I dearly wish I had used something like Anki throughout college instead of many years later. And actually focusing on understanding and long term recall rather than passing tests. It would have been difficult though, since having multiple difficult classes simultaneously often requires cramming at the end followed by focusing on the next course. But if I went back to school now that's what I would have done.
I’ve used Anki to learn foreign languages and it has been amazing so I tried to use it in grad school but it backfired because all my courses expected understanding a few big deep ideas and not memorization of hundreds of small facts. I think it really depends on the domain, like medschool its commonly used but I’m not sure about other areas.
Do you have any examples? I'm genuinely curious. I'm using it for languages but also math etc. I've found that medium/big picture ideas come with some kind of "insight" that has to fit into short term memory, or consciousness, so it must be possible to construct some cue that reminds me of this insight. I've also learned over time that even though it feels like I could never forget an insight I just had, over time they fade as well unless I revisit them.
Examples of where I dont find srs productive- law and programming. Both are focused on deep ideas that do not convert easily to a short sentence and by the time you’ve gotten the idea the verbal reminder is not necessary. I know what you mean about an insight but for me when I really get something, for example an algorithm its more like a mental picture of moving parts in my head.
