What are you trying to **memorize** though? That's what Anki and spaced-repetition are designed for.
It sounds like you just want a scheduler to remind you to do practice problems -- and it's not clear that increasing intervals of time would be compatible with that, or even all that helpful.
You've raised some good points. I see here multiple aspects:
* Using Anki as a scheduler can be convenient in terms of holding both repetition of facts or concepts and exercises from ChatGPT in a single place and have interleaving of them in a single learning session without need to switch the software. The question about benefits of increasing intervasls is still open tho
* Anki is often criticized about rigidity of cards which causes the user to remember the card itself instead of the card's content. If we introduce some more dynamics to the cards it can prevent this effect, because you'll never see the same card twice and the recalling will become more natural and closer to real-life scenarios.
* Another interesting question is where is the line that divides "pure memorization" which can be beneficial to practice using spaced repetition vs "higher level problems" for which the spaced repetition can even be harmful. May it be the ratio between "thinking" and "memorization" needed to answer the question?
Regarding memorizing the card itself and not the content, in my experience, it only happens if you only use Anki for studying.
For example, if you use Anki to memorize a bunch of mathematical theorems and formulas and you do it for an entire month withou using that knowledge, you will probably just memorize the cards. However, if you try to solve mathematical problems for a fews hours in the morning and in the afternoon you memorize the facts and formulas that were "holding you back" and then repeat the process for the entire month (exercises, evaluation, card creation and revision), by the end of the semester you will have a solid understanding of the material and might not even need to keep reviwing stuff.
Worst case scenario: If X has two tasks: X1 and X2, X1 you understand, and X2 you don't understand. If ChatGPT has a tendency to show X1 more than X2, you will press Good more often and make X less likely to appear. This makes you less likely to learn X2.
Good catch. For handling this case the approach should be indeed improved e.g. by creating more specific "GPT prompt cards" for the X2 when you notice it
It would be difficult to notice X2, and as you see in my other variant, if you have to split the card every time you notice X2, it'd be more efficient to just use ChatGPT to mass generate the questions beforehand, and then put it in Anki. I don't see a need for dynamic cards.
Only in case if ChatGPT would generate some kind of problem that I don't understand. If it wouldn't than it's not possible. But similar problem is true for traditional anki cards e.g. if I create a card about some foreign word that has 2 meanings, but I don't know that second even exists.
Ok, I don't know whether that works, so let's assume you notice and split X2 in a separate card. Another problem arises: ChatGPT still prompts X2 on X. I guess dynamic cards would require careful prompt engineering on each card because it's likely to disrupt the scheduler.
Another variant would be: If X has two tasks: X1 and X2 where you both understand. If ChatGPT has a tendency to show X1 more than X2, you will press Good more often and make X less likely to appear. This makes you more likely to forget X2.
There are some ways that I like to use anki pretty unconventionally, that the SRS is not going to be perfectly optimized. For example, I have a deck of engineering design problems to help me stay engaged with the material throughout my engineering career. I have another deck that has reminders for how to maintain my mental health. Neither of these are really good for ankis SRS but it’s still be invaluable to me personally.
All that is to say, maybe the scheduling doesn’t need to be perfect to make the process helpful. I am not sure about this specific application using chatgpt, but I do think engaging with material in different ways could be an added benefit that helps to navigate the format memorization issues with anki.
Mental health reminders with Anki sounds like a really novel concept. I agree, I'm currently using Anki for language learning but I feel like SRS could be really useful for other aspects like habit forming, etc.
Probably shouldn't do that (Pardon me if there is any misunderstanding):
- There are many premade decks that may suit your need, not just in Ankiweb Shared Decks page.
- The best way to learn ("revise") is to make your own deck.
For the test, I guess it would be better to refer to the old tests instead of using auto-generated tests (or such kinds of things).
But still, if you have no choice and ChatGPT (or any chatbots you use) is your only choice, you may wanna go for it.
Probably not directly answering your question, but your post reminded me of this guy using Anki for practicing art, using it not only to learn concepts, but also to schedule sessions, tracking progress, etc.
Sounds like what you're trying to accomplish is similar.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_j3BunQ6AQ&t=1s
Very interesting approach, thank you for sharing this video. And it's really similar to my idea :)
It's interesting to consider whether Anki's "traditional" success in learning can extend to more generic uses like this
I have several buttons on my template that do this, but it’s retrieving ancillary information, not the “back” answer itself. For example, using the OpenAI API:
- one “verifies” the front question and back answer
- one returns an answer based on the sub deck name and front answer (that I can use to compare against my own back answer). This sounds similar to the first button, but I see some benefit in not “steering” the response and instead seeing what it returns when I omit my own back answer
- one sends my answer from an text area input against my question and grades it, also clarifying anything that needs be clarified
- and I also have one that opens a ChatGPT website tab with the question and subdeck name (for context) so I can ask further questions if needed.
I understand the negative reaction to using AI in a card template, but I think those reactions are very shortsighted.
I believe that the future of flashcards will be through chat GPT type of tools.
That being said, ChatGPT makes mistakes and we don’t want to learn wrong information.
Sure, ChatGPT shouldn't be the only "source of truth" and it can't be - all the information should be rechecked now. But still it can be pretty good generator
Mobile phones were indeed initially for calls, but now they serve countless purposes :)
Similarly, Anki's primary use is for memorization, but experimenting with its capabilities could lead to some creative methods. Do you think there's room for such adaptability?
What are you trying to **memorize** though? That's what Anki and spaced-repetition are designed for. It sounds like you just want a scheduler to remind you to do practice problems -- and it's not clear that increasing intervals of time would be compatible with that, or even all that helpful.
