Effective Learning - Twenty Rules of Formulating Knowledge

5/7/2017 Effective learning: Twenty rules of formulating knowledge | SuperMemo.
com
DrPiotrWozniak,February,1999
Thisarticlewillhelpyouovercomeoneofthegreatestdifficultiesyouwillfacewhentryingto
acceleratelearning:formulatingknowledge
Thespeedoflearningwilldependonthewayyouformulatethematerial.Thesamematerialcanbe
learnedmanytimesfasterifwellformulated!Thedifferenceinspeedcanbestunning!
Therulesarelistedintheorderofimportance.Thoselistedfirstaremostoftenviolatedorbringmost
benefitifcompliedwith!
Thereisanunderlyingassumptionthatyouwillproceedwithlearningusingspacedrepetition,i.e.youwill
notjustlearnoncebutyouwillrepeatthematerialoptimally(asinSuperMemo).
The20rulesofformulatingknowledgeinlearning
1.Donotlearnifyoudonotunderstand
Tryingtolearnthingsyoudonotunderstandmayseemlikeanutmostnonsense.Still,anamazing
proportionofstudentscommittheoffenceoflearningwithoutcomprehension.Veryoftentheyhave
nootherchoice!Thequalityofmanytextbooksorlecturescriptsisdeplorablewhileexamination
deadlinesareunmovable.
IfyouarenotaspeakerofGerman,itisstillpossibletolearnahistorytextbookinGerman.The
bookcanbecrammedwordforword.However,thetimeneededforsuch"blindlearning"is
astronomical.Evenmoreimportant:Thevalueofsuchknowledgeisnegligible.Ifyoucrama
Germanbookonhistory,youwillstillknownothingofhistory.
TheGermanhistorybookexampleisanextreme.However,thematerialsyoulearnmayoftenseem
wellstructuredandyoumaytendtoblameyourselfforlackofcomprehension.Soonyoumaypollute
yourlearningprocesswithagreatdealofuselessmaterialthattreacherouslymakesyoubelieve"it
willbeusefulsomeday".
2.Learnbeforeyoumemorize
Beforeyouproceedwithmemorizingindividualfactsandrules,youneedtobuildanoverallpicture
ofthelearnedknowledge.Onlywhenindividualpiecesfittobuildasinglecoherentstructure,will
youbeabletodramaticallyreducethelearningtime.Thisiscloselyrelatedtotheproblem
comprehensionmentionedinRule1:Donotlearnifyoudonotunderstand.Asingleseparatedpiece
ofyourpictureislikeasingleGermanwordinthetextbookofhistory.
Oursiteusescookies.Byusingourserviceyouconfirmthatyouacceptthis
Donotstartfrommemorizinglooselyrelatedfacts!Firstreadachapterinyourbookthatputsthem
fact.FindoutmoreinthePrivacyPolicy.
together(e.g.theprinciplesoftheinternalcombustionengine).Onlythenproceedwithlearning
https://www.supermemo.com/en/articles/20rules 1/22
5/7/2017 Effective learning: Twenty rules of formulating knowledge | SuperMemo.com
usingindividualquestionsandanswers(e.g.Whatmovesthepistonsintheinternalcombustion
engine?),etc.
3.Builduponthebasics
Thepictureofthelearnedwhole(asdiscussedinRule2:Learnbeforeyoumemorize)doesnot
havetobecompletetothelastdetail.Justtheopposite,thesimplerthepicturethebetter.The
shortertheinitialchapterofyourbookthebetter.Simplemodelsareeasiertocomprehendand
encompass.Youcanalwaysbuilduponthemlateron.
Donotneglectthebasics.Memorizingseeminglyobviousthingsisnotawasteoftime!Basicsmay
alsoappearvolatileandthecostofmemorizingeasythingsislittle.Bettererronthesafeside.
Rememberthatusuallyyouspend50%ofyourtimerepeatingjust35%ofthelearnedmaterial
[source]!Basicsareusuallyeasytoretainandtakeamicroscopicproportionofyourtime.However,
eachmemorylapseonbasicscancostyoudearly!
4.Sticktotheminimuminformationprinciple
Thematerialyoulearnmustbeformulatedinassimplewayasitis
Simpleiseasy
Bydefinition,simplematerialiseasytoremember.Thiscomesfromthefactthatitssimplicity
makesiseasyforthebraintoprocessitalwaysinthesameway.Imaginealabyrinth.When
makingarepetitionofapieceofmaterial,yourbrainisrunningthroughalabyrinth(youcan
viewaneuralnetworkasatangleofpaths).Whilerunningthroughthelabyrinth,thebrain
leavesatrackonthewalls.Ifitcanruninonlyoneuniqueway,thepathiscontinuousand
easytofollow.Iftherearemanycombinations,eachrunmayleaveadifferenttracethatwill
interferewithothertracesmakingitdifficulttofindtheexit.Thesamehappensonthecellular
levelwithdifferentsynapticconnectionsbeingactivatedateachrepetitionofcomplexmaterial
Repetitionsofsimpleitemsareeasiertoschedule
Iassumeyouwillmakerepetitionsofthelearnedmaterialusingoptimuminterrepetition
intervals(asinSuperMemo).Ifyouconsideranitemthatiscomposedoftwosubitems,you
willneedtomakerepetitionsthatarefrequentenoughtokeepthemoredifficultitemin
memory.Ifyousplitthecomplexitemintosubitems,eachcanberepeatedatitsownpace
savingyourtime.Veryoften,inexperiencedstudentscreateitemsthatcouldeasilybesplitinto
tenormoresimplersubitems!Althoughthenumberofitemsincreases,thenumberof
repetitionsofeachitemwillusuallybesmallenoughtogreatlyoutweighthecostof(1)
forgettingthecomplexitemagainandagain,(2)repeatingitinexcessivelyshortintervalsor(3)
actuallyrememberingitonlyinpart!
Hereisastrikingexample:
IllformulatedknowledgeComplexandwordy
Q:WhatarethecharacteristicsoftheDeadSea?
