Hello everyone,

I am a complete beginner looking to master memory techniques and accelerated learning from absolute scratch. My goal is to apply these techniques effectively to complex subjects like Chemistry, Physics, and Programming.

To be completely honest, I have tried learning memory techniques randomly in the past, but I failed and felt frustrated. Most of the resources I found gave vague explanations, lacked clear step-by-step details, or didn't show enough practical application on real study materials. Because of that, I got overwhelmed, lost my way, and didn't see convincing results.

Before posting, I did some reading on how different learning and memory methods actually work in practice, and here is what I gathered so far (I'd love your corrections):

• Self-testing and spacing out study sessions appear to be among the most effective habits, along with self-explanation and constantly asking "why is this true?". Meanwhile, rereading and highlighting are much less effective, even though they are the most common habits.
• Memory palaces (the method of loci) seem to work well for memorizing lists of items, though it is less clear to me how to apply them to deep understanding of real, complex subjects rather than just isolated lists.
• Anki and spaced repetition seem great for long-term retention of small, separate pieces of information (vocabulary, definitions, syntax, formulas), but not for initial understanding or quick cramming. Also, the real benefit seems to come from spaced retrieval itself, not from Anki specifically.
• For maths and programming, people seem to disagree: some use Anki successfully for syntax, definitions, and derivations, while others found it didn't help with problem-solving or building real skill.

That is why I am reaching out to the experienced practitioners here. I am not looking for resources that are merely "popular" or hyped up. Instead, I am looking for:

1. A clear, structured path from zero: What is the exact sequence I should follow as a beginner so I don't get lost?
2. Tried-and-true resources (Courses, Books, or Guides): What do you genuinely recommend based on actual practical results? I need resources that explain the "how" in deep detail with clear, step-by-step practical examples, not vague theory.
3. Bridging the gap to hard sciences: How do I transition from basic memory exercises to actually studying and retaining subjects like programming syntax, physics formulas, and chemistry? In particular, how do you combine memory palaces with real understanding, and do you pair them with spaced repetition or self-testing?

I just want the right foundation that actually works without confusion.

Thank you in advance for your guidance!

Hi everyone,

I'm sharing some very sad news that hasn't been posted here on Reddit yet.

According to an active thread on the Art of Memory forum, Dr. Anthony Metivier (u/AnthonyMetivier) has passed away suddenly. The news was shared after a community member received an email directly from his wife, April, confirming his passing.

For those who may not know, Anthony was the founder of the Magnetic Memory Method, author of books like "The Victorious Mind", a TEDx speaker, and a long-time educator dedicated to helping people master the Method of Loci, memorize languages, and conquer complex subjects.

He was also a frequent contributor and moderator across the memory subreddits here, known for taking the time to write thoughtful, detailed replies to beginners and experienced practitioners alike.

Many of us in the mnemonics community built our first memory palaces thanks to his work, videos, and generosity. He will be deeply missed.

Rest in peace, Anthony. Thoughts and condolences to his family, friends, and the community.

Hi. I’m 24. I don’t know if this is the wrong kind of question but I was curious.

So like. I find it easy to remember strings of numbers or letters+numbers. I can read it out loud once and repeat it accurately. I thought that it was normal until a cousin pointed it out.

I can hear/read a 10-12 digit number once and repeat it accurately. I usually did this only with phone numbers sometimes.

After my cousin said that, I looked it up and it says that people can remember up to 7. I have never tried to do anything with my number memory stuff before so I decided to try it out.

I read out a 15 digit number and repeated it back perfectly. 16 digit was also okay but I got a bit stressed. I drank some water and looked up another 16 digit number and I got it right immediately. Tried it a couple more times and it was good. I didn’t try anything over 16 yet.

I’m not sure if this is normal? I am not really thinking of anything when I do this. I just read it out or look at it for a couple of seconds and I get it right. I saw that people mention chunking them or something but I don’t do that. I just listen to it once and I can get it right. I don’t know any memory tricks or games either.

