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# spaced repetition
-hermann ebbinghaus, the forgetting curve, and how i use mochi to actually retain what i learn.
+the forgetting curve and how i use mochi to actually retain what i learn.
## the forgetting curve
-ebbinghaus figured this out in 1885 by memorizing nonsense syllables and testing himself at intervals. the finding: you forget most of what you learn within 24-48 hours, following an exponential decay curve. without review, retention drops to maybe 20% within a week.
-
-the critical insight: each review flattens the curve. the first review might push retention from 20% back to 90%. the second review, done a few days later, pushes it back up and the curve decays slower. by the fourth or fifth review, spaced out over weeks, the memory is basically permanent.
+ebbinghaus discovered in 1885 that you forget most of what you learn within 24-48 hours, following an exponential decay — but each review flattens the curve, and by the fourth or fifth spaced review the memory is basically permanent.
this is not controversial in cognitive science — meta-analyses of 250+ studies confirm that spaced practice produces 10-30% better retention than massed practice (cramming).
@@ -39,8 +37,6 @@ what doesn't work well as cards:
spaced repetition is an instance of a broader principle: learning happens at the edge of forgetting. you need to almost-forget something before reviewing it — that's what makes the review effortful and therefore effective.
-this maps onto [[deliberate-practice]] — effective practice is supposed to be uncomfortable. if the review is easy, the interval is too short and you're wasting time.
-
## connection to building things
the best spaced repetition system isn't mochi — it's using what you learn in real projects. see [[building-to-learn]]. if i learn a concept and then use it in code the next week and again in a different project the following month, that's natural spaced repetition with the added benefit of contextual practice.
@@ -49,6 +45,6 @@ mochi fills the gap for things i need to remember but don't naturally encounter
## practical notes
-- i do mochi reviews in the morning — it's low-energy work that gets the brain moving before diving into [[deep-work]]
+- i do mochi reviews in the morning — it's low-energy work that gets the brain moving
- card quality matters more than card quantity. a bad card wastes time forever. see [[operation-optimization]] — small improvements to card writing pay compound dividends
- the habit of making cards is harder to maintain than the habit of reviewing them. mochi's scheduling handles reviews automatically; the bottleneck is creating good cards from new learning
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