Add-on request/suggestion for a high repetition mode

Anki Add-ons
1

I must preface this by stating that I have looked for a way to do this and haven’t found it, if there are ways to do any parts of this already I would be happy to find out about them, as well as any other strategies that might work :)

A “Learn” mode where there is a progress bar along the top and incredibly frequent repeats for cards - the sequence would start by displaying the question and answer together on the same page followed by a staged, progressive sequence (C= displaying answer and question (both sides of card together)) aC aaa bC a bbb a cC b ccc b a dC c ddd a b c eC d eee

After the 5th stage of the sequence it switches to alternating between the first 5 terms by most recently displayed until each one has been answered correctly a set number of times (default 10) Incorrectly answering does not visually affect the correct count but it also requires you to get that one right 2 more times. After reaching the target it follows the initial pattern for the next 5 terms and so on, through the entire selected group.

It would also be super helpful to be able to take 2 cards you frequently confuse and put them against each-other to run their own n correct sequence

I would also like the entry formats to be multiple choice and text entry, with an option to “override” if I spell it wrong and deem the spelling non-critical as well as an option to save my full response as a local correct answer if the answer needs to be an explanation as I seem to explain things basically the same way every time.



Why do I want this?

Expand I have particular trouble with getting things to "stick" when it comes to certain very specific things, so I find that I need to repeat them 80-90 times on the low side and 200+ times on the high side in a structured way over a very short period (under an hour) before it will finally make it into my long term memory. Unfortunately, the default behavior of Anki is not really conducive to this. A few examples of categories where I have this issue: Specific relationships between a numerical value and a name - such as a frequency and it's name(s)/ restriction names/ classes. Relationships between new vocabulary words (regardless of language). Relationships between characters and symbols like G-codes and remembering key sequences for extended symbols in morse. Relationships between acronyms and words (like Q-codes). Relationships between characters and words - like the international phonetic alphabet.

I really appreciate the work that the community puts in to make Anki as useful as it is. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

2

I don’t mean to sound glib, but I think what you’re looking for is not Anki. I suspect there are other, less-sophisticated flashcard apps that you could use to flip mindlessly, rapidly, and repeatedly through the same cards hundreds of times.

The things you’re suggesting are in opposition to the concepts of spaced repetition. I can’t think of ways to accomplish them with Anki functionality. I’m not even sure that an add-on would be able to do do this, because it cuts out so many of the things that make Anki functional and effective.

I’m setting aside my doubts about your approach from a memory-formation/brain-science perspective – because I suppose it’s possible that it would work for you. You obviously know your brain better than I do! But I think for most learners, this wouldn’t work at all – so it might not get that much traction with add-on developers. But best of luck in your search!

2 Likes
3

100% fair. I agree that this probably isn’t a very common issue. Once I actually manage to retain things I’ve had good luck using Anki’s SRS for quarterly(ish) review. I initially assumed I would have to write something from scratch but thought it was at least worth asking - the more I look at all of the things I would have to integrate to get it to actually work (db+ parser, network, image and video processing, a bunch of custom logic) the more daunting of a task it seems.

I stumbled on this (seemingly uncommon?) method actually working for me by random chance - 1 app basically had this arrangement but is closed source and only covered a couple alphabets (not affiliated and not sure I would be allowed to name it). I was able to retain what I got nowhere with in weeks in about 90 minutes. Other than those specific association tasks my memory seems to work fine - I can learn quite a few things just by watching them once sped up and still retain them for whatever reason.

Thanks for the luck :D

1 Like