A:SaltlakelocatedontheborderbetweenIsraelandJordan.Itsshorelineisthelowestpoint
ontheEarth'ssurface,averaging396mbelowsealevel.Itis74kmlong.Itisseventimes
assalty(30%byvolume)astheocean.Itsdensitykeepsswimmersafloat.Onlysimple
organismscanliveinitssalinewaters
WellformulatedknowledgeSimpleandspecific
Q:WhereistheDeadSealocated?
A:ontheborderbetweenIsraelandJordan
Q:WhatisthelowestpointontheEarth'ssurface?
A:TheDeadSeashoreline
Q:WhatistheaveragelevelonwhichtheDeadSeaislocated?
A:400meters(belowsealevel)
Q:HowlongistheDeadSea?
A:70km
Q:HowmuchsaltieristheDeadSeathantheoceans?
A:7times
Q:WhatisthevolumecontentofsaltintheDeadSea?
A:30%
Q:WhycantheDeadSeakeepswimmersafloat?
A:duetohighsaltcontent
Q:WhyistheDeadSeacalledDead?
A:becauseonlysimpleorganismscanliveinit
Q:WhyonlysimpleorganismscanliveintheDeadSea?
A:becauseofhighsaltcontent
Youmightwanttoexperimentandtrytolearntwosubjectsusingthetwoaboveapproachesandsee
foryourselfwhatadvantageisbroughtbyminimuminformationprinciple.Thisisparticularlyvisiblein
thelongperspective,i.e.thelongerthetimeyouneedtorememberknowledge,themoreyou
benefitfromsimplifyingyouritems!
Noteintheexampleabovehowshortthequestionsare.Notealsothattheanswersareeven
shorter!Wewantaminimumamountofinformationtoberetrievedfrommemoryinasingle
repetition!Wewantanswertobeasshortasimaginablypossible!
Youwillnoticethattheknowledgelearnedintheillstructuredexampleisnotentirelyequivalentto
thewellstructuredformulation.Forexample,althoughyouwillrememberwhytheDeadSeacan
keepswimmersafloat,youmayforgetthatitatallhassuchacharacteristicinthefirstplace!
Additionally,rounding396to400and74to70producessomelossofinformation.Thesecanbe
remediedbyaddingmorequestionsormakingthepresentonesmoreprecise.
YouwillalsolosetheabilitytofluentlyrecitethedescriptionoftheDeadSeawhencalleduptothe
blackboardbyyourteachers.Ibet,however,thatshininginfrontoftheclassisnotyourultimategoal
inlearning.Toseehowtocopewithrecitationsandpoems,readfurther(sectiondevotedto
enumerations)
5.Clozedeletioniseasyandeffective
Clozedeletionisasentencewithitspartsmissingandreplacedbythreedots.Clozedeletion
exerciseisanexercisethatusesclozedeletiontoaskthestudenttofillinthegapsmarkedwiththe
threedots.Forexample,Bill...[name]wasthesecondUSpresidenttogothroughimpeachment.
Ifyouareabeginnerandifyoufinditdifficulttosticktotheminimuminformationprinciple,usecloze
deletion!Ifyouareanadvanceduser,youwillalsolikeclozedeletion.Itisaquickandeffective
methodofconvertingtextbookknowledgeintoknowledgethatcanbesubjecttolearningbasedon
spacedrepetition.Clozedeletionmakesthecoreofthefastreadingandlearningtechniquecalled
incrementalreading.
IllformulatedknowledgeComplexandwordy
Q:WhatwasthehistoryoftheKaleidacompany?
A:Kaleida,fundedtothetuneof$40millionbyAppleComputerandIBMin1991.Hypedas
aredhotstartup,Kaleida'smissionwastocreateamultimediaprogramminglanguageIt
finallyproducedone,calledScriptX.Butittookthreeyears.Meanwhile,companiessuchas
MacromediaandAsymetrixhadsnappedupallthebusiness.Kaleidaclosedin1995
WellformulatedknowledgeSimpleclozedeletion
Q:Kaleidawasfundedtothetuneof...(amount)byAppleComputerandIBMin1991
A:$40million
Q:Kaleidawasfundedtothetuneof$40millionby...(companies)in1991
A:AppleandIBM
Q:Kaleidawasfundedtothetuneof$40millionbyAppleComputerandIBMin...(year)
A:1991
Q:...(company)missionwastocreateamultimediaprogramminglanguage.Itfinally
producedone,calledScriptX.Butittookthreeyears
A:Kaleida's
Q:Kaleida'smissionwastocreatea...Itfinallyproducedone,calledScriptX.Butittook
threeyears
A:multimediaprogramminglanguage
Q:Kaleida'smissionwastocreateamultimediaprogramminglanguage.Itfinallyproduced
one,called...Butittookthreeyears
A:ScriptX
Q:Kaleida'smissionwastocreateamultimediaprogramminglanguage.Itfinallyproduced
one,calledScriptX.Butittook...(time)
A:threeyears
Q:Kaleida'smissionwastocreateamultimediaprogramminglanguage:ScriptX.Butittook
threeyears.Meanwhile,companiessuchas...hadsnappedupallthebusiness
A:Macromedia/Asymetrix
Q:Kaleida'smissionwastocreateScriptX.Butittookthreeyears.Meanwhile,companies
suchasMacromediaandAsymetrixhadsnappedupallthebusiness.Kaleidaclosedin...
(year)
A:1995
Optional:SuperMemoRecipe:
SuperMemo2002 SuperMemo2000 SuperMemo98/99
Creatingcloze
Generatingaclozedeletionsfromtexts Clozedeletionsin
deletionsinnew
placedintheclipboardinSuperMemo SuperMemo98/99:
SuperMemos:
2000:
1.PressCtrl+Atoadda
selectthekeyword
standardquestion
thatistobe 1.PressCtrl+Alt+Ntopastethetext
andansweritem
replacedwithtree fact.FindoutmoreinthePrivacyPolicy.
toSuperMemo
dotsandpress 2.Pastethetextintothe
2.Selectthepartthatistobe
Alt+Z questionfield.This
replacedwiththreedots
willcreatetheoutline
ofyouritems
3.Rightclicktoopenthecomponent
3.PressCtrl+Alt+Uto
menuandselectReading:
Duplicatethe
Remembercloze(orclickoneof
element
clozeiconsonthereadingtoolbar)
4.Selectthepartthatis
tobereplacedwith
threedots
5.Cuttheselectionto
theclipboard(e.g.
withShift+Del)
6.Typeinthreedots
(optionally,addthe
explanationin
parenthesesasin
aboveexamples)
7.PressCtrl+Ttosave
thequestionfieldand
movetotheanswer
field
8.Pastethetextcutin
Step5(e.g.with
Shift+InsorCtrl+V).
