Info
Originally written in French. Translated by AI — the meaning has been preserved, not the prose.
Short definition
A review mechanism in which the interval between two exposures to the same card lengthens as the memory becomes persistent, and shortens when it weakens.
Synonyms and variants
Spaced review, spaced repetition, Leitner box (the physical setup that implements it).
Not to be confused with
- Active recall — retrieving information from memory rather than rereading it; it is the operation, where spaced repetition is the schedule.
- Rereading — reading a text again with no effort of recall; it produces a feeling of familiarity, not availability.
- Archiving — preservation with a view to later search; it aims at retrievability, where spaced repetition aims at presence to mind.
Examples
A card whose consequences you can't yet unfold is reviewed every two weeks; once you can confront it with a situation or write about it, it moves to a two-month rhythm.
Ambiguities / debates
The word suggests algorithmically optimized mechanics, whereas the use described here accepts approximate intervals. The tension is real: industrializing the schedule gains in regularity what it loses in judgment about the degree of appropriation.