En la mitología griega, Mnemosyne, la diosa de la Memoria...
...era la madre de las Musas, las diosas de la inspiración.
música
teatro
fanfic raro
¿Qué tal les va a la Memoria e Inspiración en los colegios?
bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla
Pues eso.
Nó solo que técnicas comunes como clases, empollar y releer son aburridas,
la ciencia ha mostrado que ni siquiera funcionan bien.*
* ¡todas las fuentes y enlaces estarán al final del cómic!
¿Y si te digo que hay una forma
que funciona bien y es divertida?
¿Y si te digo que hay un juego de memoria que, jugando unos 20 minutos al día,
te permite guardar lo que elijas en tu mente para siempre?*
* hasta que mueras
Y es increíble.
Empecé a usar Repaso Espaciado a principios de año para aprender francés.
En dos meses, aprendí más palabras que en dos años
de clases de francés en el instituto.
Desde entonces, he usado Repaso Espaciado para recordar todo tipo de cosas...
notas de ukelele
código de ordenador
cumpleaños de amigos
¡cualquier dato curioso que encuentre en libros o artículos!
...y este jueguito de memoria se hizo una parte clave de mi vida.
En resumen, Repaso Espaciado = pruebas + tiempo.
Haces pruebas con un dato repetidas veces, separando tus repeticiones en el tiempo.
(¿Pero no durará demasiado? Veremos más tarde que hay un truco...)
Repaso Espaciado es gratis, basado en evidencia, y tan sencillo que lo puedes hacer con una caja de zapatos.
nicky cállate
Entonces, ¿cuál es la trampa? ¿Por qué no está todo el mundo usándolo?
La trampa que hacer cualquier hábito nuevo es difícil,
especialmente uno raro como Repaso Espaciado.
llega el profe
Por eso hice este comic interactivo mal dibujado.
En este comic del Repaso Espaciado,
te mostraré POR QUÉ funciona, CÓMO funciona...
...y te ayudaré a que empieces HOY.
También, a lo largo del cómic,
puedes probar lo que has aprendido,
en intervalos separados.
Es decir: usarás Repaso Espaciado para aprender sobre el Repaso Espaciado.
Tal que así:
Aún así, ¿no es "aprender de memoria" malo?
¿No podemos buscar todo hoy en día?
¿No deberíamos aprender mejor creatividad y pensamiento crítico?
No hay un "mejor".
La ciencia cognitiva muestra
que necesitas memorización para la creatividad y el pensamiento crítico.
(¡Imagina escribir una redacción sin conocer las palabras!)
MEMORIA
arte
ciencia
El Repaso Espaciado no es un "truco para estudiar".
Es una forma de recuperar el control de tu mente.
De hacer la memoria a largo plazo una opción.
De crear una pasión por aprender...
...de crear to propia Musa interior.
Tony Stark casi resopla cuando una mano con guante bajó por su espalda.
La presión era suave y casi reconfortante.
Obama se ríe. "Dices, el-
Empecemos.
LA CIENCIA del
REPASO ESPACIADO
En 1885, Hermann Ebbinghaus hizo una acción de masoquismo científico.
El psicólogo alemán memorizó miles de palabras sin sentido,
anotó cuántas se había olvidado con el tiempo, y descubrió...
LA CURVA DEL OLVIDO
Observó que olvidas la mayoría de lo que aprendes en las primeras 24 horas,
y, si no haces repasos, tus memorias restantes se pierden exponencialmente.*
* técnicamente la curva no es exactamente
exponencial, pero bueno, se parece.
Los filósofos han debatido sobre la memoria durante milenios,
pero Ebbinghaus fue el primero en hacer experimentos.
(que han sido repetidos)
ay...
máta-
me...
Por ese motivo, Hermann Ebbinghaus es conocido como
el pionero de la ciencia de la memoria.
Aquí tienes una simulación de la Curva del Olvido.
Cambia la velocidad del olvido. ¿Qué le pasa a la curva?
Como puedes ver, cuanta menos velocidad, más llana es la curva,
es decir, más dura la memoria.
La velocidad de olvido de una persona depende de la persona y su memoria...
¡hola! ¿cómo decías que te llamabas?
jaja. soy susan.
Pero en general, la "velocidad de olvido" baja cada vez que lo recuerdas activamente.
(comparado con releer pasivamente)
susan. susan. susan. susan. susan.
(pero, cuando dejas de practicar, sigue olvidándose)
¡bueno, adiós, sarah!
susan.
¡adiós, sandy!
SUSAN.
Aquí está otra vez la simulación, pero con una sesión de repaso.
