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Imagine you’ve just finished a tough section. We say: catch your breath; let’s take stock. We quickly flick through what we learned. Got it all? Great, we’ll review again later, when you've probably forgotten. Something slipped your mind? OK: we’ll review that bit sooner.

Something felt totally mysterious? You just learned that you left the stove on before you left the driveway. It doesn’t feel so onerous to read a section again on the spot. It would feel much more tiresome to realize that a few days later… so you might not reread the section.

One reader said: "There was a section where I tanked them all. I thought: wow, I clearly didn’t get whatever I was supposed to get. […] So then I went back and asked ‘why am I not retaining this?’ I’ve never had that with a textbook before: usually the problems are at the end."

That's the retrospective effect. The *prospective* effect is a feeling of safety. Once you’ve read a few sections, now you read each new passage knowing that you’ll have this quick check at the end. It's a save point every few minutes. You're not going to miss anything.

Then, the next day, you'll get your invitation to your first review session. A few minutes of study, repeated over about 20 sessions over the next year, and you'll remember everything forever. It feels like cheating. One reader: "The bang for the buck is extraordinary."

Ben Eater

What is this chart telling me? Is it just sessions over time, i.e., it would be perfectly linear if I review right on schedule each time? Or does it factor how much of the content is retained "permanently?" And I guess the x axis is maybe not linear?

Ben Eater

Oh...does the the completion line move to the right if it's taking more review sessions than forecast? Honestly writing that last tweet was helpful in trying to understand the visualization, though I'm still not 100% certain I get it.

Grateful for the wondering aloud! Just curious: had you wondered this *after* completing your own first review session, or just based on my screenshot out of context? Will help me diagnose the design. :)

Ben Eater

After doing a couple review sessions. After the first review session or so, I just ignored it since it wasn't immediately obvious and I already knew where I stood. After a couple review sessions, I wondered what it was telling me and it wasn't obvious.

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