And why I think forgetting isn’t a bad thing

1. SUPERINTELLIGENCE

2. Anki: How I Try to Use Forgetting in
My Advantage + Anki Addon
And why I think forgetting isn’t a bad thing
Lorenz Duremdes, Polymath
Jan 20 · 3 min read
quote from the Anki page seems to be:
Remember Efficiently: Only practice the material that you’re about to forget.
I, however, don’t think being unable to recall something is a bad thing per
se.
Why not? Well, there are essentially two components of memory: Storage
strength and retrieval strength.
When you are unable to recall something, it probably means your retrieval
strength wasn’t “strong” enough. The storage strength, however, could have
remained almost stable since the period you first learned something.
This means that when you relearn something, you aren’t exactly “starting
over at zero” (i.e. the storage strength is still present). This is also why many
A

3. Anki users recommend setting “New interval” to anything other than “zero”
(I put mine at 70%):
Guide to Anki Intervals and Learning Steps on YouTube
Taking Advantage of Forgetting
ne way I try to take advantage of forgetting, is that whenever I forget
something, I try to add more “depth” and “analysis” to it i.e. deepen
my understanding so that both my retrieval and storage strength go up.
This is called the “levels-of-processing effect”:
Guide to Anki Intervals and Learning StepsGuide to Anki Intervals and Learning Steps
O

4. The levels-of-processing effect describes memory recall of stimuli as a
function of the depth of mental processing. Deeper levels of analysis
produce more elaborate, longer-lasting, and stronger memory traces
than shallow levels of analysis.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levels-of-processing_effect
There are essentially two ways of making you recall something before
forgetting:
1. Shorten the interval period, or;
2. Trying to understand your “cards” more
Let’s take an example of a card of mine:
Question: Entorhinal cortex main function
Answer: Main interface between the hippocampus and neocortex
1. I could try to memorize this without any understanding of what the
functions are of the “hippocampus” and the “neocortex” nor the concept
of “systems consolidation”. The consequence, then, is that the interval
time between each spaced repetition becomes rather short due to a lack
of understanding (levels-of-processing effect), or;

5. 2. I could also try to put an interval time long enough that I will forget it
X% of repetitions, forcing me to deepen my understanding each time
I forget the answer as well as to increase the interval time, but short
enough that it doesn’t cause a huge drop in storage strength.
That is exactly what this Anki addons does:
Addon:
eshapard/experimentalCardEaseFactor
Adjusts ease factor for cards individually during review an Anki. See…
github.com
Article:
Thoughts On A New Algorithm For Anki
I've had some thoughts about a change to the way Anki handles ease
factors. UPDATE: 2018-01-08 I've shared out the…
eshapard.github.io

6. I personally put my rate of forgetting at 80%, see the video linked above for
the reasoning.
What are your takes on forgetting in learning?
. . .
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