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Paper-and-pencil SuperMemo
Before you start learning, you should choose a textbook, script, dictionary or anything that you wish to be the source of your knowledge. Put the textbook in front of you before you continue reading.
Now, to start using SuperMemo, all you need is: two cross-ruled exercise books, a pen and an hour or two to read carefully the presented text. Afterwards, you can see what SuperMemo can do for you.
1. Write the name DATABOOK on the cover of your first exercise book. Open the databook on the first page and copy the page layout presented in Fig. 1.

2. Check if you agree with the following statement:

If you want to learn something from a book, it is always possible to formulate questions such that answering them will be equivalent to mastering the knowledge presented in the book

If, in principle, you agree with the sentence then skip to Step 3, otherwise consider the following:
A very big question used to learn a book might simply ask:

What is the contents of the book?

Answering such a question in full detail is equivalent to knowing the book, isn't it? Obviously, it is much easier to answer questions that require less voluminous answers. For example:

· If you want to perfectly master a book on physics which starts with the sentence:

The molecular kinetic theory of matter is based on three facts: (1) a substance consists of particles, (2) these particles move at random, and (3) the particles interact
you might start with asking questions: What are the facts that underlie the molecular kinetic theory of matter?, What is the name of the theory that is based on existence, random movement and interaction of particles?, etc. It would not be difficult, and it would not take many questions to ensure that the person able to understandingly provide answers truly knows and understands the content of the first sentence of the book on physics. In the same way, the whole book may be converted to questions and answers

· If you want to learn Esperanto (or any other language) you might start with mastering vocabulary or basic grammar rules, for example:

· If you want to learn poems your questions might consist of the name of the author and the title of the poem
· If you want to learn anatomy or geography, perhaps your questions and answers will have to include simple pictures

Certainly, each chapter of any book can be split into smaller and smaller pieces in such a way that knowing them will more or less correspond to knowing the book
3. Now, it is time for the most difficult element of the SuperMemo method: formulating questions. Please fill out the first page of your databook with questions and answers concerning the subject matter you want to learn. Use your textbook (script, dictionary, etc.) to find material for formulating the questions. Put questions and answers in successive, separate lines of the first page.
What follows presents an exemplary page of questions about American history. This is how a fragment of your book on American history might look like:

The early 1600s saw the beginning of a great tide of emigration from Europe to North America when the first English immigrants crossed the Atlantic. During their six- to 12-week voyages they lived on meager rations. Many of them died of disease. The colonists' first glimpse of the new land was a vista of dense woods. True, the woods were inhabited by Indians, many of whom were hostile, and the threat of Indian attack would add to the hardships of daily life. But the vast, virgin forest, extending nearly 2,100 kilometers along the eastern seaboard would prove to be a treasure-house. The first permanent English settlement in America was a trading post founded in 1607 at Jamestown, in the Old Dominion of Virginia. This region was soon to develop a flourishing economy from its tobacco crop, which found a ready market in England. By 1620, when women were recruited in England to come to Virginia, marry, and make their homes, great plantations had already risen along the James River, and the population had increased to a thousand settlers. In contrast to the colonization policies of other countries and other periods, the emigration from England was not sponsored by the government but by private groups of individuals whose chief motive was profit. The colony of New Netherlands, founded in 1621 by the Dutch, came under English rule in 1664 and was renamed New York.

And this is how the same knowledge would look in your databook in the question-answer form:

Q1: When did the great tide of emigration from Europe to North America start?
A1: Early 1600s.
Q2: How long did voyages of early travelers last?
A2: Over 6 weeks.
Q3: Why did many early travelers die?
A3: Because of long voyages and meager rations.
Q4: Why did Indians add to the hardships of life of early settlers?
A4: Many of them were hostile.
Q5: What seemed to be the greatest treasure of early settlers?
A5: Virgin forests.
Q6: What was the first permanent English settlement in America?
A6: Jamestown
Q7: When was the Jamestown trading post founded?
A7: 1607
Q8: In what today's state was Jamestown located?
A8: Virginia
Q9: What was the most successful trading commodity of Jamestown?
A9: Tobacco
Q10: What was the population of Jamestown by 1620?
A10: About one thousand.
Q11: What factors discouraged early settlement beyond the coastal plain?
A11: Dense forests and mountains.
Q12: How was the emigration from England sponsored?
A12: By private groups.
Q13: When was the colony of New Netherlands established?
A13: 1621
Q14: When did New Netherlands come under English rule?
A14: 1664
Q15: What was the new name given to New Netherlands?
A15: New York

4. Consider the following declaration: the SuperMemo method guarantees that you can learn the set of questions formulated by you in Step 3 at a close-to-optimum rate. However, the quality of your knowledge will depend on the quality of your questions. Responsibility for formulating questions rests entirely with you!
5. Now, you will learn answers to questions from your first SuperMemo page. Use a sheet of paper to cover the answer field. Try to respond to the first question without looking at the answer. Compare your response with the answer field of the databook page. If you answered correctly then go to the second question, if not, then put a dot in the first field of repetition scores in the line corresponding to the first question-answer pair (the field marked by number 1 in Fig. 1). Decision concerning which answer is correct and which is not is entirely up to you. If you want to learn fast with a lower degree of precision, you can be lenient in judging your performance. On the other hand, if you have high answer accuracy requirements, your learning may be slightly slower. Repeat the same procedure for all remaining questions. Put dots in the first field of repetitions scores for all questions that were not answered correctly. Now, in the same way as previously, try to answer all questions that have a dot in the first field of repetitions scores. Do not repeat questions that are not marked by a dot. In case you again not manage to answer some of the questions, put a second dot in the first field of repetition scores corresponding to these questions. Now, repeat again all questions that had two dots in their repetition scores and add a third dot in case of a repeated failure. Repeat the whole process of answering questions until you manage to answer all questions in a given pass (i.e. questions marked by two dots for the third pass or three dots for the fourth pass, etc.). Now, we can assume that in all likelihood you are able to answer all questions from the first page. The first repetition of the first page has been made
6. Write the following information in the repetition dates field (the first row only):

No - number of the repetition (in this case 1)
Date - today's date
U - number of unknown answers in the first pass of the repetition, i.e. the number of questions that have one or more dots in their first column of the repetition scores field
In subsequent repetitions, you will fill out the remaining rows

7. The next thing to do is to determine when you should repeat the newly learned page of questions in order to comply with the SuperMemo schedule. Write the name SCHEDULE BOOK on the cover of your second exercise book. Open the schedule book on the first page and copy the table from Fig. 2.

8. Use the table from Fig. 2, to determine the date of the next repetition. For a selected repetition number, the table of repetition intervals shows after how many days, months or years the next repetition should be made. For example, you have just repeated your first page for the first time; therefore, the next repetition should follow after four days (for Repetition equal to 1 the Interval equals 4 days). After repeating the page in four days, the next repetition will follow in 7 days (for Repetition equal to 2 the Interval equals 7 days)
9. Prepare the repetition calendar. Open the schedule book on the second page and write the present month and year at the top. In following lines, at the left margin write numbers of days: 1,2,3,... up to the last day of the month. Go to the third page of the schedule book and repeat the procedure, this time with the next month at the top. This way you can mark more pages if you wish. Use the subsequent months (and years if necessary)
10. As you are to repeat the first page in four days, look into the calendar prepared in Step 9 and find the corresponding date. Write number 1 in the relevant line (see Fig. 3.).