Yourfirstitemis
ready
9.PressPgUptogo
backtotheoutline
itemcreatedinStep
10.GotoStep3and
continueaddingnew
items
6.Useimagery
Visualcortexisthatpartofthebraininwhichvisualstimuliareinterpreted.Ithasbeenverywell
developedinthecourseofevolutionandthatiswhywesayonepictureisworthathousandwords.
Indeedifyoulookatthenumberofdetailskeptinapictureandtheeasinesswithwhichyour
memorycanretainthem,youwillnoticethatourverbalprocessingpowerisgreatlyinferioras
comparedwiththevisualprocessingpower.Thesamereferstomemory.Agraphicrepresentationof
informationisusuallyfarlessvolatile.
Usuallyittakesmuchlesstimetoformulateasimplequestionandanswerpairthantofindor
produceaneatgraphicimage.Thisiswhyyouwillprobablyalwayshavetoweighupcostand
profitsinusinggraphicsinyourlearningmaterial.Wellemployedimageswillgreatlyreduceyour
learningtimeinareassuchasanatomy,geography,geometry,chemistry,history,andmanymore.
ThepowerofimageryexplainswhytheconceptofTonyBuzan'smindmapsissopopular.Amind
mapisanabstractpictureinwhichconnectionsbetweenitscomponentsreflectthelogical
connectionsbetweenindividualconcepts.
Lessbeneficialformulation
Q:WhatAfricancountryislocatedbetweenKenya,ZambiaandMozambique?
A:Tanzania
Moreeffectiveformulation
Q:WhatAfricancountryismarkedwhiteonthemap?
A:Tanzania
7.Usemnemonictechniques
Mnemonictechniquesarevarioustechniquesthatmakerememberingeasier.Theyareoften
amazinglyeffective.Formoststudents,apictureofa10yearoldmemorizingasequenceof50
playingcardsvergesondiscoveringayounggenius.Itisverysurprisingthentofindouthoweasyit
istolearnthetechniquesthatmakeitpossiblewithadoseoftraining.Thesetechniquesare
availabletoeveryoneanddonotrequireanyspecialskills!
Beforeyoustartbelievingthatmasteringsuchtechniqueswillprovideyouwithaneternalsolutionto
theproblemofforgetting,bewarnedthatthetruebottlenecktowardslonglastinganduseful
memoriesisnotinquicklymemorizingknowledge!Thisisindeedtheeasierpart.Thebottlenecklies
inretainingmemoriesformonths,yearsorforlifetime!Toaccomplishthelatteryouwillneed
SuperMemoandthecompliancewiththe20rulespresentedherein.
Therehavebeendozensofbookswrittenaboutmnemonictechniques.Probablythosewrittenby
TonyBuzanaremostpopularandrespected.Youcansearchthewebforkeywordssuchas:mind
maps,peglists,mnemonictechniques,etc.
Experienceshowsthatwithadoseoftrainingyouwillneedtoconsciouslyapplymnemonic
techniquesinonly15%ofyouritems.Withtime,usingmnemonictechniqueswillbecome
automatic! fact.FindoutmoreinthePrivacyPolicy.
Exemplarymindmap:
(SixStepsmindmapgeneratedinMindManager3.5,importedtoSuperMemo2004,courtesyof
JohnEngland,TeamLinkAustralia)
8.Graphicdeletionisasgoodasclozedeletion
Graphicdeletionworkslikeclozedeletionbutinsteadofamissingphraseitusesamissingimage
component.Forexample,whenlearninganatomy,youmightpresentacomplexillustration.Onlya
smallpartofitwouldbemissing.Thestudent'sjobistonamethemissingarea.Thesame
illustrationcanbeusedtoformulate1020items!Eachitemcanaskaboutaspecificsubcomponent
oftheimage.Graphicdeletionworksgreatinlearninggeography!
Exemplarygraphicdeletion:
SuperMemo2000/2002 SuperMemo99
InSuperMemo99youwillneedafewmoresteps:
Thisishowyoucan
quicklygenerategraphic 1.Createanitemcontainingthefollowingcomponents:
deletionusingapicture
questiontext:Whatisthenameoftheareacovered
fromtheclipboard:
withtheredrectangle?
