Why use spaced repetition?

19 Oct, 2024

The essential argument

1. You need to remember things. Maybe it's the fact you keep looking up at work; maybe it's family members' birthdays; maybe it's the locations of all the cranial nerves.
2. Spaced repetition is the best paradigm we have for remembering things efficiently.
3. So spaced repetition can probably help you.

Objections and replies

1. "It would be a hassle to remember to use an app."

Reply: It's really not so bad! Or, at least, it's not as annoying or as time-consuming as forgetting things over and over again. The software could be more ergonomic, but I'm trying to help with that.

2. "Some disciplines aren't about memorizing facts. Learning facts won't help me actually understand things in those domains."

Reply: Even if a domain involves a lot more than recalling facts, there is always a core of facts the mastery of which will help you. Moreover, spaced repetition can help you build intuition and conceptual understanding; this post is a nice summary of relevant techniques.

3. "I don't have time to memorize things."

Reply: We all need to remember different things, but just about everyone needs to remember some things. You might not want to memorize things recreationally, but for the things you have to remember, spaced repetition is the most efficient way we have.

So: if you don't have the time for spaced repetition, you really don't have time for any other memorization system--e.g., looking things up over and over as you forget them.