Figure 3 An exemplary first page of the calendar after marking the first page for repetition. Note, that the page no 1 must have been repeated on January 4, 1991 and was scheduled for repetition on January 8

11. You can now prepare more pages of questions and answers and memorize them. All of them will be scheduled for repetition in four days and you will have to repeat them in four days

Your data and schedule exercise books are now ready to assist you in your work with SuperMemo. Before you learn the detailed algorithm of your workouts, let us list the most important principles you should stick to if you want to be truly successful:

1. Try never to postpone repetitions to the next day. This is an easy way to accumulate a lot of outstanding work, and in consequence, give up working before seeing the results. Moreover, the repetition time-table should be obeyed carefully, as it was computed to suit exactly the requirements of human memory. Every postponement reduces the effectiveness of your work with SuperMemo. Be regular. No pain, no gain
2. As you should work with SuperMemo every day, it is better to start with 10-15 minute assignments a day, to see if you can economize some time on a regular basis. If you start at a too fast rate, you may be soon overwhelmed by the amount of obligatory work. Don't rush. More haste, less speed
3. Try to formulate your questions and answers in the simplest possible way. It is easier to learn the same item if it is split to 10 subitems, than to learn it as a single whole. Not only will you have to learn how to work with SuperMemo (which is quite easy as you have noticed), but above all you will have to master the art of splitting questions to smallest possible pieces in order to make learning effective without losing semantic contents. Simple items are the best formula for success with SuperMemo. Small is beautiful

Below, the steps of the paper-and-pencil SuperMemo method are listed. Repeat these steps every day:

1. Open the schedule book on the page corresponding to the today's month and year. Look at the line marked with the today's date. (In case you have failed to make repetitions in previous days, go to the last date on which repetitions were not made)
2. Pick the first uncircled page number from the line corresponding to the today's date (after a repetition, the repeated page is encircled to avoid repeating it for the second time). If there are no (more) pages scheduled for today (i.e., there are no page numbers in the considered line of the schedule book) then go to Step 8
3. Repeat the page chosen in Step 2. Use a sheet of paper to cover the answer field in the databook. Try to respond to the first question without looking at the answer. Compare your response with the answer. If you have answered correctly then go to the second question, if not, then put a dot in the relevant field of repetition scores in the line corresponding to the first question-answer pair (the relevant field of repetition scores is first in the first repetition, second in the second repetition, etc.). Repeat the same procedure for all remaining questions. Put dots in the relevant fields of repetitions scores for all questions that were not answered correctly. Now, in the same way as previously, try to answer all questions that have a dot in the relevant fields of repetitions scores. Do not repeat questions that are not marked by a dot. In case you again did not manage to answer some of the questions, put a second dot in the relevant fields of repetition scores corresponding to these questions. Now, repeat again all questions that had two dots in their repetition scores and add a third dot in case of a repeated failure. Repeat the whole process of answering questions until you manage to answer all questions in a pass (i.e., questions marked by two dots for the third pass or three dots for the fourth pass, etc.).
4. In the field of repetition dates on the just repeated page write the number of the repetition, today's date and the number of items that have not been remembered

For example, if you have just repeated the page for the third time, and today's date is March 6, 1993, then for the number of failures is equal to 2, the field of repetition dates could look as follows:

No	Date	U
1	Feb 23, 1993	23
2	Feb 27, 1993	4
3	Mar 6, 1993	2

5. Using the table of repetition intervals from the first page of the schedule book (see Fig. 2), determine the date of the next repetition of the just repeated page
6. Write down the number of the considered page in the schedule book, on a page and line corresponding to the date of the next repetition
7. Go back to today's date in the schedule book and draw a circle around the number of the just repeated page. Go to Step 2
8. If you do not have any more time allocated for today then stop working with SuperMemo. Otherwise check if you have some pages in the databook that are filled with questions and answers but have not yet been memorized (i.e., fields of repetitions scores and repetitions dates are empty). If you do not have such pages then go to Step 9, otherwise you can learn some of these new pages and put them for the second repetition in four days. In order to do so, repeat the new pages as in Step 3 and write their numbers in the schedule book, on the page and line corresponding to the date of the next repetition coming in four days
9. Create some new pages in the databook. Fill them with questions and answers using the source of your knowledge (e.g. a textbook). When you finish filling out new pages, go to Step 8

Some ways to make your work with paper-and-pencil SuperMemo more effective
Having worked with SuperMemo for some time now, you are certainly aware of its shortcomings. You certainly have some intuitions on what the power of the method is, and why it is not thoroughly used. You must have noticed that repetitions of pages are made in increasing intervals and you suspect that these intervals were computed on the base of the properties of human memory. However, there are more and less capable learners; therefore, the table of repetition intervals should be adapted to a given person and the kind of learned knowledge. Moreover, particular questions may be more or less difficult and require different intervals between repetitions. Below, I list some important ways of circumventing the aforementioned problems.
Using double copies of questions
You can easily observe that if the answer to a question is not remembered in one of the repetitions, it is unlikely to be remembered in following repetitions. This requires that after fourth, fifth or perhaps sixth repetitions you should copy all forgotten questions and answers on a newly created page. Such a page will later take part in routine repetitions as all other pages, i.e., no special repetitions schedule will be used for it. The copied question should not be crossed out from the old page. This way, it will take part in repetitions more often than those that have not yet been forgotten and copied to new pages. The doubled question will not have any special status in future repetitions; therefore, if it is forgotten again, it may be considered for copying again, so that it would appear in the database in triplicate or even in more copies. The modified version of the SuperMemo algorithm would, therefore, look as follows (note that Step 5 deals with making additional copies of questions and answers):

1. Open the schedule book on the page corresponding to the today's month and year. Look at the line marked with the today's date
2. Pick the first uncircled page number from the line corresponding to the today's date. If there are no (more) pages scheduled for today then go to Step 9
3. Repeat the page chosen in Step 2
4. In the field of repetition dates on the just repeated page write the number of the repetition, today's date and the number of items that have not been remembered
5. If the repetition number is greater than four, then copy all forgotten items on a new page which will later be used in standard repetitions
6. Using the table of repetition intervals, determine the date of the next repetition of the just repeated page
7. Write down the number of the considered page in the schedule book on the page and line corresponding to the date of the next repetition
8. Go back to the today's date in the schedule book and draw a circle around the number of the just repeated page. Go to Step 2
9. If you do not have any more time allocated for today then stop working with SuperMemo. Otherwise check if you have some new pages in the databook that could be learned today. If you do not have such pages then go to Step 10, otherwise you can learn some of these new pages and put them for the second repetition tomorrow
10. Create some new pages in the databook. When you finish filling them out, go to Step 9

Spreading pages in the schedule book
As you have certainly noticed, all pages learned on a given day are always repeated together, on the same dates. This may be troublesome. For example, when you learn more pages on weekends you may later on face massive repetitions on days when your time is more limited. A simple remedy to the problem is to disobey the indications of the table of repetition intervals. As you probably guess, for long intervals, the difference of one or two days is not significant. Therefore, if you notice that a repetition should be scheduled on a day that has already been packed with many pages, you can shorten or lengthen the interval by few days. This way you will obtain a more uniform distribution of repetition work
Simplifying particular items
Very often you spot questions that seem to be particularly difficult to answer. Such questions may have to be relearned again and again because of their outstanding reluctance to stick to your memory. As experience shows, in most cases, these questions are ill-formulated. The most important principle you must remember about in formulating items is that they should be as simple as possible. For example, the item:

Q: What is an elephant?
A: A big mammal with thick skin, long trunk, big ears and white tusks

is certainly ill-formulated. Even if you perfectly remember what an elephant is, you will often fail to enumerate one of its features mentioned in the answer. The above item should be split to subitems that are more specific on one hand, and easier to remember on the other:
You might probably believe that it is easier to learn one item than 8 items. Practice shows that nothing could be less true. The above set of questions would be learned much faster, and the acquired knowledge would have a more meaningful place in your memory. It would be more accessible, more coherent and more associative. It is associativeness of knowledge that promotes creativity
Remember: whenever a question seems to be particularly difficult to answer, do not try to cram it. Think intensely how to make it simpler, or whether you really need to remember it. Ill-formulated items are likely to be the main reason for your insufficient progress.
Customized tables of repetition intervals
The table of repetition intervals presented earlier is only a rough estimation of the average learner case. Different schedules should be applied by more and less capable learners, as well as for more and less difficult forms of knowledge. Your ability to formulate well-structured items can also influence the optimum shape of the table. Therefore, it is worth considering whether you should modify your repetition table. If you notice that after a number of repetitions the number of forgotten items rises sharply, you might consider shortening the relevant interval. Similarly, if you notice that your repetitions proceed too smoothly, i.e., they almost always yield a 100% score, then you might think about making intervals longer. To make your individual explorations easier let me only stress that intervals usually increase by the same factor in subsequent repetitions. Note, that first two intervals may not comply with this rule. For example, the table of repetition intervals presented in Fig. 2 used the factor 1.7 to increase subsequent intervals. You can increase this number if repetitions proceed smoothly or decrease it in case of poor scoring. Observe that it is unlikely that you will need a factor lower than 1.4, nor is it possible that your factor will exceed 3. In most cases intervals should increase 1.5-2.0 times after each repetition
More tables of repetition intervals
If you think that your understanding of the principles of SuperMemo is deep enough, you may attempt to construct more than one table of repetition intervals. Each of your tables should have a different interval increase factor (see the previous paragraph) and should be applied to items of varying difficulty. For example, you could start repetitions of items with a table whose factor equals 2.5. Upon forgetting items you could write them off to new pages that would be repeated with a lower factor, e.g., 1.9. By analogy, forgotten items from 1.9-factor pages could be placed on pages with a yet lower interval increase factor (e.g., 1.6), etc. Moreover, you could estimate the difficulty of a given item and place it on a page with a particular factor. Obviously, you will need a lot of experience before you are able to do this

Articles

• Devouring knowledge - how to maximize the speed of acquiring new knowledge available to you in electronic form
• Myths of memory and learning - list of most damaging myths that may entrap an unaware student
• Roots of Genius and Creativity - analysis of what makes genius and how to achieve it
• Good sleep, good learning, good life - all-inclusive article about quality sleep for creative people
• Polyphasic sleep - an alleged formula for less sleep and more alert waking time
• SleepChart: Formula for healthy sleep - simple formula for solving sleep phase problems pestering a large number of creative people (also: freeware sleep charting application for optimizing sleep) 
• Formula for success in learning - rock-solid knowledge for life -- this is possible and this is very rewarding!
• 20 rules of formulating knowledge in learning - to effectively formulate knowledge for active recall learning, you need to understand the difference between well-structured and ill-structured knowledge. The former is easy to remember and enjoyable, the latter is a scourge of learning!
• Forget about forgetting - evolutionary, molecular and mathematical background of SuperMemo
• SuperMemo Decalog - 10 commandments that should be obeyed to ensure success with SuperMemo
• Goodness of knowledge - why we promote SuperMemo having no second thoughts 
• Can too much learning lead to Alzheimer's? - discussion of the "memory overload hypothesis"
• Reading the Internet - this article will tell you how to effectively read, and remember articles you can find on the net
• Scientific conquest of forgetful memory - this article published by Computer World in 1992 shortly describes the origins of SuperMemo and its principles
• Build your vocabulary - how to use SuperMemo to build vocabulary of foreign languages
• Interview with the author of SuperMemo - 1994 interview with Dr Wozniak packed with little known or funny pieces from the history of SuperMemo
• SuperMemo is useless! - user criticism of SuperMemo and SuperMemo World's rejoinder
• Flow of knowledge in SuperMemo - how SuperMemo 99 helps you accelerate the process of introducing new knowledge into your collection
• The brain cell trainer - one of the first independent reviews of the SuperMemo method (Computer World, 1992)
• Break free from work overload - introducing to tasklists and their implementation in SuperMemo
• A remedy for the forgetful - description of SuperMemo in plain language (Warsaw Voice)
• SuperMemo as a new tool increasing the productivity of a programmer - case study of using SuperMemo in software development (including the cost-benefit criterion of knowledge selection)
• Using templates and categories - step-by-step guide to templates and categories (Konrad Hejwosz)
• Perfection reached - introduction to SuperMemo as published in German Chip in 1995
• Learn fast and forget about forgetting - a review of SuperMemo 6 for DOS published in the oldest Polish computer journal: Bajtek (1993)
• Vocabulary of a native American - what a man in the street should know about SuperMemo (Rzeczpospolita)
• Using SuperMemo without a computer - description of the original pen&pencil SuperMemo method from the mid 1980s (i.e. before the first computer implementation) 
• SuperMemo in a school for special education - experience gathered when using SuperMemo in a Dutch school for children with various disabilities
• Inprise Case Study: SuperMemo implementation in Delphi - review of SuperMemo as a successful product developed in Delphi (as published by Borland/Inprise)
• History of the Universe - short history of the universe and the important role to play for the Knowledge Machine
• Polish speed-learning technology - short technical description of the first SuperMemo 7 multimedia CD-ROMs
• Yet easier ... Easy English - press review of the first cheap large-circulation multimedia partwork course for learning English in Poland: Multimedia Easy English (powered by Multimedia SuperMemo)

• User submissions
  • How I got a job at #1 software company - in this user testimonial, you will find out how SuperMemo helped learning programming and ultimately contributed to landing a coveted job as a software developer
  • It is more than just memorizing - Luis Gustavo Neves da Silva from Brazil explains why rote learning has received so much bad press and how understanding differences between data, information and knowledge could help
  • SuperMemo is useless! - user criticism of SuperMemo and SuperMemo World's rejoinder
  • ABC of SuperMemo 2002 - 10-year-old and 13-year-old explain SuperMemo 2002
  • No force in the world can convince me to SuperMemo! - Witold Szafraniec argues against the sense of using SuperMemo
  • Homeschooling - case study - Peadar Willy de Bhuinn presents an exemplary application of SuperMemo in homeschooling
  • Studying law with SuperMemo

The speed of learning will depend on the way you formulate the material. The same material can be learned many times faster if well formulated! The difference in speed can be stunning! 
The rules are listed in the order of importance. Those listed first are most often violated or bring most benefit if complied with!
There is an underlying assumption that you will proceed with learning using spaced repetition, i.e. you will not just learn once but you will repeat the material optimally (as in SuperMemo).
The 20 rules of formulating knowledge in learning

