Today, the spacing effect is well known to psychological scientists and many teachers, and it is often represented as demonstrating the benefits of rest and the dangers of cramming. But the true mechanism is more counter-intuitive, and hinges on the very frustration that had annoyed the postmen. By splitting our studies into smaller chunks, we create periods in which we can forget what we’ve learnt, meaning that at the start of the next session, we need to work harder to remember what to do. That process – of forgetting, and then forcing ourselves to relearn the material – strengthens the
...more
