I’m getting so sick of this trend of requiring (or at least heavily pushing) an account just to read some content. My latest frustration was the Microsoft community forums taking that turn. No, I don’t want to “engage”—I just need to find the solution to some damn problem. Now I can add Medium to that list.
I use Anki (and the classic version of "SuperMemo") a lot, too. However, I mostly use it for learning languages (vocabulary), or for more complex material in case a test/exam is coming up (to avoid "cramming").
However, I see two problems with such SRS systems, now that I've been using them for over 10 years:
1) I can often not recall the knowledge in real life, simply because I study _both_ the question and answer side of the card - in other words, if I'm asked the question in a rather different way, I might not recall that I know that fact at all. The most extreme example of this was that certain flashcards broke after a while, e.g. showing a gray (instead of a white) background in the question card, for some reason. Whenever that gray card comes up I know the answer immediately, without even having fully read the question (which I forget over time). So in the end, what my brain remembers is: <question card with a medium-length sentence and gray background> comes up -> answer = "propensity". (I'm learning English as a foreign language).
2) A lot of knowledge in books that I read (let's take the "Pragmatic programmer" as an example) is not suited for flash card system learning. It's knowledge of the form "if this happens, do that", e.g. "if you are about to write a new method in your source code, think of how you would test that method first, to improve the method's quality". Sure, I could create a flash card that has the question: "what should you do when you write a new method?", but it's pointless. These kinds of things require deliberate practice for the specific situations, when you are in the IDE, not in the SRS software. It's methodological knowledge where, in the end, it doesn't matter if you could answer the question when someone asked you about it on the street, but it matters that you remember when you're in the actual situation.
1. Creates an anki card with basic word -> definition or image
2. Creates an anki card with writing exercise for the word
3. Creates an anki card with pronunciation exercise for the word (fetches audio file on fly)
4. Creates an anki card featuring a dynamic cloze exercise (fetches 250 example sentences for the word, stores it in a database, serves a random one each time an anki card requests it, a custom-made card (in Anki) hides the word in the sentence, provides the ability to request a new sentence or reveal a letter as a hint)
And adds these cards to a specified deck. It's proved very useful so far.
Anyway you have some really great ideas. Mind if I have a look at your solution?
This is what checklists and reference sheets are for. After learning how to do something, file away a reference somewhere and put the existence of that reference in your SRS. When you come back to that activity after a long break, you then have a physical artifact to help jog your memory.
But it also emphasises putting each idea on its own note, paraphrasing into your own words rather than merely copying, and thinking deeply about other notes and topics you already have that the new note might relate to. And that has to help with remembering them.
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23319745
I think the solution is to get more creative with the cards. Use them as cues for situations, add images, etc. The notecard format is just the way Anki is designed, but SRS doesn’t necessarily need to be limited to a strict text card format.
I read mostly non-fiction. What most people would call business books. I read paper (not digital) and like to highlight. I don't retain a lot of details per se. That said, much of it isn't necessarily new. Often key points are reinforcement of concepts I'm already familiar with.
That said, I do want to start doing ten key points summaries. I see ten as being enough but not too much. To force myself into a box that's chunkable. I'll resign myself to the fact that eleven and beyond just weren't good enough.
I think a lot of the issues you mentioned are hinged on formulation which is a really hard skill and requires a lot of practice. Unfortunately I think anki is terrible for it because unlike SM it’s not that convenient (nor intended) for you to edit cards for applicability on each go.
You highlight text, add notes, and every day you see these highlights and notes over time— all in your inbox or on the app.
I also take notes in a notebook for each chapter. Then write out a summary of the book. Periodically, I'll read through my notes for books. Or I'll watch a summary video on YouTube.
It combines spaced repetition and article in one medium. It is too early for me to really judge its success but i like the idea.
You don't need an account. Just open a private browsing window - at least this works for me.
The method works very well, but creating the cards takes time.
I can't read the article, because I don't have a Medium account.
In any case, I'm guessing that SRS/Anki isn't mentioned. Personally, I've had incredible success with retention by adding my notes from a book to Anki and keeping current with the cards. I'll also add the Wikipedia page and other general information about it.
I would almost argue that reading for information (as opposed to aesthetic enjoyment) is a hugely inefficient waste of time if you don't use a SRS system to retain what you've learned. I've probably read hundreds or thousands of books in my lifetime, but I can really only remember the minute details of the ones I've added to Anki.
This brings to mind an old Schopenhauer quote:
As the biggest library if it is in disorder is not as useful as a small but well-arranged one, so you may accumulate a vast amount of knowledge but it will be of far less value than a much smaller amount if you have not thought it over for yourself.