In the age of digital learning, one tool stands out from the crowd due to its unique algorithm and user customization capabilities: Anki. But, how can we utilize this tool to its maximum potential? We're diving into the depths of this study tool with an expert guide, providing invaluable insights and breaking down the best Anki settings for you.
The Need for a New Guide
Recently, a surge of Anki guides and opinion pieces has emerged on the internet. However, the authors of most of these guides are influencers rather than educators or experts in Anki. This misalignment led to our expert, who operates an entire YouTube channel dedicated to honking settings, to release an updated guide.
"None of them are teaching really about Anki, all of them are influencer profiles. And Anki's popular, so they're making videos about Anki."
Understanding the settings and the thought process behind them is critical, particularly with the numerous changes and updates to the Anki algorithm, like the shift from the V2 scheduler to the V3 scheduler.
SuperMemo and Anki's Evolution
Anki was initially built on the algorithm of SuperMemo 2. However, as Anki has grown and developed, SuperMemo has also evolved, currently standing at SuperMemo 18. This divergence raises questions about the relevancy of Anki's original settings in the current context.
Customization: The Key to Success
As per our expert, customization forms the essence of effective learning with Anki.
"We have individualized help via our Patreon and our memberships...to customize settings for your study outcomes."
Contrary to popular belief, there isn't a one-size-fits-all approach. Personalizing intervals and steps, depending on your learning speed and memory retention ability, can lead to more productive study sessions.
Demystifying Graduating Intervals and Learning Steps
Our expert takes us through an interesting journey to decode the mechanism behind learning steps and graduating intervals.
"The graduating interval is one day, and the easy interval is four days...If you have a card that you're going to review, now this is a brand-new card, if you hit again on that card, it is going to come back in one minute."
This mechanism is further influenced by various factors such as your response to a card, the card's difficulty, and the card's "ease". All these factors combine to decide the frequency at which you encounter a particular card.
Dive into Anki Settings
Our expert not only talks about the theory but also guides us through each Anki setting, explaining the implications of each on our study sessions. They stress the importance of understanding these settings rather than blindly copying them.
"People are copying my settings, but they're not getting why I have this stuff, and they don't truly understand it."
From 'Night mode' to 'Card Ease', our expert delves into each setting, giving a comprehensive view of how to manipulate these options to optimize your learning.
Make Anki Work for YOU
The real power of Anki lies in the ability to tweak it as per your requirements.
"Anki is a tool. You want to make it work for you."
Moving to the next tier, "Understanding Review Cards", let's decipher some Anki jargon. When you review a card after three days (for instance), it turns into a review card, depicted by a green color on the screen. If you hit 'Again' on it, you go into the relearning steps. If you hit 'Hard', the card will be reviewed after 1.2 times the current interval, in this case, around three days. However, if you hit 'Good', it will move to the next level with ease, and it won't affect the ease at all, leaving it at 2.5. Conversely, if you hit 'Easy', it will increase the ease by 15 percent. As a result, the ease is in constant fluctuation based on how you answer.
Digging deeper into "The Algorithm of Relearning Steps", if you've gotten a card wrong and the ease drops to 230 percent, hitting 'Easy' on it later will actually bring the ease back up. If you get a card wrong and hit 'Again', it keeps the card in the learning phase without yet transitioning it to the relearning phase. If you hit 'Good' during the relearning phase, the card will go to the new interval. By default, this new interval is zero, effectively restarting the card. An expert approach would be increasing the new interval. For instance, using about 20 to 30 percent of the original interval would mean you'd see the card again in about six days for a 30-day interval.
In the section of "Exploring Anki's Detailed Settings", the video goes into great depth about each setting, showing the audience how to navigate each one. It gives a granular understanding of everything from night mode, default decks, and stripping the formatting to how you can customize review card visibility and timing. The speaker also gives insights into how you can adjust settings to speed up review time and the importance of saving the changes you make to these settings.
Finally, in the "Tailoring Anki's Algorithm to Your Study Habits", the video delves into how you can make Anki work for you based on your study habits and goals. It discusses how you can set a custom number of new cards per day, depending on whether you're learning a new language or preparing for medical school. The video explains how to adjust intervals and steps to make them fit your study routine and how to use Anki's algorithm to maximize your efficiency.
In the end, the video reiterates that Anki is not a one-size-fits-all tool. It requires tweaking and adjusting to fit your personal study habits and needs, making it a truly individualized learning resource. The video wraps up with the expert offering additional help through their Patreon and other platforms for individualized questions or further customization.
As with any tool, your mileage with Anki may vary. The key to success lies in understanding how it works and tailoring it to your unique learning style and objectives.
To sum it up, these settings are not just 'set and forget.' They require constant tweaking, learning, and understanding. As the expert said, "The more you learn about this, the better you will be with Anki and the more efficient your studying will be." Remember, these settings and algorithms are designed to make Anki work for you, not the other way around.
Now, go forth, harness the power of Anki, and supercharge your learning!