You don't have to use a shoebox for Spaced Repetition, but it's funnier if you do. (Later, we'll look at some Spaced Repetition apps, like Anki & Tinycards) This setup is called The Leitner Box. It's like a card game you play against yourself! First, divide your box up into seven "Levels". Each Level will store some flashcards. Remember: we need to space out our reviews with increasing gaps of time. In the Leitner Box, we double the gap for each Level! So we review Level 1 every day, Level 2 every two days, Level 3 every FOUR days, Level 4 every EIGHT days... and so on. Here's what that looks like over a 64-day, looping calendar: Now, how do you play this game of Spaced Repetition Solitaire? The rules are simple. First, all new cards start at Level 1. (If you're new to Spaced Repetition, I recommend starting with 5 new cards a day.) Every day, review your Levels from highest to lowest. Shuffle each Level's cards first. Every card you get right goes up one Level. (If you're already at the final Level, congrats! Your card gets to retire in Valhalla) However, every card you get wrong... has to go all the way back down to Level 1. (You can change the rules – I mean, it's your shoebox – but I recommend playing this way) Each day, you review Level 1 at the end. You'll see your new cards + the cards you forgot. Keep trying to recall them, until you can get every one right! Move them all to Level 2. And that's all there is to it! Here's how the game plays out, over several days: (Later, we'll see a sim for several months) Each daily review takes 20-30 minutes. Instead of watching a TV episode, you could play a card game – and remember anything you want for life. However, habits are hard. If you start big, you won't get the ball rolling... But if you start small, you can gain momentum, and roll your snowball bigger and bigger. That's why I recommend starting with 5 new cards a day. Once you're comfortable with that, you can do 10 new cards/day. Then 15. Then 20, 25, 30. And at 30 new cards a day, you can learn 10,000+ new facts/words/etc a year. Here's how the game plays out, over several months: That's it. That's how you can make long-term memory a choice. Let's let that sink in. Take a break, and recall what we just learnt: Spaced Repetition almost seems too good to be true.
And it is... IF you fall for some very common pitfalls. Memory isn't a bookshelf where you collect random giant books to impress others. That's to say: Spaced Repetition will fail if your cards feel bloated, disconnected or meaningless. Instead, memory is like a jigsaw puzzle: full of small, connected pieces. (This is also how neurons work: lots of small, connected things) It's not about collection, it's about connection. Thus, to get the most out of Spaced Repetition, you must make your cards... Let's see how. This card sucks: It's too big. Too much information. Let's cut it up into smaller, connected pieces! As a rule of thumb, each flashcard should contain only one idea. Like so: Facts connect to facts. But there's other, more playful ways for cards to be... This card is... alright. It's an English word on the front, French word on the back. It's the standard for most language-learning flashcards: But you know what would make it stick in memory better? If you connected it to pictures, sounds, context, and/or personal details! Like so: The front now has a drawing of a cat (picture) with a fill-in-the-blank French sentence (context: grammar) about my childhood cat, Stripes. (personal) The back now has a symbol of the noun's gender (picture), its pronunciation (sound*), and a warning about the female version of the noun. (context: slang) * Obviously, paper cards can't play sounds. But apps like Anki/Tinycards can! But the most important connection of all, is to connect your learning to something that is... Personally, here's how I've learnt best: First, I try (emphasis on try) to do something. Inevitably, I'll get stuck. In that moment, I'll look up what I need, and learn something. And so on. And so on. And so on. That, I believe, is the best way to keep yourself motivated while learning: By making sure your learning is in service of something you actually care about. Speaking of learning, let's practice recalling what we've learnt: (this will be the second-last time!) These three rules for making cards... ...are why it's consensus among the Spaced Repetition community that, after a while, you should start making your own cards. This way, you can connect facts to things you know, to pictures and sounds you like, in service of something you love. That's why, in the final part of this interactive comic, you're going to make your own cards! And those cards will be about... YOU
On Day [N]... review Levels [N] (in that order) (and then loop back to Day 1!) Day [N] to review: Level review Level [N] add [N] new cards total: [N] cards! ([N] in very-long-term memory) try to recall ↑ then flip ↻ (cards left: [N]) did you remember this? nah, try again yup, onwards! done for now! keep scrolling
↓
cat
(english)
chat
(french)
...then back to doing...
...then back to learning...
What's this?
This organelle is called "mitochondria". Mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell. They're found in almost all eukaryotic (nucleus-having) organisms. The most widely-accepted hypothesis for the origin of mitochondria is Endosymbiotic Theory: around ~1.5 billion years ago, a prokaryotic (nucleus-lacking) cell that was "eaten" by another cell, somehow survived, and has continued to live inside them ever since.
What's this?
Mitochondria
Mitochondria is the _______ of the cell
powerhouse // bonus note: seriously though, we'd all be dead without 'em.
Mitochondria is found in almost all ____ organisms.
eukaryotic
Eukaryotes are cells that...
have a nucleus // bonus note: "eu"=good, "karyon"=kernel
Prokaryotes are cells that...
DON'T have a nucleus // bonus note: "pro"=before, "karyon"=kernel
The most widely-accepted hypothesis for the origin of mitochondria is...
Endosymbiotic Theory // bonus note: "endo"=inner, "sym"=together, "bio"=living
According to Endosymbiotic Theory, mitochondria arose around ____ years ago
~1.5 billion years ago
According to Endosymbiotic Theory, mitochondria first arose when...
when a prokaryote was eaten by another cell
In the Leitner Box, we ______ the gap (# of days between reviews) for each Level
double the gap
The Leitner Box game:
when you get a card right, you move it ______ .
up one Level
The Leitner Box game:
when you get a card wrong, you move it ______ .
back to Level 1!
According to some random comic-game on the internet, my Spaced Repetition flashcards should be ______ , ______ , and ______ .
small, connected & meaningful