Difference between revisions of "Reverse side card for everything"

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(Created page with "'''Reverse side card for everything''' is the idea that in Anki, you should never use the basic note type (front->back), that you should instead use a "Basic (and reversed car...")
 
 
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'''Reverse side card for everything''' is the idea that in Anki, you should never use the basic note type (front->back), that you should instead use a "Basic (and reversed card)" note type (front<->back) for everything. For every novel term, you want to be able to recall the idea, but also the term itself (so you can use the term). For every question, you want to play a version of Jeopardy. "Every thought has a counterpart".
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'''Reverse side card for everything''' is the idea that in [[Anki]], you should never use the basic note type (front->back), that you should instead use a "Basic (and reversed card)" note type (front<->back) for everything. For every novel term, you want to be able to recall the idea, but also the term itself (so you can use the term). For every question, you want to play a version of Jeopardy. "Every thought has a counterpart/dual".
  
So... this idea is obviously crazy. I'm not actually a proponent of this philosophy... I just had this idea, and I think it's an interesting one. It's the sort of idea that maybe you should think about seriously over the course of a month, try to actually implement, then give up so that you can steal the good parts (i.e. the ability to ''notice'' when a reverse side should be added, rather than reflexively adding a basic note type).
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When making an Anki card, it's a good idea to always ask yourself "could this card have a useful reverse side?" More and more, I find that the answer is "yes", and the cost is small (you usually just have to phrase it in a slightly different way so that the card makes sense going from both directions).
  
[[Category:Anki]]
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So... this idea is obviously crazy. I'm not actually a proponent of this philosophy... I just had this idea, and I think it's an interesting one. It's the sort of idea that maybe you should think about seriously over the course of a month, try to actually implement, then give up so that you can steal the good parts (i.e. the ability to ''notice'' when a reverse side should be added, and the skill to quickly convert wording from basic to basic-with-reverse, rather than reflexively adding a basic note type). You force yourself to do something, you develop an instinct, then you free yourself from the constraint (but you still keep the instinct).
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August 2023 update: I stopped doing this quite a while ago, but still found it quite useful, and now I probably have gone back to not making enough reverse-side cards. So perhaps I should give this another try.
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==See also==
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* [[List of techniques for making small cards]]
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[[Category:Spaced repetition]]

Latest revision as of 00:41, 19 August 2023

Reverse side card for everything is the idea that in Anki, you should never use the basic note type (front->back), that you should instead use a "Basic (and reversed card)" note type (front<->back) for everything. For every novel term, you want to be able to recall the idea, but also the term itself (so you can use the term). For every question, you want to play a version of Jeopardy. "Every thought has a counterpart/dual".

When making an Anki card, it's a good idea to always ask yourself "could this card have a useful reverse side?" More and more, I find that the answer is "yes", and the cost is small (you usually just have to phrase it in a slightly different way so that the card makes sense going from both directions).

So... this idea is obviously crazy. I'm not actually a proponent of this philosophy... I just had this idea, and I think it's an interesting one. It's the sort of idea that maybe you should think about seriously over the course of a month, try to actually implement, then give up so that you can steal the good parts (i.e. the ability to notice when a reverse side should be added, and the skill to quickly convert wording from basic to basic-with-reverse, rather than reflexively adding a basic note type). You force yourself to do something, you develop an instinct, then you free yourself from the constraint (but you still keep the instinct).

August 2023 update: I stopped doing this quite a while ago, but still found it quite useful, and now I probably have gone back to not making enough reverse-side cards. So perhaps I should give this another try.

See also