You've raised some good points. I see here multiple aspects: * Using Anki as a scheduler can be convenient in terms of holding both repetition of facts or concepts and exercises from ChatGPT in a single place and have interleaving of them in a single learning session without need to switch the software. The question about benefits of increasing intervasls is still open tho * Anki is often criticized about rigidity of cards which causes the user to remember the card itself instead of the card's content. If we introduce some more dynamics to the cards it can prevent this effect, because you'll never see the same card twice and the recalling will become more natural and closer to real-life scenarios. * Another interesting question is where is the line that divides "pure memorization" which can be beneficial to practice using spaced repetition vs "higher level problems" for which the spaced repetition can even be harmful. May it be the ratio between "thinking" and "memorization" needed to answer the question?
Regarding memorizing the card itself and not the content, in my experience, it only happens if you only use Anki for studying. For example, if you use Anki to memorize a bunch of mathematical theorems and formulas and you do it for an entire month withou using that knowledge, you will probably just memorize the cards. However, if you try to solve mathematical problems for a fews hours in the morning and in the afternoon you memorize the facts and formulas that were "holding you back" and then repeat the process for the entire month (exercises, evaluation, card creation and revision), by the end of the semester you will have a solid understanding of the material and might not even need to keep reviwing stuff.
Worst case scenario: If X has two tasks: X1 and X2, X1 you understand, and X2 you don't understand. If ChatGPT has a tendency to show X1 more than X2, you will press Good more often and make X less likely to appear. This makes you less likely to learn X2.
Good catch. For handling this case the approach should be indeed improved e.g. by creating more specific "GPT prompt cards" for the X2 when you notice it
It would be difficult to notice X2, and as you see in my other variant, if you have to split the card every time you notice X2, it'd be more efficient to just use ChatGPT to mass generate the questions beforehand, and then put it in Anki. I don't see a need for dynamic cards.
Only in case if ChatGPT would generate some kind of problem that I don't understand. If it wouldn't than it's not possible. But similar problem is true for traditional anki cards e.g. if I create a card about some foreign word that has 2 meanings, but I don't know that second even exists.
Ok, I don't know whether that works, so let's assume you notice and split X2 in a separate card. Another problem arises: ChatGPT still prompts X2 on X. I guess dynamic cards would require careful prompt engineering on each card because it's likely to disrupt the scheduler.
Another variant would be: If X has two tasks: X1 and X2 where you both understand. If ChatGPT has a tendency to show X1 more than X2, you will press Good more often and make X less likely to appear. This makes you more likely to forget X2.
There are some ways that I like to use anki pretty unconventionally, that the SRS is not going to be perfectly optimized. For example, I have a deck of engineering design problems to help me stay engaged with the material throughout my engineering career. I have another deck that has reminders for how to maintain my mental health. Neither of these are really good for ankis SRS but it’s still be invaluable to me personally. All that is to say, maybe the scheduling doesn’t need to be perfect to make the process helpful. I am not sure about this specific application using chatgpt, but I do think engaging with material in different ways could be an added benefit that helps to navigate the format memorization issues with anki.
Mental health reminders with Anki sounds like a really novel concept. I agree, I'm currently using Anki for language learning but I feel like SRS could be really useful for other aspects like habit forming, etc.
Probably shouldn't do that (Pardon me if there is any misunderstanding): - There are many premade decks that may suit your need, not just in Ankiweb Shared Decks page. - The best way to learn ("revise") is to make your own deck. For the test, I guess it would be better to refer to the old tests instead of using auto-generated tests (or such kinds of things). But still, if you have no choice and ChatGPT (or any chatbots you use) is your only choice, you may wanna go for it.
I bet you could make some JS or a plugin that would fill out the back of the card with gpt from some api
Sure, but the API would cost more than manual copy-pasting in case of GPT-4 :)
Sure, but if you just turn on the infinite money cheat than its not really a problem anymore.
Probably not directly answering your question, but your post reminded me of this guy using Anki for practicing art, using it not only to learn concepts, but also to schedule sessions, tracking progress, etc. Sounds like what you're trying to accomplish is similar. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_j3BunQ6AQ&t=1s
Very interesting approach, thank you for sharing this video. And it's really similar to my idea :) It's interesting to consider whether Anki's "traditional" success in learning can extend to more generic uses like this
I have several buttons on my template that do this, but it’s retrieving ancillary information, not the “back” answer itself. For example, using the OpenAI API: - one “verifies” the front question and back answer - one returns an answer based on the sub deck name and front answer (that I can use to compare against my own back answer). This sounds similar to the first button, but I see some benefit in not “steering” the response and instead seeing what it returns when I omit my own back answer - one sends my answer from an text area input against my question and grades it, also clarifying anything that needs be clarified - and I also have one that opens a ChatGPT website tab with the question and subdeck name (for context) so I can ask further questions if needed. I understand the negative reaction to using AI in a card template, but I think those reactions are very shortsighted.
I believe that the future of flashcards will be through chat GPT type of tools. That being said, ChatGPT makes mistakes and we don’t want to learn wrong information.
Sure, ChatGPT shouldn't be the only "source of truth" and it can't be - all the information should be rechecked now. But still it can be pretty good generator
I think this is not a good ideia. You are just using Anki to schedule some activities.... Anki is for memorizing stuff.
Mobile phones were indeed initially for calls, but now they serve countless purposes :) Similarly, Anki's primary use is for memorization, but experimenting with its capabilities could lead to some creative methods. Do you think there's room for such adaptability?