1.PressShift+Insto emptyanswertext(clickAnsweronthecomponent
pastethepictureto menu)
SuperMemo yourillustration(useImportfileontheimage
2.PressCtrl+Shift+M componentmenu)
andchoose redrectanglecomponent(chooseredcolorwithColor
Occlusiontemplate ontherectanglecomponentmenu)
toapplygraphic
2.ChooseDuplicateontheelementmenu(e.g.bypressing
deletiontemplate
Ctrl+Alt+U)
3.SuperMemo2000
3.Ctrl+clicktherectanglecomponenttwicetoplaceitinthe
only:Choose
draggingmode
Ctrl+Shift+F2to
4.Dragandsizetheredrectangletocovertheareainquestion
imposeanddetach
5.Typeintheanswerintheanswerfield
theOcclusion
6.PressPgUptogobacktotheoriginalelementcreatedin
template
Step1
4.Filloutthefields
7.GotoStep2toaddgeneratemoregraphicdeletions
andplacethe
occlusionrectangle
Notethatyoucouldalsopaintcoveringrectanglesorcirclesonthe
tocoverthe
originalimagebutthiswouldgreatlyincreasethesizeofyour
appropriatepartof
collection.Theabovemethodmakessurethatyoureusethe
thepicture(use
sameimagemanytimesinallitemsofthesametemplate.For
Alt+clicktwiceto
example,thecollectionBrainAnatomyavailablefrom
settherectanglein
>SuperMemoLibraryandonSuperMemoMegaMixCDROM
thedraggingmode)
usestheabovetechnique
Amoredetailedrecipeforcreatingocclusiontestsispresentedin:Flowofknowledge
9.Avoidsets
Asetisacollectionofobjects.Forexample,asetoffruitsmightbeanapple,apearandapeach.A
classicexampleofanitemthatisdifficulttolearnisanitemthatasksforthelistofthemembersofa
set.Forexample:WhatcountriesbelongtotheEuropeanUnion?Youshouldavoidsuchitems
wheneverpossibleduetothehighcostofretainingmemoriesbasedonsets.Ifsetsareabsolutely
necessary,youshouldalwaystrytoconvertthemintoenumerations.Enumerationsareorderedlists
ofmembers(forexample,thealphabeticallistofthemembersoftheEU).Enumerationsarealso
hardtorememberandshouldbeavoided.However,thegreatadvantageofenumerationsoversets
isthattheyareorderedandtheyforcethebraintolistthemalwaysinthesameorder.Anorderedlist
ofcountriescontainsmoreinformationthanthesetofcountriesthatcanbelistedinanyorder.
Paradoxically,despitecontainingmoreinformation,enumerationsareeasiertoremember.The
reasonforthishasbeendiscussedearlierinthecontextoftheminimuminformationprinciple:you
shouldalwaystrytomakesureyourbrainworksintheexactlysamewayateachrepetition.
Inthecaseofsets,listingmembersinvaryingorderateachrepetitionhasadisastrouseffecton
memory.Itisnearlyimpossibletomemorizesetscontainingmorethanfivememberswithouttheuse
ofmnemonictechniques,enumeration,grouping,etc.Despitethisclaim,youwilloftensucceeddue
tosubconsciouslymasteredtechniquesthathelpyougoaroundthisproblem.Thosetechniques,
however,willfailyoualltoooften.Forthatreason:Avoidsets!Ifyouneedthembadly,convertthem
intoenumerationsandusetechniquesfordealingwithenumerations
IllformulatedknowledgeSetsareunacceptable!
Q:WhatcountriesbelongtotheEuropeanUnion(2002)?
A:Austria,Belgium,Denmark,Finland,France,Germany,Greece,Ireland,Italy,
Luxembourg,theNetherlands,Portugal,Spain,Sweden,andtheUnitedKingdom
WellformulatedknowledgeConvertingasetintoameaningfullisting
Q:WhichcountryhostedameetingtoconsiderthecreationofaEuropeanCommunityof
Defencein1951?
A:France
Q:WhichcountriesapartfromFrancejoinedtheEuropeanCoalandSteelCommunityin
1952?
A:Germany,ItalyandtheBenelux
Q:WhatcountriesmakeuptheBenelux?
A:Belgium,Luxembourg,andtheNetherlands
Q:WhosemembershipdidCharlesdeGaulleopposeinthe1960s?
A:thatofUK fact.FindoutmoreinthePrivacyPolicy.
Q:WhichcountriesjoinedtheEECalongtheUKin1973?
A:IrelandandDenmark
Q:WhichcountryjoinedtheEECin1981?
A:Greece
Q:WhichcountriesjoinedtheEECin1986?
A:SpainandPortugal
Q:WhichcountriesjoinedtheEUin1995?
A:Austria,SwedenandFinland
Q:WhatwasthehistoriccourseofexpansionoftheEuropeanUnionmembership?
A:(1)Franceand(2)Germany,ItalyandtheBenelux,(3)UKand(4)IrelandandDenmark,
(5)Greece,(6)SpainandPortugaland(7)Austria,SwedenandFinland
Notethatintheexampleabove,weconverteda15membersetinto9items,fiveofwhichare23
membersets,andoneisasixmemberenumeration.PutittoyourSuperMemo,andseehoweasyit
istogeneratethelistoftheEuropeanUnionmembersusingthehistorictimeline!Notethetricks
usedwithFranceandtheUK.Theyjoinedtheunioninthecompanyofothersbuthavebeenlisted
asseparateitemstosimplifythelearningprocess.Notealsothatthesumofinformationincludedin
thiswellformulatedapproachisfargreaterthanthatoftheoriginalset.Thusalongsimplicity,we
gainedsomeusefulknowledge.Allindividualitemseffectivelycomplywiththeminimuminformation
principle!YoucouldgofurtherbytryingtosplittheGermanyItalyBeneluxsetorusingmnemonic
techniquestomemorizethefinalsevenmemberenumeration(i.e.thelastofthequestionsabove).
However,youshouldtakethosestepsonlyifyouhaveanyproblemswithretainingtheproposedset
inmemory.
10.Avoidenumerations
Enumerationsarealsoanexampleofclassicitemsthatarehardtolearn.Theyarestillfarmore
acceptablethansets.Avoidenumerationswhereveryoucan.Ifyoucannotavoidthem,dealwith
themusingclozedeletions(overlappingclozedeletionsifpossible).Learningthealphabetcanbea
goodexampleofanoverlappingclozedeletion:
Hardtolearnitem
Q:Whatisthesequenceoflettersinthealphabet?
A:abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
Easytolearnitems
Q:Whatthreelettersdoesthealphabetbeginwith?
A:ABC
Q:FilloutthemissinglettersofthealphabetA.........E
A:B,C,D
Q:FilloutthemissinglettersofthealphabetB.........F
A:C,D,E
Q:FilloutthemissinglettersofthealphabetC.........G
A:D,E,F
Theaboveitemswillmakelearningthealphabetmuchfaster.Thegreatestadvantageoftheabove
approachisthatisiteasierforpsychologicalreasons:thestudentdoesnothavetostoprepetitions
torecitethewholesequenceandcanonlyfocusonasmallpartofthelearnedmaterial.Stillitis
recommendedthatherecitethewholealphabetaftermakingtherepetition.However,onceall
individualpiecesarewellremembered,recitingthewholeshouldbeapleasantandspeedyaction
thatproduceslittlefrustration.
