Some would cast aspersions regarding my lifestyle—- I mean writing style, especially pertaining to practices of repetition. I do harbor a penchant and affinity for simpler figures of speech and rhetoric which fall under the more general category of “repetitio.” It’s funny how all of my attempts at pronouncing Latin words come out sounding like the spells in Harry Potter.
These detractors also entertain animadversions concerning the broader, meta practice of spaced repetition with flashcards. This criticism isn’t an historically new form of criticism. This criticism has been around since ancient times.
Certain flavors of Christianity have it out for vain repetition in prayer. Current criticism of repetition is just a new manifestation or form of the old criticism. Please note that I’m not making an historical, evolutionary argument here. This is just a convenient comparison. Religion was a major predecessor to science as far as understanding the world. Therefore, as prayer was and is a way of practicing those understandings, so SRS flashcarding is in some ways a similar form of practice, but for science and other kinds of narratives.
My point is that spaced repetition is like private repetitive prayer, but not in vain! Does it feel like I’ve gone off the deep end with this one? I hope not. It’s not similar in the emotional, superstitious, wanting senses. It is similar in the sense of calculatedly engaging with a broader culture in private, and it allows you more precision as to how and which cultures and language you wish to practice.
I took my work, cut it down into this bite-sized, abridged version, and have decided to make it freely available in various places o’er the Interwebz. Permit me to be blunt: I worked really hard on the full version, and it will soon be is available in sundry formats in various places including Amazon, Smashwords, and Udemy. Especially since a lot of good stuff got cut out in order to make this abridged version possible, I urge you to give the full version your serious consideration.
lordpajamacat 