I wanted to know if this means anything. Google says that it’s super cool but I have my doubts.

Thoughts? Is there anything that may help me build upon this? I have a wacky cognitive profile and I am interested in figuring that out.

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Hi everyone, I'm 24F. I want to improve my knowledge and skills, but I struggle to remember what I study. I feel like I understand things while reading, but later, I can't recall much. I keep researching different topics, trying to learn everything at once, and eventually feel overwhelmed.

I'm also addicted to watching movies and scrolling through social media, which makes it difficult to focus on learning.

How can I overcome this habit, improve my concentration and memory, and become more consistent with learning? I'd appreciate any advice.

I've come to understand that my memory is better than most... I can recall conversations, dates, and faces... when it comes to names it's a blank void... Its embarrassing! I have to write down names to reference or pick up on names in conversation and even then I have to back track... is it better to admit names don't stick and let yourself soak up everything else... or try to re-write your memory to focus on names?

¿Por qué puedo recordar exactamente el diálogo completo de una escena en particular de una película, o algún dato aleatorio sobre mis amigos pero no puedo ni siquiera memorizar estudios teóricos importantes?

Lo que si he notado de mi mismo, es que mi método de estudio y memorizar es más auditivo. Si comienzo a hacer apuntes sobre lo que se esté hablando, luego más tarde no puedo recordar nada de lo que he intentado memorizar con ayuda de los apuntes a mano.

I think I overstimulate my brain too much with excess thoughts, plans, scrolling etc. This exhausts it and then I start forgetting stuff when I'm not under pressure (when watching a movie, learning). It also results in brain fog - sometimes I forget my thoughts immediately but I can't seem to "find" them in my head and they eventually disappear (until hours or days later)

You can learn about thoughtfeel at r/MentalAtlas

That's right I copy everything and wonder too much time spent and remembering nothing. I wish I just studied normally in the past or take no notes at all

We build Hola Cards, a Spanish vocabulary app. One audio exercise is hear a word → say its meaning aloud → check.

A written illustration: hear llave, try saying “key”, then check. In la llave de la puerta, it means the door key.

To try this format, look for Hola Cards: Spanish Flashcards on Google Play.

I've been an Anki user for a long time, and Anki taught me spaced repetition.

Two things about it never stopped bothering me.

Anki is brilliant at isolated facts, and my knowledge isn't isolated.When I tried to review something systematic — a grammar system, a math syllabus, a whole course — the review load exploded. The app has no idea that these 300 cards belong to the same idea.

Making cards on my phone was painful. I read foreign-language articles on my phone all the time. I'd find one sentence worth keeping, and there was no way to select it and turn it into a card with a translation. Copy text, switch app, paste, type the meaning, switch back — every single time.

So I built the app I wanted, and after a month of updates and fixes the first public version is on Google Play. Anyone can install it now.

What it actually does for you

You read something worth keeping. Open a PDF, EPUB, TXT or Markdown in the built-in reader, select a sentence: AI translates it, and one tap turns it into a card. Scanned pages are OCR'd.

You're learning a language. Select text in an article, keep the sentence, review it with audio later.

You're studying something systematic — math, a syllabus, an exam. Your material becomes a skill tree that schedules its own review, instead of 300 loose cards.

You have a paper or a book to get through. AI distills it into notes, a mind map and a "book skill" — an assistant that knows that book, so you can keep asking it things.

You already live in Anki. Import your `.apkg` decks directly.

You don't want another account. No sign-up, no analytics, and your AI key stays on your phone.

Two memory engines, not one

Cards run on FSRS-5 — the same family of algorithm recent Anki uses — computed per card. Every card carries its own difficulty, stability and retrievability, so each review lands right before you forget. Your existing decks import from Anki as they are, and CardMaster packs export with scheduling progress intact.

Your knowledge structure runs on FIRe skill trees instead of folders and tags. Every node has its own memory score that decays over time and reschedules itself. Master a parent node and its children get credit too; fail a child and its parents come back earlier. Intervals stretch on their own as you succeed — roughly 1 → 2 → 3 → 5 → 7 days and up.