1. Do not learn if you do not understandTrying to learn things you do not understand may seem like an utmost nonsense. Still, an amazing proportion of students commit the offence of learning without comprehension. Very often they have no other choice! The quality of many textbooks or lecture scripts is deplorable while examination deadlines are unmovable.
   If you are not a speaker of German, it is still possible to learn a history textbook in German. The book can be crammed word for word. However, the time needed for such "blind learning" is astronomical. Even more important: The value of such knowledge is negligible. If you cram a German book on history, you will still know nothing of history.
   The German history book example is an extreme. However, the materials you learn may often seem well structured and you may tend to blame yourself for lack of comprehension. Soon you may pollute your learning process with a great deal of useless material that treacherously makes you believe "it will be useful some day".  
2. Learn before you memorizeBefore you proceed with memorizing individual facts and rules, you need to build an overall picture of the learned knowledge. Only when individual pieces fit to build a single coherent structure, will you be able to dramatically reduce the learning time. This is closely related to the problem comprehension mentioned in Rule 1: Do not learn if you do not understand. A single separated piece of your picture is like a single German word in the textbook of history.
   Do not start from memorizing loosely related facts! First read a chapter in your book that puts them together (e.g. the principles of the internal combustion engine). Only then proceed with learning using individual questions and answers (e.g. What moves the pistons in the internal combustion engine?), etc.
3. Build upon the basicsThe picture of the learned whole (as discussed in Rule 2: Learn before you memorize) does not have to be complete to the last detail. Just the opposite, the simpler the picture the better. The shorter the initial chapter of your book the better. Simple models are easier to comprehend and encompass. You can always build upon them later on.
   Do not neglect the basics. Memorizing seemingly obvious things is not a waste of time! Basics may also appear volatile and the cost of memorizing easy things is little. Better err on the safe side. Remember that usually you spend 50% of your time repeating just 3-5% of the learned material [source]! Basics are usually easy to retain and take a microscopic proportion of your time. However, each memory lapse on basics can cost you dearly!
4. Stick to the minimum information principleThe material you learn must be formulated in as simple way as it is only possible. Simplicity does not have to imply losing information and skipping the difficult part. Simplicity is imperative due to the way the brain works. There are two main reasons for which knowledge must be simple:
   

   • Simple is easy
     By definition, simple material is easy to remember. This comes from the fact that its simplicity makes is easy for the brain to process it always in the same way. Imagine a labyrinth. When making a repetition of a piece of material, your brain is running through a labyrinth (you can view a neural network as a tangle of paths). While running through the labyrinth, the brain leaves a track on the walls. If it can run in only one unique way, the path is continuous and easy to follow. If there are many combinations, each run may leave a different trace that will interfere with other traces making it difficult to find the exit. The same happens on the cellular level with different synaptic connections being activated at each repetition of complex material

   • Repetitions of simple items are easier to schedule
     I assume you will make repetitions of the learned material using optimum inter-repetition intervals (as in SuperMemo). If you consider an item that is composed of two sub-items, you will need to make repetitions that are frequent enough to keep the more difficult item in memory. If you split the complex item into sub-items, each can be repeated at its own pace saving your time. Very often, inexperienced students create items that could easily be split into ten or more simpler sub-items! Although the number of items increases, the number of repetitions of each item will usually be small enough to greatly outweigh the cost of (1) forgetting the complex item again and again, (2) repeating it in excessively short intervals or (3) actually remembering it only in part!

   Here is a striking example:
   

   Ill-formulated knowledge - Complex and wordy

   Q: What are the characteristics of the Dead Sea?A: Salt lake located on the border between Israel and Jordan. Its shoreline is the lowest point on the Earth's surface, averaging 396 m below sea level. It is 74 km long. It is seven times as salty (30% by volume) as the ocean. Its density keeps swimmers afloat. Only simple organisms can live in its saline waters

   Well-formulated knowledge - Simple and specific

   Q: Where is the Dead Sea located? A: on the border between Israel and JordanQ: What is the lowest point on the Earth's surface? A: The Dead Sea shoreline Q: What is the average level on which the Dead Sea is located? A: 400 meters (below sea level) Q: How long is the Dead Sea? A: 70 km Q: How much saltier is the Dead Sea as compared with the oceans? A: 7 times Q: What is the volume content of salt in the Dead Sea? A: 30% Q: Why can the Dead Sea keep swimmers afloat? A: due to high salt content Q: Why is the Dead Sea called Dead? A: because only simple organisms can live in it Q: Why only simple organisms can live in the Dead Sea? A: because of high salt content

   You might want to experiment and try to learn two subjects using the two above approaches and see for yourself what advantage is brought by minimum information principle. This is particularly visible in the long perspective, i.e. the longer the time you need to remember knowledge, the more you benefit from simplifying your items!
   Note in the example above how short the questions are. Note also that the answers are even shorter! We want a minimum amount of information to be retrieved from memory in a single repetition! We want answer to be as short as imaginably possible!
   You will notice that the knowledge learned in the ill-structured example is not entirely equivalent to the well-structured formulation. For example, although you will remember why the Dead Sea can keep swimmers afloat, you may forget that it at all has such a characteristic in the first place! Additionally, rounding 396 to 400 and 74 to 70 produces some loss of information. These can be remedied by adding more questions or making the present ones more precise.
   You will also lose the ability to fluently recite the description of the Dead Sea when called up to the blackboard by your teachers. I bet, however, that shining in front of the class is not your ultimate goal in learning. To see how to cope with recitations and poems, read further (section devoted to enumerations)
5. Cloze deletion is easy and effectiveCloze deletion is a sentence with its parts missing and replaced by three dots. Cloze deletion exercise is an exercise that uses cloze deletion to ask the student to fill in the gaps marked with the three dots. For example, Bill ...[name] was the second US president to go through impeachment.
   If you are a beginner and if you find it difficult to stick to the minimum information principle, use cloze deletion! If you are an advanced user, you will also like cloze deletion. It is a quick and effective method of converting textbook knowledge into knowledge that can be subject to learning based on spaced repetition. Cloze deletion makes the core of the fast reading and learning technique calledincremental reading.
   