Theclozedeletionusedaboveisanoverlappingclozedeletion,i.e.thesamepartsofthe
enumerationarestrengthenedinmemoryusingdifferentitems(forexample,thesequenceCDwill
beneededtorecallthesecondandthethirditem).Thisredundancydoesnotcontradictthe
minimuminformationprinciplebecausetheextrainformationisaddedinextraitems.
Youcanalsodealwithenumerationsbyusinggroupinglikeinthecaseofsets(seetheEuropean
Unionexample)butclozedeletionsshouldbesimplerandshouldsufficeinmostcases.
Learningpoemsisanexampleoflearningenumerations(allwordsandsentenceshavetobe
utteredinapredefinedsequence)however,duetostrongsemanticconnections,therhymeandthe
rhythm,itmayoftenbepossibletoeffectivelyrememberpoemswithoutusingclozedeletionand
withoutthefrustrationofforgettingsmallsubcomponentsagainandagain.However,onceyounotice
youstumblewithyourpoem,youshoulddismemberitusingclozedeletionandthusmakesurethat
thelearningisfast,easy,effectiveandpleasurable
Apoemthatishardtoremember
Q:Thecreditbelongs...(TeddyRoosevelt)
A:Thecreditbelongstothemanwho'sactuallyinthearena,whosefaceismarredbydust
andsweatamanwhoknowsthegreatenthusiasmandthegreatdevotions,whospends
himselfinaworthycause,whointheendknowsthetriumphofhighachievement,sothathis
placeshallneverbewiththosecoldandtimidsoulswhoknowneithervictorynordefeat
Apoemsplitintoeasyitems
Q:Thecreditbelongs...(TeddyRoosevelt)
A:tothemanwho'sactuallyinthearena
Q:Thecreditbelongstothemanwho'sactuallyinthearena...
A:whosefaceismarredbydustandsweat(amanwhoknowsthegreatenthusiasm)
Q:whosefaceismarredbydustandsweat...(Thecreditbelongs)
A:amanwhoknowsthegreatenthusiasmandthegreatdevotions(whospendshimselfina
worthycause)
Q:amanwhoknowsthegreatenthusiasmandthegreatdevotions...(Thecreditbelongs)
A:whospendshimselfinaworthycause(whointheendknowsthetriumphofhigh
achievement)
Q:whospendshimselfinaworthycause...(Thecreditbelongs)
A:whointheendknowsthetriumphofhighachievement(sothathisplaceshallneverbe),
etc.etc.
Doesitallsoundartificial?Itdoes!Butyouwillneverknowhoweffectivethisapproachisuntilyou
tryitbyyourself!
11.Combatinterference
Whenyoulearnaboutsimilarthingsyouoftenconfusethem.Forexample,youmayhaveproblems
distinguishingbetweenthemeaningsofthewordshistoricandhistorical.Thiswillevenbemore
visibleifyoumemorizelotsofnumbers,e.g.optimumdosagesofdrugsinpharmacotherapy.If
knowledgeofoneitemmakesithardertorememberanotheritem,wehaveacaseofmemory
interference.Youcanoftenrememberanitemforyearswithstraightexcellentgradesuntil...you
memorizeanotheritemthatmakesitnearlyimpossibletoremembereither!Forexample,ifyoulearn
geographyandyoumemorizethatthecountrylocatedbetweenVenezuela,SurinameandBrazilis
Guyana,youarelikelytoeasilyrecallthisfactforyearswithjustacoupleofrepetitions.However,
onceyouaddsimilaritemsaskingaboutthelocationofallthesecountries,andFrenchGuyana,and
Colombiaandmore,youwillsuddenlynoticestrongmemoryinterferenceandyoumayexperience
unexpectedforgetting.Insimpleterms:youwillgetconfusedaboutwhatiswhat.
Interferenceisprobablythesinglegreatestcauseofforgettingincollectionsofanexperienceduser
ofSuperMemo.Youcanneverbesurewhenitstrikes,andtheonlyhermeticprocedureagainstitis
todetectandeliminate.Inotherwords,inmanycasesitmaybeimpossibletopredictinterference
atthemomentofformulatingknowledge.Interferencecanalsooccurbetweenremotelyrelated
itemslikeGuyana,GuyardandGuyenne,aswellasGuyana,kaymanand...aspirin.Itmaywork
differentlyforyouandforyourcolleague.Itveryhardtopredict.
Stillyoushoulddoyourbesttopreventinterferencebeforeittakesitstoll.Thiswillmakeyour
learningprocesslessstressfulandmentallybearable.Herearesometips:
makeitemsasunambiguousaspossible
sticktotheminimuminformationprinciple(manyoftheremainingrulesinthistextarebased
onavoidinginterference!)
eliminateinterferenceassoonasyouspotit,i.e.beforeitbecomesyourobsession(e.g.as
soonasyouseethewordineptyouthink"IknowthemeaningsofineptandinaptbutIwill
neverknowwhichiswhich!")
inSuperMemouseView:Otherbrowsers:Leeches(Shift+F3)toregularlyreview
andeliminatemostdifficultitems
readmore:Memoryinterference
12.Optimizewording
Thewordingofyouritemsmustbeoptimizedtomakesurethatinminimumtimetherightbulbin
yourbrainlightsup.Thiswillreduceerrorrates,increasespecificity,reduceresponsetime,andhelp
yourconcentration.
Lessoptimumitem:clozedeletionthatistoowordy
Q:Aldusinventeddesktoppublishingin1985withPageMaker.Aldushadlittlecompetition
foryears,andsofailedtoimprove.ThenDenverbased...blewpast.PageMaker,now
ownedbyAdobe,remainsNo.2
A:Quark
Betteritem:fewerwordswillspeeduplearning
Q:Aldusinventeddesktoppublishingin1985withPageMakerbutfailedtoimprove.Then...
blewpast(PageMakerremainsNo.2)
A:Quark
Orbetter:
Q:AldusinventeddesktoppublishingwithPageMakerbutfailedtoimprove.Itwassoon
outdistancedby...