Deck apps give you the first engine. Structured-course tools give you the second. You normally have to pick one. Here they're one app.

Cards come out of what you read and hear

Reader + browser. EPUB / PDF / TXT / Markdown, plus a built-in browser. Select any passage to translate it with AI, highlight it, or card it on the spot.

Listening cards. Pair your own audio with SRT / VTT subtitles, or use the built-in graded ELLLO library. Pick a line and it becomes a card with the audio attached. Type `95`, `1:35` or `1:02:03` to jump anywhere.

AI where you need it. Generate cards, explain words, clean up OCR text, or ask about the card in front of you — using your own key (DeepSeek, OpenAI, Gemini or OpenRouter), stored on your device and sent only to the provider you chose.

Image search car d making. Search for an image inside the app and drop it onto a card.

OCR card making. Photograph or pick a page and turn the recognized text into cards.

Who it's for

Language learners. People studying systematic subjects. Anyone who forgets things faster than they'd like. Anyone who reads papers or foreign-language books on a phone.

Interface languages: English, Chinese, Spanish, Japanese and Russian. Android today; Windows and iOS are on the list.

The honest part

The free version is feature complete — you're not missing a feature because you didn't pay. It has two banner ads, on the Today and Learn tabs, and they're small enough to ignore while you study. Premium (subscription or one-time) does exactly one thing: removes them.

It's also early. It's v1, and I'm the whole team, so there will be rough edges — the good news is that I fix things fast, and the release notes show it.

Try it

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.skillgrove.app

If you have questions, want to know how to get an AI API key, or found a bug, the Discord is the fastest place to reach me: https://discord.gg/v34kw7MkN

Thanks for reading — and if you try it, I'd genuinely like to hear what's missing.

16M here. I’m been dealing with random memories pop up either by a trigger or just randomly.

Example: One day, I was watching a horror game based on a creepypasta. Then suddenly, I started to remember that 4 years ago I’ve read (ok not reading more like looking at the pictures of the creepypasta)

Side note to the example: In the past, I watched a video, I don’t receive any memories of the past. But then now when I watch a video, I now gain memories.

And again, they can pop up randomly. I can busy doing a task, but then I get a random memory out of nowhere.

Can someone explain what’s going on?

My commute is especially annoying when the train takes me underground and I've got no service (thanks T-mobile). I've built an app for myself and some friends for this.

Give it a topic or some documents and get a personalized learning path with audio lessons, quiz milestones, and daily review.

I'm giving away 20 slots for beta testers (completely free for 2 months). All I ask is to tell me what's working for you...or why its not... or what you'd actually want

This is a long-term commitment for me. The idea of AI leading us into a world of Idiocracy is what makes me most depressed. So I'm committed to making AI into the world's best pocket tutor (yes ironic I know)

Anyways feel free to DM me thoughts or just flame me here in the comments. I've got thick skin

link for claiming a free spot:

https://nemonic.ai/s/beta/Ugy9LPw3zt3VAhDGweiyKFJNP_6M3sYeKGkijGO3I9c

Do you guys have any tips on how to memorize them? Like how to I make them into an image that I can imagine that reminds me of that equation or formula? Ik the major system but what about the math symbols and signs?

I wanted to share something that has been bothering me lately. Whenever I type, everything seems perfect in my head, but when I read it afterward, it doesn’t make sense. I mix up words, especially “U” and “I”… (not always but sometimes).

I’ve also noticed that my memory doesn’t feel as sharp as it used to be. Sometimes I forget things or struggle to recall information, even when I know I learned it before.
Sometimes I struggle to recall information or place certain memories in the correct timeline.

Is it okay to use ai for stuff like substituting words or like for major systems. Sometimes I can't think of a word so I rely on ai to think of a word for it. Is it okay?

What’s the best method or way to learn while solving questions? And how to go about the something you wrongly answered?