   Ill-formulated knowledge - Complex and wordy

   Q: What was the history of the Kaleida company?A: Kaleida, funded to the tune of $40 million by Apple Computer and IBM in 1991. Hyped as a red-hot startup, Kaleida's mission was to create a multimedia programming language It finally produced one, called Script X. But it took three years. Meanwhile, companies such as Macromedia and Asymetrix had snapped up all the business. Kaleida closed in 1995

   Well-formulated knowledge - Simple cloze deletion

   Q: Kaleida was funded to the tune of ...(amount) by Apple Computer and IBM in 1991 A: $40 millionQ: Kaleida was funded to the tune of $40 million by ...(companies) in 1991 A: Apple and IBM Q: Kaleida was funded to the tune of $40 million by Apple Computer and IBM in ... (year) A: 1991 Q: ...(company) mission was to create a multimedia programming language. It finally produced one, called Script X. But it took three years A: Kaleida's Q: Kaleida's mission was to create a ... It finally produced one, called Script X. But it took three years A: multimedia programming language Q: Kaleida's mission was to create a multimedia programming language. It finally produced one, called ... But it took three years A: Script X Q: Kaleida's mission was to create a multimedia programming language. It finally produced one, called Script X. But it took ...(time) A: three years Q: Kaleida's mission was to create a multimedia programming language: Script X. But it took three years. Meanwhile, companies such as ... had snapped up all the business A: Macromedia/Asymetrix Q: Kaleida's mission was to create Script X. But it took three years. Meanwhile, companies such as Macromedia and Asymetrix had snapped up all the business. Kaleida closed in ...(year) A: 1995

   
   

   Optional: SuperMemo Recipe:
   SuperMemo 2002	SuperMemo 2000	SuperMemo 98/99
   Creating cloze deletions in new SuperMemos:select the keyword that is to be replaced with tree dots and press Alt+Z	Generating a cloze deletions from texts placed in the clipboard in SuperMemo 2000: Press Ctrl+Alt+N to paste the text to SuperMemo  Select the part that is to be replaced with three dots Right-click to open the component menu and select Reading : Remember cloze (or click one of cloze icons on the reading toolbar)	Cloze deletions in SuperMemo 98/99: Press Ctrl+A to add a standard question-and-answer item Paste the text into the question field. This will create the outline of your items Press Ctrl+Alt+U to Duplicate the element Select the part that is to be replaced with three dots Cut the selection to the clipboard (e.g. withShift+Del) Type in three dots (optionally, add the explanation in parentheses as in above examples) Press Ctrl+T to save the question field and move to the answer field Paste the text cut in Step 5 (e.g. with Shift+Ins orCtrl+V). Your first item is ready Press PgUp to go back to the outline item created in Step 2 Goto Step 3 and continue adding new items

6. Use imageryVisual cortex is that part of the brain in which visual stimuli are interpreted. It has been very well developed in the course of evolution and that is why we say one picture is worth a thousand words. Indeed if you look at the number of details kept in a picture and the easiness with which your memory can retain them, you will notice that our verbal processing power is greatly inferior as compared with the visual processing power. The same refers to memory. A graphic representation of information is usually far less volatile.
   Usually it takes much less time to formulate a simple question-and-answer pair than to find or produce a neat graphic image. This is why you will probably always have to weigh up cost and profits in using graphics in your learning material. Well-employed images will greatly reduce your learning time in areas such as anatomy, geography, geometry, chemistry, history, and many more.
   The power of imagery explains why the concept of Tony Buzan's mind maps is so popular. A mind map is an abstract picture in which connections between its components reflect the logical connections between individual concepts.
   

   Less beneficial formulation

   Q: What African country is located between Kenya, Zambia and Mozambique?A: Tanzania

   More effective formulation

   Q: What African country is marked white on the map? A: Tanzania

7. Use mnemonic techniquesMnemonic techniques are various techniques that make remembering easier. They are often amazingly effective. For most students, a picture of a 10-year-old memorizing a sequence of 50 playing cards verges on discovering a young genius. It is very surprising then to find out how easy it is to learn the techniques that make it possible with a dose of training. These techniques are available to everyone and do not require any special skills!
   Before you start believing that mastering such techniques will provide you with an eternal solution to the problem of forgetting, be warned that the true bottleneck towards long-lasting and useful memories is not in quickly memorizing knowledge! This is indeed the easier part. The bottleneck lies in retaining memories for months, years or for lifetime! To accomplish the latter you will needSuperMemo and the compliance with the 20 rules presented herein.
   There have been dozens of books written about mnemonic techniques. Probably those written by Tony Buzan are most popular and respected. You can search the web for keywords such as: mind maps, peg lists, mnemonic techniques, etc.
   Experience shows that with a dose of training you will need to consciously apply mnemonic techniques in only 1-5% of your items. With time, using mnemonic techniques will become automatic!
   Exemplary mind map:
   
   
   (Six Steps mind map generated in Mind Manager 3.5, imported to SuperMemo 2004, courtesy of John England, TeamLink Australia)
8. Graphic deletion is as good as cloze deletionGraphic deletion works like cloze deletion but instead of a missing phrase it uses a missing image component. For example, when learning anatomy, you might present a complex illustration. Only a small part of it would be missing. The student's job is to name the missing area. The same illustration can be used to formulate 10-20 items! Each item can ask about a specific subcomponent of the image. Graphic deletion works great in learning geography!
   Exemplary graphic deletion:
   
   

   SuperMemo 2000/2002	SuperMemo 99
   This is how you can quickly generate graphic deletion using a picture from the clipboard: Press Shift+Ins to paste the picture to SuperMemo Press Ctrl+Shift+M and choose Occlusiontemplate to apply graphic deletion template SuperMemo 2000 only: Choose Ctrl+Shift+F2 to impose and detach the Occlusion template Fill out the fields and place the occlusion rectangle to cover the appropriate part of the picture (use Alt+click twice to set the rectangle in the dragging mode)	In SuperMemo 99 you will need a few more steps: Create an item containing the following components: question text: What is the name of the area covered with the red rectangle? empty answer text (click Answer on the component menu) your illustration (use Import file on the image component menu) red rectangle component (choose red color with Color on the rectangle component menu) Choose Duplicate on the element menu (e.g. by pressing Ctrl+Alt+U) Ctrl+click the rectangle component twice to place it in the dragging mode Drag and size the red rectangle to cover the area in question Type in the answer in the answer field Press PgUp to go back to the original element created in Step 1 Go to Step 2 to add generate more graphic deletions Note that you could also paint covering rectangles or circles on the original image but this would greatly increase the size of your collection. The above method makes sure that you reuse the same image many times in all items of the same template. For example, the collection Brain Anatomy available from SuperMemo Library and on SuperMemo MegaMix CD-ROM uses the above technique
   A more detailed recipe for creating occlusion tests is presented in: Flow of knowledge

9. Avoid setsA set is a collection of objects. For example, a set of fruits might be an apple, a pear and a peach. A classic example of an item that is difficult to learn is an item that asks for the list of the members of a set. For example: What countries belong to the European Union? You should avoid such items whenever possible due to the high cost of retaining memories based on sets. If sets are absolutely necessary, you should always try to convert them into enumerations. Enumerations are ordered lists of members (for example, the alphabetical list of the members of the EU). Enumerations are also hard to remember and should be avoided. However, the great advantage of enumerations over sets is that they are ordered and they force the brain to list them always in the same order. An ordered list of countries contains more information than the set of countries that can be listed in any order. Paradoxically, despite containing more information, enumerations are easier to remember. The reason for this has been discussed earlier in the context of the minimum information principle: you should always try to make sure your brain works in the exactly same way at each repetition. In the case of sets, listing members in varying order at each repetition has a disastrous effect on memory. It is nearly impossible to memorize sets containing more than five members without the use of mnemonic techniques, enumeration, grouping, etc. Despite this claim, you will often succeed due to subconsciously mastered techniques that help you go around this problem. Those techniques, however, will fail you all too often. For that reason: Avoid sets! If you need them badly, convert them into enumerations and use techniques for dealing with enumerations
   

   Ill-formulated knowledge - Sets are unacceptable!