A:Quark
Orbetter: fact.FindoutmoreinthePrivacyPolicy.
Q:PageMakerfailedtoimproveandwasoutdistancedby...
A:Quark
Orbetter:
Q:PageMakerlostgroundto...
A:Quark
Notethatthelossofinformationcontentinthisitemisinconsequential.Duringrepetitionyouare
onlysupposedtolearnthename:Quark.Youshouldnothopethatthetrailingmessagesonthe
ownershipofPageMakerandtheyearofitsdevelopmentwillsomehowtrickletoyourmemoryasa
sideeffect.Youshoulddecideiftheotherpiecesofinformationareimportanttoyouandifso,store
theminseparateitems(perhapsreusingtheabovetext,employingclozedeletionagainand
optimizingthewordinginanewway).Otherwisetheredundantinformationwillonlyslowdownyour
learningprocess!
13.Refertoothermemories
Referringtoothermemoriescanplaceyouriteminabettercontext,simplifywording,andreduce
interference.Intheexamplebelow,usingthewordshumbleandsupplicanthelpsthestudentfocus
onthewordshamelesslyandthusstrengthenthecorrectsemantics.Betterfocushelpseliminating
interference.Secondly,theuseofthewordshumbleandsupplicantmakesitpossibletoavoid
interferenceofcringingwiththesewordsthemselves.Finally,theproposedwordingisshorterand
morespecific.Naturally,therulesbasicstodetailsanddonotlearnwhatyoudonotunderstand
requirethatthewordshumbleandsupplicantbelearnedbeforehand(oratleastatthesametime)
Itemsubjecttostronginterference
Q:derog:adj:shamelesslyconsciousofone'sfailingsandaskinginabeggingway
A:cringing
Itemthatusesinterferingmemoriestoamplifythecorrectmeaning
Q:derog:adj:shamelesslyhumbleandsupplicant
A:cringing
14.Personalizeandprovideexamples
Oneofthemosteffectivewaysofenhancingmemoriesistoprovidethemwithalinktoyour
personallife.Intheexamplebelowyouwillsavetimeifyouuseapersonalreferenceratherthan
tryingtopaintapicturethatwouldaptlyillustratethequestion
Harderitem
Q:Whatisthenameofasoftbedwithoutarmsorback?
A:divan
Easieritem
Q:Whatisthenameofasoftbedwithoutarmsorback?(liketheoneatRobert'sparents)
A:divan
IfyourememberexactlywhatkindofsoftbedcanbefoundinRobert'sparents'apartmentyouwill
savetimebynothavingtodigexactlyintothesemanticsofthedefinitionand/orlookingforan
appropriategraphicillustrationforthepieceoffurnitureinquestion.Personalizedexamplesarevery
resistanttointerferenceandcangreatlyreduceyourlearningtime
15.Relyonemotionalstates
Ifyoucanillustrateyouritemswithexamplesthatarevividorevenshocking,youarelikelyto
enhanceretrieval(aslongasyoudonotoverusesametoolsandfallvictimofinterference!).Your
itemsmayassumebizarreformhowever,aslongastheyareproducedforyourprivate
consumption,theendjustifiesthemeans.Useobjectsthatevokeveryspecificandstrongemotions:
love,sex,war,yourlaterelative,objectofyourinfatuation,LindaTripp,NelsonMandela,etc.Itis
wellknownthatemotionalstatescanfacilitaterecallhowever,youshouldmakesurethatyouare
notdeprivedofthesaidemotionalcluesatthemomentwhenyouneedtoretrieveagivenmemoryin
areallifesituation
Harderitem
Q:alightandjokingconversation
A:banter
Easieritem
Q:alightandjokingconversation(e.g.MandelaanddeKlerkin1992)
A:banter
IfyouhavevividandpositivememoriesrelatedtothemeetingsbetweenNelsonMandelaandF.W.
deKlerk,youarelikelytoquicklygraspthemeaningofthedefinitionofbanter.Withouttheexample
youmightstrugglewithinterferencefromwordssuchasbadinageorevenchat.Thereisnoriskof
irrelevantemotionalstateinthisexampleasthestatehelpstodefinethesemanticsofthelearned
concept!Awellthoughtexamplecanoftenreduceyourlearningtimeseveraltimes!Ihaverecorded
examplesinwhichanitemwithoutanexamplewasforgotten20timeswithinoneyear,whilethe
sameitemwithasubtleinterferencebustingexamplewasnotforgottenevenonceintenrepetitions
spreadoverfiveyears.Thisisroughlyequivalentto25foldsavingintimeintheperiodof20
years!Suchexamplesarenotrare!Theyaremosteffectivelyhandledwiththeallthepreceding
rulestargetedonsimplicityandagainsttheinterference
16.Contextcuessimplifywording
YoucanusecategoriesinSuperMemo2000/2002,providedifferentbranchesofknowledgewitha
differentlook(differenttemplate),usereferencelabels(Title,Author,Date,etc.)andclearlylabel
subcategories(e.g.withstringssuchaschemforchemistry,mathformathematics,etc.).Thiswill
helpyousimplifythewordingofyouritemsasyouwillberelievedfromtheneedtospecifythe
contextofyourquestion.Intheexamplebelow,thewelldefinedprefixbioch:savesyoualotof
typingandalotofreadingwhilestillmakingsureyoudonotconfusetheabbreviationGREwith
GraduateRecordExamination.Notethatintherecommendedcase,youprocesstheitemstarting
fromthelabelbiochwhichputsyourbrainimmediatelyintherightcontext.Whileprocessingthe
lesseroptimumcase,youwillwastepreciousmillisecondsonflashingthestandardmeaningofGRE
and...whatisworse...youwilllightupthewrongareasofyourbrainthatwillnowperhapsbeprone
tointerference!
Wordyitemcancauseaccidentallapsesthroughinterference
Q:WhatdoesGREstandforinbiochemistry?
