SRS is not a bucket SRS is a pipe

  • See how should anki decks be organized
  • The statement "Anki is not a bucket, it is a pipe" is guiding mental model to help properly conceive of the nature of spaced repetition systems (SRS)
  • It is not specific to only the Anki™ implementation of an SRS.
  • It is usually the case that knowledge (of whatever kind) "sits", stagnant as a sprawl of text, on the pages of books and in bookshelves
  • Or it is the case that the knowledge is in/as the voice of a speaker
  • And it is the reader/listener/learner that has to walk towards the shelves or listen to the voice in order to assimilate said knowledge
  • What an SRS is meant to do, instead, is make the knowledge itself "visit" the reader/listener/learner in a manner of recall
    • And this should be done at some specific schedule that ensures the learned material is understood longterm.
  • When conceived this way, any piece of knowledge/information that must be brought into the SRS must be brought in with the intention that it HAS to be remembered.
  • If this is not the case, the knowledge/information becomes a burden and affects the overall experience of the learner when using the SRS.
  • The SRS then is not a stagnant bookshelf or a bucket of notes (where information sits still) but something that facilitates the flow of information
  • It is like a pipe
  • A bucket is a reference—i.e., Textbook, Encyclopedia, Knowledge, "Training", Obsidian or Notion. A pipe is a channel—a conduit, a tap, a faucet—that helps control how much conversion—between Knowledge and knowhow—you are doing.
  • I used to want the decks to be a reminder of the things I needed to learn, the things I was learning. But (now that) (if) I remember the few things I'm interested in (without anki's reminder), I don't need anki to serve that function. I don't need a deck for "New Words" (when learning new words) because I'd know (or, it will be a habit) to be on the look out for interesting words and add it to my date-specific superdeck.

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