Lesson 111 of 1570
Flashcards 2.0: Anki Plus AI for Spaced Repetition
Anki is the nerd's secret weapon for memorizing anything. AI makes creating flashcards 10x faster, so you actually use them.
Lesson map
What this lesson covers
Learning path
The main moves in order
- 1The memory science
- 2spaced repetition
- 3Anki
- 4flashcards
Concept cluster
Terms to connect while reading
Section 1
The memory science
Your brain forgets things on a curve. Something you learn today, you forget 80% of tomorrow. But if you review it right before you forget, the next forgetting curve is flatter. Review again right before forgetting - even flatter. After 5-6 reviews, you know it forever. This is called spaced repetition.
Anki and its cousins
- Anki: the original, free on desktop, $25 on iPhone (lifetime)
- Quizlet: easier UI, free tier, AI generates cards from notes
- RemNote: combines notes + flashcards, AI-powered
- Brainscape: streamlined, has pre-made decks by subject
- Mochi: Anki-style but prettier, free
Where AI comes in
The #1 reason people quit Anki: making cards is slow. Typing 200 flashcards by hand is brutal. AI makes flashcard decks in seconds from your textbook chapters, notes, or lecture recordings.
This deck creation takes AI 30 seconds. Used to take 2 hours.
Prompt for making a flashcard deck:
'I am a 10th grader studying the Roaring Twenties.
Make me 20 flashcards. Format each as:
Q: [question]
A: [answer]
Cover: key events, people, cultural shifts, economic factors.
Keep answers under 15 words so they're quick to review.'Anki + AI workflow
- 1After class, take rough notes
- 2Paste notes into ChatGPT with the above prompt
- 3Copy AI's cards into Anki's 'import' as plain text
- 4Anki saves them - now review 15-20 cards per day
- 5Anki handles the spacing algorithm for you
- 6In 3 weeks of 10 minutes a day, you know 300 facts cold
Quizlet with AI
Quizlet has AI features built in. Paste your notes into 'Magic Notes' and it makes a flashcard set automatically. Less powerful than Anki for long-term memory, but faster and prettier.
Compare the options
| Anki | Quizlet |
|---|---|
| Ugly, nerdy, free | Pretty, social, freemium |
| Best long-term memory science | Okay for short-term memorization |
| Steep learning curve | Instant to start |
| You control everything | Some friction to export data |
| What pre-med students use | What your friends use |
AI image cards for visual learners
Anki lets you put images on cards. Ask AI to generate an image for each card. Like Spanish words: paste a vocab list into ChatGPT, ask for a description image for each word, add to Anki. Visual + word together = faster memory.
The honest-learning note
- GOOD: AI makes cards from your notes - you study them
- GOOD: AI explains an answer you missed
- GOOD: ChatGPT voice mode quizzes you from your card deck
- BAD: Never actually reviewing the cards and thinking you 'studied'
“Memory is the mother of all wisdom.”
Key terms in this lesson
The big idea: spaced repetition is the most proven memory technique on Earth. AI removes the tedious part (making cards) so you can focus on the part that matters (reviewing them). Daily. For 10 minutes. That is it.
End-of-lesson quiz
Check what stuck
15 questions · Score saves to your progress.
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