although number of sleeps seems to have an effect.]