(línea gris: lo que sería la memoria sin ese repaso)
Cambia el tiempo del repaso, a ver qué le ocurre a la curva:
Un sólo repaso refresca la memoria por un tiempo, pero a la larga,
por el olvido exponencial, un sólo repaso no cambia nada.
¿Hay una forma mejor de aprender?
¡Sí que hay! El truco de recordar...
...es casi olvidar.
Para entenderlo, piensa en entrenar tus músculos.
No te sirve de nada un peso demasiado ligero...
...ni uno demasiado pesado.
Lo mismo se aplica a entrenar el cerebro.
Necesitas dificultad óptima: el punto óptimo de dificultad.
cómodo
incómodo
demasiado fácil
punto óptimo
demasiado difícil
Por tanto: lo mejor para aprender algo, es recordarlo...
...cuando estás a punto de olvidarlo.
La misma simulación de antes ahora muestra el
punto óptimo,
cuando has olvidado sólo un poquito.Pon el repaso en el medio del punto óptimo. ¿Qué ocurre?
¿Lo ves? Si haces un repaso en el momento perfecto,
¡puedes ralentizar un poco el olvido!
Pero ¿y con varios repasos?
Pongamos que eres una persona
vaga
eficiente, así que sólo haces 4 repasos.
Pregunta:
¿cuál es la mejor forma de repartir los repasos?
susan
¿Deberías tener huecos del mismo tamaño?
¿Ir aumentándolos?
¿O decreciéndolos?
¿O hacerlo impredecible, para mantener la atención?
= repaso
tiempo
huecos iguales:
crecientes:
decrecientes:
al azar:
Intenta adivinarlo,
y cuando tengas respuesta, voltea la tarjeta ↓
¡Lo cual parece muy contradictorio!
Puedes demostrarte que es cierto jugando con la simulación de abajo.
Lleva todos los repasos al medio del punto óptimo.
¿Qué espacios salen?
(Para probar que no es coincidencia,
en este otro puedes cambiar
la velocidad de olvido y el punto óptimo.
Observa cómo en todos los casos normales,
¡la mejor opción son los "huecos crecientes"!)
¿Por qué los huecos crecen?
Porque cada vez que repasas en el punto óptimo del olvido,
la velocidad de olvido baja...
eres
¡SUSAN!
–qué co
...¡por lo que tardarás más
en llegar al punto la próxima vez!
¿Y sabes lo mejor de todo?
Que si haces tus repasos en el momento justo...
...puedes guardar cualquier cantidad de cosas en tu memoria,
PARA SIEMPRE.
Hablando de hacer repasos para aprender,
vamos a hacer memoria sobre lo que hemos aprendido:
Pinta bien,
pero encontrar un horario de Repasos Espaciados debe ser díficil, ¿verdad?
¡Al revés!
Es tan sencillo, que te puedes hacer un planificador automático...
...con una caja de zapatos.
THE ART of
SPACED REPETITION
You don't have to use a shoebox for Spaced Repetition,
but it's funnier if you do.
and this is my private tutor
???
they're TRAINERS
we're not friends anymore
(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".
(You can have more or fewer if you like!)
All new flashcards start at Level 1.
(If you're new to Spaced Repetition, I recommend starting with 5 new cards a day.)
When you review a card, and get it right, it moves up one Level.
(If you're at the final Level, congrats!
Your card retires. Off it goes, to card heaven.)
But if you review a card, and get it wrong... it has to go
all the way back down to Level 1.
(If it's already at Level 1, good news:
you can keep testing yourself on it until you get it right,
and move it up to Level 2)
But when do we review cards?
That's the trick.
In the Leitner Box, we review Level 1 cards every day,
Level 2 every two days, Level 3 every FOUR days,
Level 4 every EIGHT days, etc...
The pattern is: we double the gap (# of days between reviews) for each Level!
Here's what the looping 64-day game calendar looks like:
(Note: the reason we review Level 1 at the end
is so you'll see your new cards and the cards you forgot from higher Levels.)
(At the end of a daily game of Spaced Repetition,
leave no cards in Level 1.
Test yourself until you can get them all right,
and move them up to Level 2!)
(Note #2: Spaced Repetition apps like Anki use a more sophisticated algorithm...)
(...but at its core, they work on the same principles as the Leitner Box)
(Note #3: Oh, and with a few index cards & tape,
you can make your own foldable, looping calendar!)
(at the end, I'll link to a video tutorial for crafting a Leitner Box)
Now, to show the game in action!
Here's a step-by-step simulation of the Leitner Box:
(we'll see a month-by-month sim later)
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.
na na na na na na na na na
katamari damacy
Now, here's the month-by-month simulation.
Use this to calculate in advance how much you can learn with Spaced Repetition!
