I tried spaced repetition for a few months, but I found that I wasn't actually learning anything, I was only remembering facts. I'm not sure what I expected, but when I "learn" something, I grasp the "shape" of the concept...how it fits with other things...where its edges are...where parts of it are unexplored etc. This only comes to me by using the thing I'm trying to learn, not by injecting random facts into my memory.
If anyone has had similar experiences, I've found the best way to learn has been writing about things that I use, as I'm using them. The rule for writing in that way is only write what you've come to understand...don't just copy text that is "useful" from another source. Dive deep and learn the shape of the concept, then write about it in your own words, then move on.
By writing from your own perspective it has 2 effects: 1) it helps solidify the concepts a bit more, because you can only explain something once you've reached a certain level of comprehension. and 2) it serves as a "stack snapshot" of your mind when you had a handle on the concept, and re-reading that snapshot loads the context back into your mind very quickly.
I tried spaced repetition for a few months, but I found that I wasn't actually learning anything, I was only remembering facts. I'm not sure what I expected, but when I "learn" something, I grasp the "shape" of the concept...how it fits with other things...where its edges are...where parts of it are unexplored etc. This only comes to me by using the thing I'm trying to learn, not by injecting random facts into my memory.
One of the first rule of spaced repetition is that SRS is a system for retaining information, not learning.
Once you learn the information, then you use the SRS to retain the knowledge you built up.
Also, if you have trouble connecting individual facts into larger conceptual framework, you may not be making enough connecting notes to connect those facts.
By writing from your own perspective it has 2 effects: 1) it helps solidify the concepts a bit more, because you can only explain something once you've reached a certain level of comprehension. and 2) it serves as a "stack snapshot" of your mind when you had a handle on the concept, and re-reading that snapshot loads the context back into your mind very quickly.
Writing is what I do too. I have a note system that I devised that I looked up and revised all the time. It's part of my learning system, but I considered it secondary storage.
But beware of reading. It can make you feel like you understand something, but you really don't. Reading is considered a poor study strategy, since it mislead you into thinking you have fluency when you don't.
If anyone has had similar experiences, I've found the best way to learn has been writing about things that I use, as I'm using them. The rule for writing in that way is only write what you've come to understand...don't just copy text that is "useful" from another source. Dive deep and learn the shape of the concept, then write about it in your own words, then move on.
By writing from your own perspective it has 2 effects: 1) it helps solidify the concepts a bit more, because you can only explain something once you've reached a certain level of comprehension. and 2) it serves as a "stack snapshot" of your mind when you had a handle on the concept, and re-reading that snapshot loads the context back into your mind very quickly.