Hermann Ebbinghaus: 3 ideas worth knowing

3 ideas from Hermann Ebbinghaus, each explained in a minute and credited to the original work. Free on Savvy.

You forget most of what you learn within days — unless you interrupt the curve
In 1885, Hermann Ebbinghaus memorised thousands of nonsense syllables and tested himself for years. He found memory decays on a steep curve — but each well-timed review flattens it…
— Hermann Ebbinghaus, Über das Gedächtnis (Memory: A Contribution to Experimental Psychology)
Ten hours of study spread across a month beats ten hours crammed into one night
Hermann Ebbinghaus documented in 1885 that memories fade fastest right after learning, and that spacing repetitions apart preserves them far better than repeating them back to back…
— Hermann Ebbinghaus, Spacing effect
Most of what you learn today will be gone within a day unless you review it
In the 1880s Hermann Ebbinghaus tested his own memory for nonsense syllables at intervals over days and plotted the results. Forgetting wasn't gradual and steady — it was steep at …
— Hermann Ebbinghaus, Über das Gedächtnis (Memory: A Contribution to Experimental Psychology)

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