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 tomes to impress others.
a bunch of
crap you'll
never get
around to
reading
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...
SMALL
CONNECTED
& MEANINGFUL
Let's see how.
SMALL
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 have one & only one idea.
Like so:
Facts connect to facts.
But there's other, more playful ways for cards to be...
CONNECTED
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...
MEANINGFUL
Personally, here's how I've learnt best:
First, I try (emphasis on try) to do something.
play the ukulele
read french comics
make a web game
Inevitably, I'll get stuck.
In that moment, I'll look up what I need,
and learn something.
how do you play F#?
what's "attraper" mean?
why is javascript such a piece of sh–
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 doing something you care about.
Speaking of learning, let's practice recalling what we've learnt:
(this will be the second-last time!)
The consensus in the Spaced Repetition community is,
after a while, you should make your own cards.
This way, you can connect facts to what you know, what 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
GET STARTED TODAY!
To help you get started with Spaced Repetition today,
you need to answer four questions:
WHAT?
WHY?
HOW?
WHEN?
You'll answer these questions by making flashcards!
So, here's the front of our first flashcard, our first question:
For example, you could use Spaced Repetition to help you learn...
a new language
a new instrument
computer programming
details of friends' lives
anything interesting you find, anywhere!
all the pokémon
Now, you write your answer on the back:
(note: you can scroll back here & change your answer later)
However, recall that for Spaced Repetition to work,
you need to connect it to something you care about.
So our next question is:
That may be too philosophical, so here's some
concrete examples of a why behind a what:WHAT: a new language
WHY: to speak to friends, family, lovers in their native tongue
WHAT: computer programming
WHY: to make money so you can eat
WHAT: anything interesting
WHY: curiosity, for its own sake!
So... what's your why?
You now have your what and why... but we still need to pick a how!
That is, what tool/app do you want to use?
Our next card asks:
I currently use
The Leitner Box,
but my friends use
Anki,
and for a while I used
TinyCards.
(links open in new tabs)
Here's how they compare:
Leitner Box
Pros: arts-and-craftsy, easy to use
Cons: not as portable as an app
Anki (app)
Pros: huge community, open-source, lots of powerful features
Cons: kinda ugly
TinyCards (app)
Pros: beautiful design, easy to use
Cons: max 150 cards per deck, doesn't let you decide if you got a card right
(Want something else?
Here's a few other tools:
SuperMemo,
NimbleNotes,
Mnemosyne)
* anti-disclaimer: i am not affiliated with any of these.
i just think they're cool & helpful!
So, what's it gonna be?
Just one card left!
Now: doing Spaced Repetition is actually quite easy...
however, doing it as a daily habit is hard.
Why? Because getting the ball rolling on any new habit is hard.
Hard, but straightforward.
The science of habits shows that if you do the same thing, given the same cue,
over and over...
have a nice day!
thanks, you too!
happy holidays!
thanks, you too!
here's your change!
thanks, you too!
...it'll become a habit, for better or worse.
So for a Spaced Repetition habit, our question is:
For example, you could play the Spaced Repetition game...
after you wake up
on your commute
before sleeping
It doesn't really matter when you do it, as long as you do it
daily and consistently (more or less - you can skip a day once in a while).
(Tip: whenever I try to create a new habit,
I draw a circle on a calendar for each day I successfully do it)
(It's a game I play with myself! The goal is to try not break
my streak, and build the longest chain I can.)
Now, let's fill out that final flashcard:
Et voilà, here's all four of your flashcards, all about you!
But like I said, I want to help you take control of your memory today.
Not "eventually", not "tomorrow", TODAY.
so to help...
let's download some
COOL GOODIES
FIRST:
to remind you to play the Spaced Repetition game daily!
SECOND:
And finally,
THIRD:
a .zip of all the flashcards you've been practicing in this interactive comic!
(These can be your first few days' worth of Spaced Repetition cards,
to help you get started! And as a plus, you'll get to remember everything
you learnt here today, forever-ish.)
Which reminds me...
one last goodbye,
for old time's sake,
the final swan song!
...let's review our flashcards, all of them:
Sniff...
It's always so hard to say goodbye...
HONK
I'll miss the time we had together...
...but I hope we live on in each others' memories!
If you're a student, I hope Spaced Repetition
helps you be more confident, and take learning into your own hands.
If you're a teacher,
please oh please tell your students about Spaced Repetition
(& other evidence-based study habits) early on.
But whether you're in or out of school,
I hope Spaced Repetition helps you develop your memory, your mind,
your Muse...
"no!" screamed the mitochondria, as she slid down the cell's warm, wet throat. "i don't–
...and learn one of life's greatest loves:
a lifelong love of learning.
(Want to learn/play more? Further reading & credits below!)
↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓
Also, this interactive comic is
PUBLIC DOMAIN
meaning you can freely use this thing for educational, personal, or even commercial purposes.
You already have my permission!
(Download the code)
(Translate this comic)
However, I'm only able to do this thanks to my 1,000+ Patreon supporters.
They let me keep doing what I love. Thank you! 💖
(Wanna chip in too? Click here!)
Further Reading
Something something shoulders of giants.
Here are the reads that made Spaced Repetition a part of my daily life:
🤓
Augmenting Long-Term Memory
by Michael Nielsen
showed me that Spaced Repetition wasn't just a tool for memorization,
it's a tool to build deep understanding. It could even be a way of life.
💬
Fluent Forever
by Gabriel Wyner
convinced me to finally (re)start learning French,
and create a Leitner Box. (my 64-day calendar was adapted from this book)
🃏
20 Rules for Cards
by Piotr Wozniak taught me how to squeeze the most out of Spaced Repetition.
(Note: the author also invented the algorithm used by Anki!)
And my favorite reads on the science of learning:
👩🎓
Why Don't Students Like School?
by Daniel Willingham
proved to me that "mere memorization" is actually necessary
for creativity & critical thinking.
✏️
What Works, What Doesn't [PDF]
by Dunlosky et al
summarizes 200+ studies on various learning methods.
In sum: common techniques like re-reading & highlighting don't work,
less-common techniques like spacing & self-testing do.
(Link to original paper)
👀 Thank you to all my playtesters for making this project not suck:
Aatish Bhatia, Adam Filinovich, Aimee Jarboe, Alex Jaffe, Amit Patel, Andy Matuschak, B Cavello, Chris Walker, Frank Lantz, Gal Green, Glen Chiacchieri, Hamish Todd, Henry Reich, Jacque Goupil, James Lytle,
Jez Swanson, Josh Comeau, Kayle Sawyer, Levi Robertson, Marcelo Gallardo, Martyna Wasiluk, Michael Nielsen, Mikayla Hutchinson, Mike Gifford, Monica Srivastava, Owen Landgren,
Paul Butler, Paul Simeon, Philipp Wacker, Pontus Granström, Rowan, Sebastian Morr, SpacieCat, Tanya Short, Tim & Alexandra Swast, Tom Hermans, Toph Tucker, Will Harris-Braun, Zeno Rogue
Introducción
·
La Ciencia
·
El Arte
·
¡Comienza!
·
Créditos
intenta recordarlo ↑
y dale la vuelta ↻
(quedan [N] cartas)
¿te acordabas de esto?
no, dale otra vez
¡sí, sigamos!
¡todo listo! sigue leyendo
↓
¡eso es todo, amigos!
↓
fuerza de la memoria →
tiempo →
velocidad:
punto óptimo:
cuándo se hace el repaso:
cuándo se hacen los repasos:
¡auto-optimizar!
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] retired)
next step
next day
next week
next month
[N] new cards a day
recall [N]% of cards wrong
RESET
Pregunta:
escribe aquí tu respuesta
or pick one of these suggestions:
Anything interesting!
A language
Music
Coding
Personal
(other)
For people I love
For my own sake
For curiosity's sake
(other)
Leitner Box
Anki
TinyCards
(other)
In the morning
On my commute
In the evening
(other)
WHAT:
WHY:
DO
ME!
wallpaper
a wallpaper for your desktop,
a lock-screen wallpaper for your phone,
a video, by my dear friend Chris Walker, on how to craft your very own Leitner Box!
a link to
TinyCards!
(i recommend checking out their
geography decks)
links to tutorials on crafting a Leitner Box
[video]
[pdf],
the Anki app,
and
TinyCards!
DOWNLOAD ALL CARDS
DOWNLOADING...
DONE! Check your Downloads folder.
How To Remember Anything Forever-ish
an interactive comic on the art & science of memory
y el nombre de este juego es...
REPASO ESPACIADO
Repaso Espaciado = ____ + ____
pruebas + tiempo
3 técnicas de aprendizaje comunes pero inefectivas son...
...clases, empollar y releer
En la mitología griega,
la diosa de ____
era la madre de las diosas de
________
Memoria es la madre de Inspiración
la mejor forma de repartir los repasos es...
¡con huecos crecientes!
El pionero en ciencia experimental de la memoria es...
Hermann Ebbinghaus
La Curva del Olvido (sin repasos) tiene una forma...
(nota: baja rápido y después lento, "reducción exponencial")
La Curva del Olvido (con repasos bien separados) tiene una forma...
(nota: los huecos entre repasos crecen en longitud)
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
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...
FIRST:
to remind you to play the Spaced Repetition game daily!
