In Greek mythology, Mnemosyne, the goddess of Memory... ...was the mother of the Muses, the goddesses of inspiration. So, how's Memory and Inspiration doing in schools? Yeah. Not only are common practices like lectures, re-reading, and highlighting boring, science has shown they don't even work well.* * all sources and links will be at the end of this comic! But what if I said there's a way to learn that's evidence-based and fun? What if I said there's a memory card game you can play, for 20 minutes a day, to store anything you choose into long-term memory, forever? And it's awesome. I started using Spaced Repetition earlier this year to learn French. In two months, I learnt more words than I did in two years of high school classes. Since then, I've used Spaced Repetition to remember all sorts of things... ...and this lil' memory card game became a core part of my life. In short, Spaced Repetition = testing + time. You test yourself on a fact again and again, spacing out your repetitions over time. (Wouldn't this take forever? Ah, but as we'll see later, there's a trick...) Spaced Repetition is free, evidence-based, and so simple you can do it with a shoebox. So, what's the catch? Why isn't everyone already doing Spaced Repetition? Well, the catch is that making any new habit is hard – especially a weird habit like Spaced Repetition. That's why I made this badly-drawn interactive comic. In this comic on Spaced Repetition, I'll show you WHY it works, HOW it works... ...and help you get started with it TODAY. Also, throughout this comic, you can test yourself on what you've learnt, at spaced-out intervals. That is: you'll use Spaced Repetition to learn about Spaced Repetition.

Like so: Still, isn't "rote memorization" bad? Can't we look everything up these days? Shouldn't we learn creativity & critical thinking instead? There is no "instead". Cognitive science shows you need memorization for creativity & critical thinking. (Imagine writing an essay if you know no words!) Spaced Repetition isn't a "study trick". It isn't a "life hack". It's a way to take back control of your mind. To make long-term memory a choice. To develop a lifelong love of learning... ...to mother your own, inner Muse. Let's begin.
try to recall ↑ then flip ↻ (cards left: [N]) did you remember this? nah, try again yup, onwards! done for now! keep scrolling
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and the name of this game is...
SPACED REPETITION
Spaced Repetition = ____ + ____
testing + time
3 common but ineffective learning/teaching practices are...
...lectures, re-reading, and highlighting
In Greek Mythology, the goddess of ____ was the mother of the goddesses of ________
Memory is the mother of Inspiration