{"id":13061,"date":"2021-04-26T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-04-26T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/?p=13061"},"modified":"2021-04-30T04:22:04","modified_gmt":"2021-04-30T12:22:04","slug":"do-flashcards-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/2021\/04\/26\/do-flashcards-work\/","title":{"rendered":"Should You Use Flashcards to Learn?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Flashcards, especially in their digital incarnations, are some of the most powerful learning tools. They can also easily be a complete waste of time.<\/p>\n

Powerful, because retrieval<\/a> and spacing<\/a> are key to memory. If you want to learn a topic with a lot of stuff to memorize, flashcards will help you do it better than almost anything else. Mnemonics are trendy, but for medium-to-long-term purposes, flashcards are probably better<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also easy to waste your time with flashcards. You can spend a lot of time memorizing something you don\u2019t need to, or fail to memorize the important things you do. Flashcard practice can also be a convenient way to avoid doing the real thing<\/a> you need to learn. Some subjects may not be amenable to flashcards at all.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s try to untangle these seemingly contradictory views\u2026<\/p>\n

In Favor of Flashcards<\/h2>\n
\nListen to this article<\/small>
\n