   Q: What countries belong to the European Union (2002)?A: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom

   Well-formulated knowledge - Converting a set into a meaningful listing

   Q: Which country hosted a meeting to consider the creation of a European Community of Defence in 1951? A: France Q: Which countries apart from France joined the European Coal and Steel Community in 1952? A: Germany, Italy and the Benelux Q: What countries make up the Benelux? A: Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands Q: Whose membership did Charles de Gaulle oppose in the 1960s? A: that of UK Q: Which countries joined the EEC along the UK in 1973? A: Ireland and Denmark Q: Which country joined the EEC in 1981? A: Greece Q: Which countries joined the EEC in 1986? A: Spain and Portugal Q: Which countries joined the EU in 1995? A: Austria, Sweden and Finland Q: What was the historic course of expansion of the European Union membership? A: (1) France and (2) Germany, Italy and the Benelux, (3) UK and (4) Ireland and Denmark, (5) Greece, (6) Spain and Portugal and (7) Austria, Sweden and Finland

   Note that in the example above, we converted a 15-member set into 9 items, five of which are 2-3 member sets, and one is a six member enumeration. Put it to your SuperMemo, and see how easy it is to generate the list of the European Union members using the historic timeline! Note the tricks used with France and the UK. They joined the union in the company of others but have been listed as separate items to simplify the learning process. Note also that the sum of information included in this well-formulated approach is far greater than that of the original set. Thus along simplicity, we gained some useful knowledge. All individual items effectively comply with the minimum information principle! You could go further by trying to split the Germany-Italy-Benelux set or using mnemonic techniques to memorize the final seven-member enumeration (i.e. the last of the questions above). However, you should take those steps only if you have any problems with retaining the proposed set in memory.
10. Avoid enumerationsEnumerations are also an example of classic items that are hard to learn. They are still far more acceptable than sets. Avoid enumerations wherever you can. If you cannot avoid them, deal with them using cloze deletions (overlapping cloze deletions if possible). Learning the alphabet can be a good example of an overlapping cloze deletion:
    

    Hard to learn item

    Q: What is the sequence of letters in the alphabet?A: abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

    Easy to learn items

    Q: What three letters does the alphabet begin with? A: ABCQ: Fill out the missing letters of the alphabet A ... ... ... E A: B, C, D Q: Fill out the missing letters of the alphabet B ... ... ... F A: C, D, E Q: Fill out the missing letters of the alphabet C ... ... ... G A: D, E, F

    The above items will make learning the alphabet much faster. The greatest advantage of the above approach is that is it easier for psychological reasons: the student does not have to stop repetitions to recite the whole sequence and can only focus on a small part of the learned material. Still it is recommended that he recite the whole alphabet after making the repetition. However, once all individual pieces are well remembered, reciting the whole should be a pleasant and speedy action that produces little frustration.
    The cloze deletion used above is an overlapping cloze deletion, i.e. the same parts of the enumeration are strengthened in memory using different items (for example, the sequence C-D will be needed to recall the second and the third item). This redundancy does not contradict the minimum information principle because the extra information is added in extra items.
    You can also deal with enumerations by using grouping like in the case of sets (see the European Union example) but cloze deletions should be simpler and should suffice in most cases.
    Learning poems is an example of learning enumerations (all words and sentences have to be uttered in a predefined sequence); however, due to strong semantic connections, the rhyme and the rhythm, it may often be possible to effectively remember poems without using cloze deletion and without the frustration of forgetting small subcomponents again and again. However, once you notice you stumble with your poem, you should dismember it using cloze deletion and thus make sure that the learning is fast, easy, effective and pleasurable
    

    A poem that is hard to remember

    Q: The credit belongs ... (Teddy Roosevelt)A: The credit belongs to the man who's actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat; a man who knows the great enthusiasm and the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who in the end knows the triumph of high achievement, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat

    A poem split into easy items

    Q: The credit belongs ... (Teddy Roosevelt) A: to the man who's actually in the arenaQ: The credit belongs to the man who's actually in the arena ... A: whose face is marred by dust and sweat (a man who knows the great enthusiasm) Q: whose face is marred by dust and sweat ... (The credit belongs) A: a man who knows the great enthusiasm and the great devotions (who spends himself in a worthy cause) Q: a man who knows the great enthusiasm and the great devotions ... (The credit belongs)  A: who spends himself in a worthy cause (who in the end knows the triumph of high achievement) Q: who spends himself in a worthy cause ... (The credit belongs) A: who in the end knows the triumph of high achievement (so that his place shall never be), etc. etc.

    Does it all sound artificial? It does! But you will never know how effective this approach is until you try it by yourself!
11. Combat interferenceWhen you learn about similar things you often confuse them. For example, you may have problems distinguishing between the meanings of the words historic and historical. This will even be more visible if you memorize lots of numbers, e.g. optimum dosages of drugs in pharmacotherapy. If knowledge of one item makes it harder to remember another item, we have a case of memory interference. You can often remember an item for years with straight excellent grades until ... you memorize another item that makes it nearly impossible to remember either! For example, if you learn geography and you memorize that the country located between Venezuela, Suriname and Brazil is Guyana, you are likely to easily recall this fact for years with just a couple of repetitions. However, once you add similar items asking about the location of all these countries, and French Guyana, and Colombia and more, you will suddenly notice strong memory interference and you may experience unexpected forgetting. In simple terms: you will get confused about what is what.
    Interference is probably the single greatest cause of forgetting in collections of an experienced user of SuperMemo. You can never be sure when it strikes, and the only hermetic procedure against it is todetect and eliminate. In other words, in many cases it may be impossible to predict interference at the moment of formulating knowledge. Interference can also occur between remotely related items like Guyana, Guyard and Guyenne, as well as Guyana, kayman and ... aspirin. It may work differently for you and for your colleague. It very hard to predict.
    Still you should do your best to prevent interference before it takes its toll. This will make your learning process less stressful and mentally bearable. Here are some tips:
    

    • make items as unambiguous as possible
    • stick to the minimum information principle (many of the remaining rules in this text are based on avoiding interference!)
    • eliminate interference as soon as you spot it, i.e. before it becomes your obsession (e.g. as soon as you see the word inept you think "I know the meanings of inept and inapt but I will never know which is which!")

    • in SuperMemo use View : Other browsers : Leeches (Shift+F3) to regularly review and eliminate most difficult items

    • read more: Memory interference

12. Optimize wordingThe wording of your items must be optimized to make sure that in minimum time the right bulb in your brain lights up. This will reduce error rates, increase specificity, reduce response time, and help your concentration.
    

