“It made me realize most of us are so mentally unfit today because of things like PDAs & Google.”
That’s the final sentence in this revealing interview with Chris Khoo, a Brisbane-based programmer and user of a software tool which claims to help you remember learned information forever.
If you’ve set any self-directed learning goals this year then Chris’s experiences with ’spaced-repetition’ methods may inspire you.
Not convinced?
OK, in these dodgy economic times, where job security now feels like skating over ever thinner ice, here’s another quote from the same interview:
“I definitely have more confidence now. I can rattle off memorized material at work meetings and people have noticed the improvement.”
That got my attention – imagine starting a consulting assignment and being quickly up to speed with all the most pertinent facts.
Of course, this is not a free pass – regular practice is necessary and there’s a big initial investment of time, but the payoff can be spectacular.
As one of my informal learning goals this year includes passing a Japanese language exam, I decided to check out the spaced-repetition software mentioned by Chris – Supermemo (mine is the older ‘2002′ version).
Unfortunately, I still find the supermemo interface a little clunky to use and have begun testing a much simpler tool called Jmemorize – an open source Java Flashcard program based on the famous ‘Leitner‘ system.
(Note to Supermemo purists – yes, I know, this is somewhat different to PW’s ideas. I may end up using both programs for different goals…)
BTW – if ’spaced-repetition’ intrigues you, then check out this incredible article on wired.com by Gary Wolf, all about Supermemo’s Polish inventor, Piotr Wozniak.
- Mark McClure
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