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[lojban] Re: [lojban-beginners] Re: SuperMemo + PalmOS Emulator



Robin Lee Powell wrote:
On Tue, Aug 24, 2004 at 02:32:28PM -0500, Ken Comer wrote:

Many of you have heard me attribute most of my success with
Lojban to a memory aid (read: flashcard on steroids) program
called SuperMemo, specifically the PalmOS version.

Is this really much better than the (now outdated but, so far as I
can tell, mostly correct)
well-engineered-but-didn't-work-for-me-with-a-30-minute-per-
day-lesson-schedule logflash (LF.EXE) program?

Yes.  Vastly.

1.  SuperMemo doesn't require that you try to memorize the entire
freaking vocabulary it once.  I still only have ~1500 words (out of
~2000) in my SuperMemo rotation, because the rest are mostly
useless.

2.  The SuperMemo databases I've provided are sorted in frequency of
use order, so you can memorize only the stuff you'll need.

3.  SuperMemo doesn't require you to type in what it thinks is the
right word, so if you have a good handle on the concept you're not
penalized for not knowing the exact keyord.

4.  LogFlash is designed for some research goal I don't understand.
SuperMemo is designed to help you learn things, and its algorithm
for doing so is *superlative*.

5.  I haven't spent 30 minutes a day on SuperMemo in months.

-Robin

You can also purchase the Windows version of Supermemo (or download an older version for free), and import Robin's files into that. The Windows version is more complicated than the Palm version (Robin will say it has too many features), but you can hide much of that if you want, and it can serve as a way of structuring the learning of many different subjects, not just Lojban.

The basic idea behind Supermemo is spaced repetitions. If you continue recall an item correctly, the interval between the repetitions increases. This allows you to maintain a high level of retention (90%+), continue to learn new material, while spending a constant amount of time each day.

--
Bruce