    Less optimum item: cloze deletion that is too wordy

    Q: Aldus invented desktop publishing in 1985 with PageMaker. Aldus had little competition for years, and so failed to improve. Then Denver-based ... blew past. PageMaker, now owned by Adobe, remains No. 2 A: Quark

    Better item: fewer words will speed up learning

    Q: Aldus invented desktop publishing in 1985 with PageMaker but failed to improve. Then ... blew past (PageMaker remains No. 2) A: QuarkOr better: Q: Aldus invented desktop publishing with PageMaker but failed to improve. It was soon outdistanced by ... A: Quark Or better: Q: PageMaker failed to improve and was outdistanced by ... A: Quark Or better: Q: PageMaker lost ground to ... A: Quark

    Note that the loss of information content in this item is inconsequential. During repetition you are only supposed to learn the name: Quark. You should not hope that the trailing messages on the ownership of PageMaker and the year of its development will somehow trickle to your memory as a side effect. You should decide if the other pieces of information are important to you and if so, store them in separate items (perhaps reusing the above text, employing cloze deletion again and optimizing the wording in a new way). Otherwise the redundant information will only slow down your learning process!
13. Refer to other memoriesReferring to other memories can place your item in a better context, simplify wording, and reduce interference. In the example below, using the words humble and supplicant helps the student focus on the word shamelessly and thus strengthen the correct semantics. Better focus helps eliminating interference. Secondly, the use of the words humble and supplicant makes it possible to avoid interference of cringing with these words themselves. Finally, the proposed wording is shorter and more specific. Naturally, the rules basics-to-details and do not learn what you do not understandrequire that the words humble and supplicant be learned beforehand (or at least at the same time)
    

    Item subject to strong interference

    Q: derog: adj: shamelessly conscious of one's failings and asking in a begging way A: cringing

    Item that uses interfering memories to amplify the correct meaning

    Q: derog: adj: shamelessly humble and supplicant A: cringing

14. Personalize and provide examplesOne of the most effective ways of enhancing memories is to provide them with a link to your personal life. In the example below you will save time if you use a personal reference rather than trying to paint a picture that would aptly illustrate the question
    

    Harder item

    Q: What is the name of a soft bed without arms or back? A: divan

    Easier item

    Q: What is the name of a soft bed without arms or back? (like the one at Robert's parents) A: divan

    If you remember exactly what kind of soft bed can be found in Robert's parents' apartment you will save time by not having to dig exactly into the semantics of the definition and/or looking for an appropriate graphic illustration for the piece of furniture in question. Personalized examples are very resistant to interference and can greatly reduce your learning time
15. Rely on emotional statesIf you can illustrate your items with examples that are vivid or even shocking, you are likely to enhance retrieval (as long as you do not overuse same tools and fall victim of interference!). Your items may assume bizarre form; however, as long as they are produced for your private consumption, the end justifies the means. Use objects that evoke very specific and strong emotions: love, sex, war, your late relative, object of your infatuation, Linda Tripp, Nelson Mandela, etc. It is well known that emotional states can facilitate recall; however, you should make sure that you are not deprived of the said emotional clues at the moment when you need to retrieve a given memory in a real-life situation
    

    Harder item

    Q: a light and joking conversation A: banter

    Easier item

    Q: a light and joking conversation (e.g. Mandela and de Klerk in 1992) A: banter

    If you have vivid and positive memories related to the meetings between Nelson Mandela and F.W. de Klerk, you are likely to quickly grasp the meaning of the definition of banter. Without the example you might struggle with interference from words such as badinage or even chat. There is no risk of irrelevant emotional state in this example as the state helps to define the semantics of the learned concept! A well-thought example can often reduce your learning time several times! I have recorded examples in which an item without an example was forgotten 20 times within one year, while the same item with a subtle interference-busting example was not forgotten even once in ten repetitions spread over five years. This is roughly equivalent to 25-fold saving in time in the period of 20 years! Such examples are not rare! They are most effectively handled with the all the preceding rules targeted on simplicity and against the interference
16. Context cues simplify wordingYou can use categories in SuperMemo 2000/2002, provide different branches of knowledge with a different look (different template), use reference labels (Title, Author, Date, etc.) and clearly label subcategories (e.g. with strings such as chem for chemistry, math for mathematics, etc.). This will help you simplify the wording of your items as you will be relieved from the need to specify the context of your question. In the example below, the well-defined prefix bioch: saves you a lot of typing and a lot of reading while still making sure you do not confuse the abbreviation GRE with Graduate Record Examination. Note that in the recommended case, you process the item starting from the label bioch which puts your brain immediately in the right context. While processing the lesser optimum case, you will waste precious milliseconds on flashing the standard meaning of GRE and ... what is worse ... you will light up the wrong areas of your brain that will now perhaps be prone to interference!
    

    Wordy item can cause accidental lapses through interference

    Q: What does GRE stand for in biochemistry? A: glucocorticoid response element

    Context-labeled items increase success rate

    Q: bioch: GRE A: glucocorticoid response element

17. Redundancy does not contradict minimum information principleRedundancy in simple terms is more information than needed or duplicate information, etc. Redundancy does not have to contradict the minimum information principle and may even be welcome. The problem of redundancy is too wide for this short text. Here are some examples that are only to illustrate that minimum information principle cannot be understood as minimum number of characters or bits in your collections or even items:
    
    • passive and active approach: if you learn a foreign language, e.g. Esperanto, you will often build word pairs such as phone-telefono, language-lingvo, hope-esperanto, etc. These pairs require active recall of the foreign word. Active recall does not, however, guarantee passive recognition and you may fail with telefono-phone, lingvo-language, or esperanto-hope. Adding new elements with swapped questions and answers may in some cases be redundant but it does not contradict the minimum information principle! Your items are still as simple as possible. You just get more of them

      In SuperMemo 2000/2002, you can quickly generate swapped word-pair items with Duplicate (Ctrl+Alt+D) and Swap (Ctrl+Shift+S)

    • reasoning cues: you will often want to boost your reasoning ability by asking about a solution to the problem. Instead of just memorizing the answer you would like to quickly follow the reasoning steps (e.g. solve a simple mathematical equation) and generate the answer. In such a case, providing the hint on the reasoning steps in the answer will only serve helping you always follow the right path at repetitions
    • derivation steps: in more complex problems to solve, memorizing individual derivation steps is always highly recommended (e.g. solving complex mathematical problems). It is not cramming! It is making sure that the brain can always follow the fastest path while solving the problem. For more on boosting creativity and intelligence read: Roots of genius and creativity, as well as more specific: Derivation, reasoning and intelligence
    • multiple semantic representation: very often the same knowledge can be represented and viewed from different angles. Memorizing different representations of the same fact or rule is recommended in cases where a given memory is of high value. This will increase the expected recall rate (beyond that specified with the forgetting index)!
    • flexible repetition: if there are many valid responses to the same question make sure that your representation makes it possible to identify the equivalence and reward you with good grades by providing just one of the equivalent choices. For example, if you learn a language, it rarely make sense to learn all synonyms that meet a definition of a concept. It is more adequate to consider a single synonym as the sufficient answer (e.g. a mark made by ink spilt on sth = blot/blob/blotch)
    • more
18. Provide sourcesExcept for well-tested and proven knowledge (such as 2+2=4), it is highly recommended that you include sources from which you have gathered your knowledge. In real-life situation you will often be confronted with challenges to your knowledge. Sources can come to your rescue. You will also find that facts and figures differ depending on the source. You can really be surprised how frivolously reputable information agencies publish figures that are drastically different from other equally reputable sources. Without SuperMemo, those discrepancies are often difficult to notice: before you encounter the new fact, the old one is often long forgotten. With sources provided, you will be able to make more educated choices on which pieces of information are more reliable. Adding reliability labels may also be helpful (e.g. Watch out!, Other sources differ!, etc.). Sources should accompany your items but should not be part of the learned knowledge (unless it is critical for you to be able to recall the source whenever asked).
19. Provide date stampingKnowledge can be relatively stable (basic math, anatomy, taxonomy, physical geography, etc.) and highly volatile (economic indicators, high-tech knowledge, personal statistics, etc.). It is important that you provide your items with time stamping or other tags indicating the degree of obsolescence. In case of statistical figures, you might stamp them with the year they have been collected. When learning software applications, it is enough you stamp the item with the software version. Once you have newer figures you can update your items. Unfortunately, in most cases you will have to re-memorize knowledge that became outdated. Date stamping is useful in editing and verifying your knowledge; however, you will rarely want to memorize stamping itself. If you would like to remember the changes of a given figure in time (e.g. GNP figures over a number of years), the date stamping becomes the learned knowledge itself.
20. PrioritizeYou will always face far more knowledge that you will be able to master. That is why prioritizing is critical for building quality knowledge in the long-term. The way you prioritize will affect the way your knowledge slots in. This will also affect the speed of learning (e.g. see: learn basics first). There are many stages at which prioritizing will take place; only few are relevant to knowledge representation, but all are important:
    

