Spaced repetition systems have gotten better

What I find interesting about spaced repetition is the underlying thesis that raw memorization, in certain contexts, is playing a more important role for learning than what some modern education ideas would make you assume. In mathematics or programming, for instance, there is this idea that understanding a concept is better than memorizing algorithms or recipes (derivation methods for instance). But spaced repetition challenges that, in a sense.

If you zoom out and look and the shift in educational systems from pre-industrial revolution to modernity, memorization is a key topic. Basically educational reformers wanted a switch from memorization-heavy classics-based education with lots of Latin and Greek – to one with less emphasis on memorizing and more technical focus, more “understanding” and so on.

Like other big cultural shifts from the time, the correction was necessary but also probably went too far in the opposite direction.

Which is a long way of saying that memorization is underrated and it mostly has a bad reputation from anti-Victorian reformers.

Most modern programming lives by the idea that you don't need to remember something as long as you remember where to look it up. Of course that's only true for some things: I can look up an API call, but I need a reasonably complete working knowledge of the concepts offered by my chosen programming language and its idiomatic design patterns. In most cases this is maintained through application (practice is unstructured spaced repetition), but if I wanted to get into say C++-based driver development then spaced repetition would definitely help build and maintain the necessary knowledge

I think the difference in recall- knowledgeable and logical-model-knowledge will be really interesting. LLMs appear to strongly be the first. But this is very hopeless on mathematics.

>But spaced repetition challenges that, in a sense.

Common sense challenges this honestly. Education systems that traditionally have put a strong focus on repetition, memorization and what you could call neuromuscular training (e.g China, the USSR, France) in particluar in STEM far outperform anyone else. Vietnam outperforms most rich countries.

In programming circles it's a cultural cliche because our profession is full of people who go by: "I am a genius, I work smart, not hard", probably the most damaging idea ever uttered in education, and in the humanities it's seen as culturally unsophisticated.

In reality, 95% of everything is mechanics. Starcraft, math, even literature and acting. Creative freedom is enabled only by a large body of effortless recollection.

Memory is a prerequisite for understanding.

You can't understand something you can't remember.

The UK and Germany outperform France in average learning outcomes according to Our World in Data:

https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/average-harmonized-learni...

It makes sense to memorize elementary operations that are reused frequently because that frees your mind to focus on the "higher level of abstraction" of learning. You probably learned the multiplication tables by heart before you were asked to do more complicated multiplication problems for example.