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9eB1 comments on Anki decks by LW users - Less Wrong
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Comments (57)
benthamite, have you had success using decks you have not built yourself?
I once tried with the list of cognitive biases, and again with german and it was an atrocious experience. I thought then that I was violating rule 2:
"Learn before you memorize Before you proceed with memorizing individual facts and rules, you need to build an overall picture of the learned knowledge. Only when individual pieces fit to build a single coherent structure, will you be able to dramatically reduce the learning time. This is closely related to the problem comprehension mentioned in Rule 1: Do not learn if you do not understand. A single separated piece of your picture is like a single German word in the textbook of history.
Do not start from memorizing loosely related facts! First read a chapter in your book that puts them together (e.g. the principles of the internal combustion engine). Only then proceed with learning using individual questions and answers (e.g. What moves the pistons in the internal combustion engine?), etc."
Maybe it is possible to study the material by yourself first and then use someone else's deck - experience will tell, for me it doesn't work. Then again I can imagine that different people build different models of the same information and thus require different cards.
If you had success (or not) using other's people decks please reply (also mention which subject - I predict something like multiplication tables or such that is just "hard memorizing" and little understanding is easier)
People who learn about spaced repetition are always tempted to look for existing decks to memorize, but I think this is a false efficiency. In order to memorize a deck of material, you are going to be dedicating a non-trivial portion of your life to memorizing its content. The time spent actually creating the cards is substantially less than the time spent quizzing for almost any material. I'm not completely against pre-existing decks, but I think people just need to keep perspective.
One of the biggest lessons SRS will teach you is humility: the amount you will ever be able to learn is extremely finite. Use it wisely.
The time is so limited, and yet even the inefficient use of time is better than wasting it completely. Using someone else's Anki deck may be a way to overcome akrasia. It could make a difference between starting to learn a topic now or postponing it to unspecified "later".
This said, I personally prefer making my own cards. On the other hand, it is probably not efficient. I just enjoy the feeling of control over the deck. I could probably get the same level of control more efficiently by starting with someone else's deck and then editing anything I don't agree with.