Learning: What Actually Works

Let's cut through the noise. After decades of research and millions of students serving as unwitting test subjects, we know what actually works for learning. It's not sexy, it's not revolutionary, and it definitely won't sell you a $997 course. But it works!

The answer comes down to two fundamental principles: spaced repetition and active recall. Everything else – the mind maps, the highlighting, the Mozart in the background – is window dressing. Some of it helps a little, some of it helps you feel better about studying, but none of it matters if you're not doing these two things.

Here's the thing that nobody wants to admit: one of these is trivially easy in 2024, and the other remains as hard as it was for Aristotle.

The Easy Part: Spaced Repetition

Spaced repetition means reviewing information at increasing intervals. Review something after a day, then after three days, then a week, then a month. Your brain strengthens the memory each time you successfully retrieve it, and the increasing gaps force your brain to work harder, making the memory more durable.

This used to be complicated. People had elaborate filing systems with index cards, moving them between boxes labeled "Daily," "Weekly," "Monthly." It was a logistical nightmare that only the most dedicated students could maintain.

Today? Download Anki. Install RemNote. Fire up any of a dozen apps. The computer handles all the scheduling. It knows exactly when you need to see each piece of information again. It tracks your performance and adjusts the intervals. The friction has been reduced to almost zero.

The algorithm is solved. The scheduling is automated. This part is done.

So why isn't everyone a polyglot neurosurgeon who codes on weekends?

The Hard Part: Active Recall

Because spaced repetition only works if you're actively recalling information. And active recall – the actual work of pulling information out of your brain – remains stubbornly, irreducibly difficult.

Active recall means retrieving information from memory without looking at it. It's the difference between recognizing the right answer and generating it from scratch. It's the difference between nodding along to a lecture and explaining the concept to someone else. It's the difference between reading code and writing it.

Here's what active recall actually looks like:

• Writing out problem solutions from memory, not copying from the textbook
• Building flashcards that force you to retrieve specific information
• Coding projects without constantly checking Stack Overflow
• Drawing concept maps from a blank page
• Explaining ideas out loud without notes
• Writing essays that synthesize what you've learned
• Solving practice problems with the book closed

Notice something? Every single one of these requires effort. Real, sustained, sometimes uncomfortable effort.

Why We Avoid the Work

Your brain is wired to conserve energy. Passive review – reading notes, watching videos, highlighting text – feels like learning because you recognize the information. "Oh yes, I know this," your brain says, and rewards you with a little hit of satisfaction.

But recognition isn't recall. Being able to follow along isn't the same as being able to lead. Your brain is perfectly happy to let you mistake familiarity for knowledge, because actual retrieval is metabolically expensive.

This is why you can read a programming tutorial, understand every line, then stare blankly at an empty editor. It's why you can watch a math lecture, follow every step, then freeze on the homework. It's why you can read about a language for months and stumble through your first conversation.

The Tricks That Actually Support the Fundamentals

Now, there are legitimate techniques that can enhance active recall and spaced repetition. But notice how each one ultimately serves these core principles:

Elaborative encoding: When you connect new information to existing knowledge, you create more retrieval paths. But this only works if you actively practice retrieving through those paths.

Interleaving: Mixing different types of problems forces your brain to actively identify which approach to use. It's harder than blocked practice, which is exactly why it works.

Generation effect: You remember information better when you generate it yourself. Writing your own examples, creating your own explanations – these work because they're forms of active recall.

Feynman Technique: Explaining concepts in simple terms forces you to actively retrieve and reorganize information. You can't explain what you can't recall.

See the pattern? Every effective technique is just a clever way to force active recall or optimize spaced repetition.

The Consistency Problem

Here's the real challenge: showing up every day to do the work.

Modern tools have made spaced repetition essentially automatic. But they can't make you open the app. They can't make you honestly attempt to recall the answer before flipping the card. They can't make you write that practice essay or code that project.

The hard part isn't knowing what to do. It's doing it when you're tired, when you're busy, when the material is frustrating, when progress feels slow. It's building the flashcards even when it's tedious. It's attempting the problems even when you might fail. It's practicing speaking even when you sound foolish.

This is why most learning systems fail. Not because they have the wrong algorithm or the wrong features, but because they can't solve the fundamental human problem: doing hard things consistently is hard.

Making It Sustainable

So how do you actually maintain active recall practice over time?

Start small. Ridiculously small. Five flashcards a day. One practice problem. Ten minutes of writing. Build the habit first, optimize later.

Track the process, not the outcome. Count days of practice, not cards memorized. You can control whether you show up; you can't always control how fast you progress.

Design your environment for success. Put the flashcard app on your phone's home screen. Keep practice problems on your desk. Remove friction wherever possible – but remember, you can't remove the effort of recall itself.

Find your minimum viable session. What's the least you can do and still maintain momentum? On bad days, do exactly that much. Consistency beats intensity.

The Truth Nobody Wants to Hear

Learning efficiently isn't about finding the perfect app or the optimal technique. It's about consistently doing the uncomfortable work of trying to remember things before you look them up.

Yes, spaced repetition optimizes when you review. Yes, good tools reduce logistical friction. Yes, certain techniques can make active recall more effective or engaging.

But at the end of the day, you still have to close the book and try to solve the problem. You still have to stare at the blank flashcard and search your memory. You still have to generate the answer, not just recognize it.

The tools have gotten better. The science has gotten clearer. The friction has been reduced everywhere it can be reduced. What remains is the irreducible core: the effort of pulling knowledge out of your head, repeatedly, over time.

That's what actually works. Everything else is commentary.

The question isn't whether you know this – you probably do. The question is whether you'll do it tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after that. Because that's where learning actually happens: in the daily, unglamorous work of making your brain retrieve what it would rather leave dormant.

So yes, use the tools. Apply the techniques. Optimize your process. But never forget that they're all in service of one thing: making yourself actively recall information, over and over, until it becomes part of you.

That's not sexy. It's not easy. But it's what actually works.