Stop flashcards from ballooning

[pdwalker]

Idle time? Who has idle time? I've more cards to review today!

Seriously though, I really really like the ability to start and stop my card review at any time. I don't even bother limiting the # of cards per day anymore. If I get bored of doing one test (say, reading or listening), I'll just switch to another test and keep going.

Also one thing I really like about the iphone version is, that if I switch away from the application, it always picks up exactly where I left it, even if I reboot the phone.

It's a small thing, but a lot of applications don't or can't behave that way. I really appreciate it.

 

[daal]

I'm not living in China, I'm not a full time student and there are other things that are also important for me to spend my time on besides studying flashcards. For me the spaced repetition system as I've been using it is just not feasible, and I have stopped using it in favor of a fixed number of random cards. I don't quite get why pdwalker likes the ability to stop and continue later. If you stop after doing half of what's due and continue the next day, sure you still only have the other half left, but meanwhile tons more are accumulating for the next time you start, and it is this feeling of falling behind that I find discouraging.

 

[pdwalker]

Yes, I had the same problem as you describe initially, because I was adding too many cards too fast before I had properly learned the previous ones. Thus I was getting swamped with a bunch of new cards to deal with, especially if I skipped a day or three.

So, I reduced the number of cards i was trying to learn until I had learned them, then gradually reintroduced the other cards at a slower place.

Now, even if I skip a couple of days, I don't get swamped with pending cards because the SRS system pushes the older cards farther and farther out and they come at me less frequently.

Also, my reviewing speed increases as I learn more.

One more thing: if you get a card wrong, the default test setting sets the score to 0, as if it was an unlearned, brand new card. Thus the card will contribute to your workload even when you mostly remember the word and only just needed a refresher.

I've set my tests to set the score to 50% rather than 0 and that seems to work for me.

 

[HW60]

One more thing: if you get a card wrong, the default test setting sets the score to 0, as if it was an unlearned, brand new card. Thus the card will contribute to your workload even when you mostly remember the word and only just needed a refresher.

I've set my tests to set the score to 50% rather than 0 and that seems to work for me.

Especially for many flashcards this is an excellent idea - thanks!

 

[pdwalker]

That value works for me because I have two sets of tests - new and review. Stuff in the new queue has to be gotten correct 3 times before it goes to the review queue. If something fails in the review queue, it gets dumped into the new queue until I get it right three times in a row at which point, it goes back into the review queue.

If you don't do this, it may make actual sense to drop it to 0%, or 25%, or some number that allows you to see this card a few more times than before but hopefully not too much more as you may only need a slight reminder.

my settings:
new queue: history filter - include if not correct in a row > 3
review queue: history filter - include if correct in a row > 3

(Pleco is really, really flexible in how you can organize your testing)

 

[HW60]

And which settings do you use for the new queue?

 

[pdwalker]

new queue:
- history filter - include if not correct in a row > 3

The new queue is any card not reviewed at least three times, or any card that has gotten a mistake within the last reviews.

(my full test settings in all it's horrible glory, is documented here: https://www.plecoforums.com/threads/how-to-learn-in-batches-with-srs.4413/page-2#post-42182

 

[FrancoisTaipei]

Interesting thread.
If you consider the SRS system to know better than yourself the exact moment where you should review your cards, then the SRS says the truth, it's like a coach, and if you can not do all the cards, then you won't remember correctly.

Think of an analogy, preparing to run a marathon. You want to run 42km / 26 miles, and your coach tells you that based on your condition, you MUST run 12km 4 times per week for the next 3 months.
Now, if you don't follow the coach's instructions, you can't expect to fulfill your goal. That's as simple as that.
Maybe the goal was too high, maybe the estimated time was too optimistic, maybe what you should have done was a half marathon.

Coming back to the SRS, let's say in my case that I add 70 new cards per week, and that the SRS estimates that I need to repeat an average of 200 cards per day to keep maintaining a good memory of what I know.
Well, if I really do keep adding 70 cards per week, and complain that 200 cards is too much, then maybe the real issue is that I shouldn't add 70 cards per week?
Because if I do, the only good way for my memory to keep remembering those cards is to do those 200, not less.

In the past, I have been slowing down a little, adding only 30 cards per week, and after a few weeks, the daily repetition was down to 170 or 180. It really changes depending on how much new input keeps coming in.

As a few said here, maybe a solution would be to have a more dynamic SRS. For example, maybe the standard max score of 51200 should become more dynamic and go beyond for what I know really well.
Or maybe when I keep hitting "perfectly remembered", the score multiplication should be more exponential than it is right now.
Basically the SRS could get smarter to adapt to different people's memory ability, maybe?

@daal, I don't know how long you have studied so far, and how many cards you have in your stock. It can be difficult to keep up. For me, I have managed to set up a tough daily routine. I do flashcards non stop on my way to the office, I do flashcards when I go get coffee, I do flashcards whenever I have a free time. By noon, my ~200 daily flashcards are almost always done.
But it's tough, and I absolutely understand the motivation issue there, as I have felt really tired of the continuous 200 daily flashcards a few times.
But in the end, it really works, I improved so much and Pleco is really the tool that got me where I am!