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  • Human memory is not like computer memory. It's more akin to a workout. Your muscles get strong by repeated stress of a long period of time. Your brain remembers through repeated learning over a long period of time.

    Cramming for an exam is a little like cramming for a marathon. Not a good idea.

    Study in smaller time segments spread out as much as possible. Vary your study patterns and environment. Use different techniques. Connect details with concepts and narratives.

  • Maybe Instead of trying to memorize answers to exam questions, take some time to understand what is being presented to you. Examine, digest, and internalize the knowledge so it can be distilled into real understanding of the fundimental abstract concepts being conveyed.

    Its like the difference between skimming through a paragraph to track down one piece of information vs being invested in reading through the chapter in totality to appreciate the plot of a good story. One might get you a passing grade on this weeks exam in a pinch and let you get back to partying, the other let's the core of the knowledge live in you forever or atleast long after school is over and your neurons start weakening with age.

    Let the ideas and concepts roll around in your mind like a fine wine tasting. Examine them, play with them, see how they line up with your pre-existing understandings of smilar concepts and reality in general. Make up some toy model example scenarios, visualize with your minds eye, see if its similar to a related concept you're already familiar with. Think about the concepts and the abstractions and how they logically lead to exam solutions.

    Then when you're tired of thinking and visualizing to the point your brain actually aches from the workout, rest. Play a game, watch some entertainment, have fun, get a good sleep and let your subconscious internalize all that knowledge. Allow your neurons to rearrange themselves to better model new patterns of information.

  • What's your process? Where in the process does the knowledge get lost?

    My learning process back when I was studying has always been to summarize the material. Go through it, and write out a summary, and what was non-obvious to me. And then, if applicable, summarize that summarization, reducing what I could clear up.

    • the most standard one and bam deleted as soon as im asked

      i think my brain is doing this on purpose tbh, because i only forget stuff if im asked about it

  • You should share some context: how do you study, in what conditions (quiet room, all by yourself, in a busy place, watching TV or listening to music?)? What do you study (Minecraft cheat codes, astrophysics, XIX French literature)? Using what methodology? (ie do you take notes or not, how. Do you read, and how?)

    FYI, I cannot memorize anything if I'm not writing it down... longhand.
    And I can hardly understand anything I read/study if I'm not taking notes while I'm studying/reading it. Even when I read a novel or an article, I take notes ;)

    • so like i always do some random exercisex apart of my homework and read stuff on the topic and always on my desk, doesnt matter if i take notes or not i still forget what is in the exam. also happens when mom asks me if we have mustard in the fridge

      • doesn't matter if i take notes or not i still forget what is in the exam

        Then, let me ask how do you take note while you're studying? It's a technique, it's not a magical wand quite obviously, nor is it in an On/Off switch. If it doesn't work there must be a reason why, I mean a reason other than 'it just doesn't work' ;)

        I'm sorry if all what follows sounds painfully obvious but since you're kind of vague on your exact process/situation and I can't guess how you're working I think it's worth mentioning.

        I mean, for example there is not much use in verbatim copying what you ear or what you just read in a book because, well, you're not an audio recorder or a camera, both of those tools would do the job way better than any of us can ever hope to do. So, since we're smart, we should use them to record instead of our brain which we shoudl use to understand what has just been recorded.

        In fact, using the brain as a recorder is a gigantic waste our (limited) energy and won't help anyone learn or understand much. Instead, you need to, how do you say that in English? You need to rephrase or to reword the teacher's or the author's thoughts into your own words. That's how you internalize (make it your own) whatever you're studying.

        When I was a student my rule was to write whatever the teacher was saying as stupidly as I could. I did not sweat writing frantically to copy whatever crap he was saying. I listened and summarized multiple of his sentences (teachers need (and often like) to repeat themselves) in a few words at most. I also devised my own shorthand to make it even quicker to write stuff down without getting tired. Back in my room, I would then read my notes and re-summarize them if not the same day, at the soonest opportunity so it was still fresh in my mind (this helps a lot). Internalizing that info make it so that as a student I could easily spend a lot of time partying or having fun (and I did) while still acing all my exams...without cheating, I mean.

        Also, merely underlining passages in a book (even using many nice colors) is not of much use either. It's purpose should be to let you quickly locate what you think are meaningful sections, that's all. To understand/internalize the idea itself, the best way is still to summarize it into your own words. Be it a lecture or a book.

        also happens when mom asks me if we have mustard in the fridge

        I have no idea what's in our fridge or more exactly what needs refill. And why would I bother? Lists are made for that.

        My spouse and I keep a small scrap of paper (usually, the back of an envelope—yep, we're that cheap ;)) for whatever is missing or soon will need resupply and the first of us the goes out to do some errands pick that list. Unsurprisingly, our fridge is always exactly like we want it without any effort from us to memorize anything. Mustard is getting low? Add it to list, problem solved. We all have limited brain power, don't waste it on useless crap like memorizing the content of your fridge.

        Once again, all of this may sound obvious but that is also the fundamentals of learning/understanding and even memorizing anything. If you're willing to share more specific info on your issue maybe I, or anyone else more qualified, could give more specific suggestions?

        What I'm pretty sure of is that more often than not that kind of difficulties is related to the process itself not to some inability.

        Hope this helps.

  • Maybe try Anki ? It is specifically designed to help memorize stuff long term through spaced repetition.

    You will need to create you own cards or find someone else's cards. Later after learning a card, it will magically schedule a review at the best time to not forget it.

    It really help me to learn vocabulary. (enable FSRS from the beginning)

    • thing is, the issue is mostly with math (also with languages but mostly with spanish, which is pretty ironic since im a native speaker)

      might give it a try tho idk

      • Then the problem is that you are trying to memorise things that shouldn't be memorised.

        anki, mind palace and other mnemotechnics are good if you need to memorise irregular conjugations but math is different. The easiest method is to associate thing to memorise with some absurd and funny sentence. Emotions are relly good catalyst for memorising stuff.

        Math is based on rules and principles that you need to mix and match. The standard and basic method is to do hundredths of exercises. The better aproach would be to use math to solve complex problem with a lot of different tools. Some algebra, some geometry, some analysis. It will engage your brain and by putting mental effort (not willpower effort) you will retain that stufd for the future.

  • https://learningcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/studying-101-study-smarter-not-harder/ <- this looks good for me from quick glance over

    Also how much do you remember already? Sit down and write in a diairy (once is enough as diary should be used differently)

    Notable events of the day? What did you eat for breakfast? What did you do last weekend? What happend last month? Where did you go last summer? How much do you remember from you life?

    For me I didn't remember stuff older than a week due to childhood trauma. I couldn't tell you when and where I traveled last month, but still I had a knack for understanding math rules and principles.

    Edit: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Memorization#Techniques

    • i remember everything BUT the things im asked

      • Maybe contemplate that for a bit. It's not common for someone to forget things you are asked to memorise.

        Why are you forgeting things that are asked of you? Why is it important for you to not remember them?

        A meditation like state is quite good for that kind of introspective thinking. Closed eyes and quiet place really help to hear your inner quiet thoughts. (unless you have adhd, then you need different method)

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