“How Can We Develop Transformative Tools For Thought?”, Andy Matuschak, Michael Nielsen2019-10 (design, spaced repetition, writing psychology; backlinks; similar)⁠:

[Long writeup by Andy Matuschak and Michael Nielsen on experiment in integrating spaced repetition systems with a tutorial on quantum computing, Quantum Country: Quantum Computing For The Very Curious By combining explanation with spaced testing, a notoriously thorny subject may be learned more easily and then actually remembered—such a system demonstrating a possible ‘tool for thought’. Early results indicate users do indeed remember the quiz answers, and feedback has been positive.]

Part I: Memory systems

• Introducing the mnemonic medium

• The early impact of the prototype mnemonic medium

• Expanding the scope of memory systems: what types of understanding can they be used for?

• Improving the mnemonic medium: making better cards

• Two cheers for mnemonic techniques

• How important is memory, anyway?

• How to invent Hindu-Arabic numerals?

Part II: Exploring tools for thought more broadly:

• Mnemonic video

• Why isn’t there more work on tools for thought today?

• Questioning our basic premises

  • What if the best tools for thought have already been discovered?

  • Isn’t this what the tech industry does? Isn’t there a lot of ongoing progress on tools for thought?

  • Why not work on AGI or BCI instead?

• Executable books

  • Serious work and the aspiration to canonical content

  • Stronger emotional connection through an inverted writing structure

Summary and Conclusion

… in Quantum Country an expert writes the cards, an expert who is skilled not only in the subject matter of the essay, but also in strategies which can be used to encode abstract, conceptual knowledge. And so Quantum Country provides a much more scalable approach to using memory systems to do abstract, conceptual learning. In some sense, Quantum Country aims to expand the range of subjects users can comprehend at all. In that, it has very different aspirations to all prior memory systems.

More generally, we believe memory systems are a far richer space than has previously been realized. Existing memory systems barely scratch the surface of what is possible. We’ve taken to thinking of Quantum Country as a memory laboratory. That is, it’s a system which can be used both to better understand how memory works, and also to develop new kinds of memory system. We’d like to answer questions such as:

• What are new ways memory systems can be applied, beyond the simple, declarative knowledge of past systems?

• How deep can the understanding developed through a memory system be? What patterns will help users deepen their understanding as much as possible?

• How far can we raise the human capacity for memory? And with how much ease? What are the benefits and drawbacks?

• Might it be that one day most human beings will have a regular memory practice, as part of their everyday lives? Can we make it so memory becomes a choice; is it possible to in some sense solve the problem of memory?

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