A:glucocorticoidresponseelement
Contextlabeleditemsincreasesuccessrate
Q:bioch:GRE
A:glucocorticoidresponseelement
17.Redundancydoesnotcontradictminimuminformationprinciple
Redundancyinsimpletermsismoreinformationthanneededorduplicateinformation,etc.
Redundancydoesnothavetocontradicttheminimuminformationprincipleandmayevenbe
welcome.Theproblemofredundancyistoowideforthisshorttext.Herearesomeexamplesthat
areonlytoillustratethatminimuminformationprinciplecannotbeunderstoodasminimumnumber
ofcharactersorbitsinyourcollectionsorevenitems:
passiveandactiveapproach:ifyoulearnaforeignlanguage,e.g.Esperanto,youwilloften
buildwordpairssuchasphonetelefono,languagelingvo,hopeesperanto,etc.Thesepairs
requireactiverecalloftheforeignword.Activerecalldoesnot,however,guaranteepassive
recognitionandyoumayfailwithtelefonophone,lingvolanguage,oresperantohope.Adding
newelementswithswappedquestionsandanswersmayinsomecasesberedundantbutit
doesnotcontradicttheminimuminformationprinciple!Youritemsarestillassimpleas
possible.Youjustgetmoreofthem
InSuperMemo2000/2002,youcanquicklygenerateswappedwordpairitemswith
Duplicate(Ctrl+Alt+D)andSwap(Ctrl+Shift+S)
reasoningcues:youwilloftenwanttoboostyourreasoningabilitybyaskingaboutasolution
totheproblem.Insteadofjustmemorizingtheansweryouwouldliketoquicklyfollowthe
reasoningsteps(e.g.solveasimplemathematicalequation)andgeneratetheanswer.Insuch
acase,providingthehintonthereasoningstepsintheanswerwillonlyservehelpingyou
alwaysfollowtherightpathatrepetitions
derivationsteps:inmorecomplexproblemstosolve,memorizingindividualderivationsteps
isalwayshighlyrecommended(e.g.solvingcomplexmathematicalproblems).Itisnot
cramming!Itismakingsurethatthebraincanalwaysfollowthefastestpathwhilesolvingthe
problem.Formoreonboostingcreativityandintelligenceread:Rootsofgeniusandcreativity,
aswellasmorespecific:Derivation,reasoningandintelligence
multiplesemanticrepresentation:veryoftenthesameknowledgecanberepresentedand
viewedfromdifferentangles.Memorizingdifferentrepresentationsofthesamefactorruleis
recommendedincaseswhereagivenmemoryisofhighvalue.Thiswillincreasetheexpected
recallrate(beyondthatspecifiedwiththeforgettingindex)!
flexiblerepetition:iftherearemanyvalidresponsestothesamequestionmakesurethat
yourrepresentationmakesitpossibletoidentifytheequivalenceandrewardyouwithgood
gradesbyprovidingjustoneoftheequivalentchoices.Forexample,ifyoulearnalanguage,it
rarelymakesensetolearnallsynonymsthatmeetadefinitionofaconcept.Itismore
adequatetoconsiderasinglesynonymasthesufficientanswer(e.g.amarkmadebyinkspilt
onsth=blot/blob/blotch)
more
18.Providesources
Exceptforwelltestedandprovenknowledge(suchas2+2=4),itishighlyrecommendedthatyou
includesourcesfromwhichyouhavegatheredyourknowledge.Inreallifesituationyouwilloftenbe
confrontedwithchallengestoyourknowledge.Sourcescancometoyourrescue.Youwillalsofind
thatfactsandfiguresdifferdependingonthesource.Youcanreallybesurprisedhowfrivolously
reputableinformationagenciespublishfiguresthataredrasticallydifferentfromotherequally
reputablesources.WithoutSuperMemo,thosediscrepanciesareoftendifficulttonotice:beforeyou
encounterthenewfact,theoldoneisoftenlongforgotten.Withsourcesprovided,youwillbeableto
makemoreeducatedchoicesonwhichpiecesofinformationaremorereliable.Addingreliability
labelsmayalsobehelpful(e.g.Watchout!,Othersourcesdiffer!,etc.).Sourcesshouldaccompany
youritemsbutshouldnotbepartofthelearnedknowledge(unlessitiscriticalforyoutobeableto
recallthesourcewheneverasked).
19.Providedatestamping
Knowledgecanberelativelystable(basicmath,anatomy,taxonomy,physicalgeography,etc.)and
highlyvolatile(economicindicators,hightechknowledge,personalstatistics,etc.).Itisimportant
thatyouprovideyouritemswithtimestampingorothertagsindicatingthedegreeofobsolescence.
Incaseofstatisticalfigures,youmightstampthemwiththeyeartheyhavebeencollected.When
learningsoftwareapplications,itisenoughyoustamptheitemwiththesoftwareversion.Onceyou
havenewerfiguresyoucanupdateyouritems.Unfortunately,inmostcasesyouwillhavetore
memorizeknowledgethatbecameoutdated.Datestampingisusefulineditingandverifyingyour
knowledgehowever,youwillrarelywanttomemorizestampingitself.Ifyouwouldliketoremember
thechangesofagivenfigureintime(e.g.GNPfiguresoveranumberofyears),thedatestamping
becomesthelearnedknowledgeitself.
20.Prioritize
Youwillalwaysfacefarmoreknowledgethatyouwillbeabletomaster.Thatiswhyprioritizingis
criticalforbuildingqualityknowledgeinthelongterm.Thewayyouprioritizewillaffectthewayyour
knowledgeslotsin.Thiswillalsoaffectthespeedoflearning(e.g.see:learnbasicsfirst).Thereare
manystagesatwhichprioritizingwilltakeplaceonlyfewarerelevanttoknowledgerepresentation,
butallareimportant:
1.Prioritizingsourcestherewillalwaysbeanumberofsourcesofyourknowledge.Ifyouare
stillatstudentyears:thesewillmostlikelybebooksandnotespertainingtodifferentsubjects.