    1. Prioritizing sources - there will always be a number of sources of your knowledge. If you are still at student years: these will most likely be books and notes pertaining to different subjects. Otherwise you will probably rely more on journals, Internet, TV, newspapers, encyclopedias, dictionaries, etc. It is always worth being aware what is the optimum proportion of time devoted to those varied sources. As you progress with learning, you will quickly develop a good sense of which learning slots bring better results and which might be extended at the cost of others
    2. Extracting knowledge - unless you are about to pass an important exam, it nearly never makes sense to memorize whole books or whole articles. You will need to extract those parts that are most likely to impact the quality of your knowledge. You can do it by (1) marking paragraphs in a book or journal, (2) pasting relevant web pages to SuperMemo, (3) pasting relevant passages to SuperMemo, (4) typing facts and figures directly to SuperMemo notes, etc. You will need some experience before you can accurately measure how much knowledge you can indeed transfer to your brain and what degree of detail you can feasibly master. Your best way to prioritize the flow of knowledge into your memory is to use incremental reading tools
    3. Transferring knowledge to SuperMemo - you may try to stick with the 20 rules of formulating knowledge at the moment of introducing your material to SuperMemo. However, you can also literally transfer your notes or import whole files and later use the mechanisms provided by SuperMemo to determine the order of processing the imported material. Probably the best criterion for choosing between formulating or just importing is the time needed for accurately formulating the item or items. If formulation requires more knowledge, more time, comparing with other sources, etc. you can just import. Otherwise, if you believe that formulating an accurate item is a matter of seconds, formulate it
    4. Formulating items - make sure that explanatory or optional components of the answer are placed in the parentheses so that your attention is focused on the most important part of the item. The parts in the parentheses can be read after the repetition to strengthen the memory in its context
    5. Using forgetting index - you can use the forgetting index to prioritize pending items. The sequence of repetitions will naturally be determined by SuperMemo; however, you can request higher retention level for items that are more important and lower retention level for items of lower priority
    6. Learning - the process of prioritizing does not end with the onset of repetitions. Here are the tools you can use to continue setting your priorities while the learning process is under way:
       1. Remember (Ctrl+M) - re-memorize items of high priority that have changed or which are extremely important to your knowledge at a given moment. If you choose Ctrl+Myou will be able to determine the next interval for the currently reviewed item (its repetition counter will be reset to zero). It is recommended that you always re-memorize items whose content has changed significantly
       2. Reschedule (Ctrl+J) - manually schedule the date of the next repetition
       3. Execute repetition (Ctrl+Shift+R) - manually execute a repetition even before the repetition's due date (e.g. when reviewing particularly important material)
       4. Forget (Ctrl+R) - remove the current item from the learning process and place it at the end of the pending queue
       5. Dismiss (Ctrl+D) - ignore the current item in the learning process altogether
       6. Delete (Ctrl+Shift+Del) - remove the current item from your collection
       7. Change the forgetting index of memorized items or change the ordinal of pending items (Ctrl+Shift+P)

Summary
Here again are the twenty rules of formulating knowledge. You will notice that the first 16 rules revolve around making memories simple! Some of the rules strongly overlap. For example: do not learn if you do not understand is a form of applying the minimum information principle which again is a way of making things simple:

1. Do not learn if you do not understand
2. Learn before you memorize - build the picture of the whole before you dismember it into simple items in SuperMemo. If the whole shows holes, review it again!
3. Build upon the basics - never jump both feet into a complex manual because you may never see the end. Well remembered basics will help the remaining knowledge easily fit in
4. Stick to the minimum information principle - if you continue forgetting an item, try to make it as simple as possible. If it does not help, see the remaining rules (cloze deletion, graphics, mnemonic techniques, converting sets into enumerations, etc.)
5. Cloze deletion is easy and effective - completing a deleted word or phrase is not only an effective way of learning. Most of all, it greatly speeds up formulating knowledge and is highly recommended for beginners
6. Use imagery - a picture is worth a thousand words
7. Use mnemonic techniques - read about peg lists and mind maps. Study the books by Tony Buzan. Learn how to convert memories into funny pictures. You won't have problems with phone numbers and complex figures
8. Graphic deletion is as good as cloze deletion - obstructing parts of a picture is great for learning anatomy, geography and more
9. Avoid sets - larger sets are virtually un-memorizable unless you convert them into enumerations!
10. Avoid enumerations - enumerations are also hard to remember but can be dealt with using cloze deletion
11. Combat interference - even the simplest items can be completely intractable if they are similar to other items. Use examples, context cues, vivid illustrations, refer to emotions, and to your personal life
12. Optimize wording - like you reduce mathematical equations, you can reduce complex sentences into smart, compact and enjoyable maxims
13. Refer to other memories - building memories on other memories generates a coherent and hermetic structure that forgetting is less likely to affect. Build upon the basics and use planned redundancy to fill in the gaps
14. Personalize and provide examples - personalization might be the most effective way of building upon other memories. Your personal life is a gold mine of facts and events to refer to. As long as you build a collection for yourself, use personalization richly to build upon well established memories
15. Rely on emotional states - emotions are related to memories. If you learn a fact in the sate of sadness, you are more likely to recall it if when you are sad. Some memories can induce emotions and help you employ this property of the brain in remembering
16. Context cues simplify wording - providing context is a way of simplifying memories, building upon earlier knowledge and avoiding interference
17. Redundancy does not contradict minimum information principle - some forms of redundancy are welcome. There is little harm in memorizing the same fact as viewed from different angles. Passive and active approach is particularly practicable in learning word-pairs. Memorizing derivation steps in problem solving is a way towards boosting your intellectual powers!
18. Provide sources - sources help you manage the learning process, updating your knowledge, judging its reliability, or importance
19. Provide date stamping - time stamping is useful for volatile knowledge that changes in time
20. Prioritize - effective learning is all about prioritizing. In incremental reading you can start from badly formulated knowledge and improve its shape as you proceed with learning (in proportion to the cost of inappropriate formulation). If need be, you can review pieces of knowledge again, split it into parts, reformulate, reprioritize, or delete. See also: Incremental reading, Devouring knowledge, Flow of knowledge, Using tasklists

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See also:

• FAQ: Knowledge structuring
• the above rules have been grouped and prioritized for you to easily get a grasp of the problems you will encounter when formulating knowledge in learning. For a more in-depth analysis in a more systematic manner, you can read: Knowledge structuring and representation in learning based on active recall (this text is rather theoretical and more hermetic)
• see Genius and creativity, which includes a section on the role of knowledge representation in problem solving and creativity