Otherwiseyouwillprobablyrelymoreonjournals,Internet,TV,newspapers,encyclopedias,
dictionaries,etc.Itisalwaysworthbeingawarewhatistheoptimumproportionoftimedevoted
tothosevariedsources.Asyouprogresswithlearning,youwillquicklydevelopagoodsense
ofwhichlearningslotsbringbetterresultsandwhichmightbeextendedatthecostofothers
2.Extractingknowledgeunlessyouareabouttopassanimportantexam,itnearlynever
makessensetomemorizewholebooksorwholearticles.Youwillneedtoextractthoseparts
thataremostlikelytoimpactthequalityofyourknowledge.Youcandoitby(1)marking
paragraphsinabookorjournal,(2)pastingrelevantwebpagestoSuperMemo,(3)pasting
relevantpassagestoSuperMemo,(4)typingfactsandfiguresdirectlytoSuperMemonotes,
etc.Youwillneedsomeexperiencebeforeyoucanaccuratelymeasurehowmuchknowledge
youcanindeedtransfertoyourbrainandwhatdegreeofdetailyoucanfeasiblymaster.Your
bestwaytoprioritizetheflowofknowledgeintoyourmemoryistouseincrementalreading
tools
3.TransferringknowledgetoSuperMemoyoumaytrytostickwiththe20rulesofformulating
knowledgeatthemomentofintroducingyourmaterialtoSuperMemo.However,youcanalso
literallytransferyournotesorimportwholefilesandlaterusethemechanismsprovidedby
SuperMemotodeterminetheorderofprocessingtheimportedmaterial.Probablythebest
criterionforchoosingbetweenformulatingorjustimportingisthetimeneededforaccurately
formulatingtheitemoritems.Ifformulationrequiresmoreknowledge,moretime,comparing
withothersources,etc.youcanjustimport.Otherwise,ifyoubelievethatformulatingan
accurateitemisamatterofseconds,formulateit
4.Formulatingitemsmakesurethatexplanatoryoroptionalcomponentsoftheanswerare
placedintheparenthesessothatyourattentionisfocusedonthemostimportantpartofthe
item.Thepartsintheparenthesescanbereadaftertherepetitiontostrengthenthememoryin
itscontext
5.Usingforgettingindexyoucanusetheforgettingindextoprioritizependingitems.The
sequenceofrepetitionswillnaturallybedeterminedbySuperMemohowever,youcanrequest
higherretentionlevelforitemsthataremoreimportantandlowerretentionlevelforitemsof
lowerpriority Oursiteusescookies.Byusingourserviceyouconfirmthatyouacceptthis
6.Learningtheprocessofprioritizingdoesnotendwiththeonsetofrepetitions.Herearethe
toolsyoucanusetocontinuesettingyourprioritieswhilethelearningprocessisunderway:
1.Remember(Ctrl+M)rememorizeitemsofhighprioritythathavechangedorwhichare
extremelyimportanttoyourknowledgeatagivenmoment.IfyouchooseCtrl+Myouwill
beabletodeterminethenextintervalforthecurrentlyrevieweditem(itsrepetition
counterwillberesettozero).Itisrecommendedthatyoualwaysrememorizeitems
whosecontenthaschangedsignificantly
2.Reschedule(Ctrl+J)manuallyschedulethedateofthenextrepetition
3.Executerepetition(Ctrl+Shift+R)manuallyexecutearepetitionevenbeforethe
repetition'sduedate(e.g.whenreviewingparticularlyimportantmaterial)
4.Forget(Ctrl+R)removethecurrentitemfromthelearningprocessandplaceitatthe
endofthependingqueue
5.Dismiss(Ctrl+D)ignorethecurrentiteminthelearningprocessaltogether
6.Delete(Ctrl+Shift+Del)removethecurrentitemfromyourcollection
7.Changetheforgettingindexofmemorizeditemsorchangetheordinalofpendingitems
(Ctrl+Shift+P)
Summary
Hereagainarethetwentyrulesofformulatingknowledge.Youwillnoticethatthefirst16rulesrevolve
aroundmakingmemoriessimple!Someoftherulesstronglyoverlap.Forexample:donotlearnifyoudo
notunderstandisaformofapplyingtheminimuminformationprinciplewhichagainisawayof
makingthingssimple:
1.Donotlearnifyoudonotunderstand
2.Learnbeforeyoumemorizebuildthepictureofthewholebeforeyoudismemberitintosimple
itemsinSuperMemo.Ifthewholeshowsholes,reviewitagain!
3.Builduponthebasicsneverjumpbothfeetintoacomplexmanualbecauseyoumayneversee
theend.Wellrememberedbasicswillhelptheremainingknowledgeeasilyfitin
4.Sticktotheminimuminformationprincipleifyoucontinueforgettinganitem,trytomakeitas
simpleaspossible.Ifitdoesnothelp,seetheremainingrules(clozedeletion,graphics,mnemonic
techniques,convertingsetsintoenumerations,etc.)
5.Clozedeletioniseasyandeffectivecompletingadeletedwordorphraseisnotonlyaneffective
wayoflearning.Mostofall,itgreatlyspeedsupformulatingknowledgeandishighlyrecommended
forbeginners
6.Useimageryapictureisworthathousandwords
7.Usemnemonictechniquesreadaboutpeglistsandmindmaps.StudythebooksbyTonyBuzan.
Learnhowtoconvertmemoriesintofunnypictures.Youwon'thaveproblemswithphonenumbers
andcomplexfigures
8.Graphicdeletionisasgoodasclozedeletionobstructingpartsofapictureisgreatforlearning
anatomy,geographyandmore
9.Avoidsetslargersetsarevirtuallyunmemorizableunlessyouconvertthemintoenumerations!
10.Avoidenumerationsenumerationsarealsohardtorememberbutcanbedealtwithusingcloze
deletion
11.Combatinterferenceeventhesimplestitemscanbecompletelyintractableiftheyaresimilarto
otheritems.Useexamples,contextcues,vividillustrations,refertoemotions,andtoyourpersonal
life Oursiteusescookies.Byusingourserviceyouconfirmthatyouacceptthis

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