In partnership with

Hi, this is Ray.

I have a confession to make: I once forgot my own Wi-Fi password… twice… in one day. Before you judge me, just know I also once forgot where I left my phone while I was using it as a flashlight to look for my phone.

Apparently, my brain is the free trial version of a mind, with limited storage and no refund policy.

But here’s the twist: it’s not just me. Your brain does the same thing. We all live under the tyranny of something called The Forgetting Curve, discovered by a 19th-century German psychologist named Hermann Ebbinghaus, who apparently had way too much free time and a love for nonsense syllables.

He found that after learning something new, people forget about 50% of it within an hour, 70% after a day, and 90% after a week unless they actively review it. Basically, your memory treats new knowledge like leftover pizza: good at first, questionable by morning.

Why Your Brain “Deletes” Stuff on Purpose

Here’s the thing. Forgetting isn’t a bug. It’s a feature.

Your brain’s job isn’t to store everything. It’s to filter what matters. Think of it like your phone auto-clearing old downloads so you don’t fill your storage with cat memes and screenshots of bad Wi-Fi passwords (again, guilty).

When you don’t revisit something, your brain assumes it wasn’t important and hits delete. That’s why Ebbinghaus’s original research showed such a steep decline. The memory wasn’t “lost.” It was just unlabeled junk.

But when you review information right before you forget it, your brain flags it as valuable. It literally rewires your neurons, strengthening connections each time, like upgrading from “temporary cache” to “solid-state drive.”

This process is called spaced repetition, and it’s one of the most scientifically validated learning techniques ever discovered.

The Science of Beating the Curve

Spaced repetition works by spacing out your reviews, each one a little further apart, just as your brain is about to forget. You’re basically playing chicken with your own memory.

The original studies on distributed practice show that reviewing material at increasing intervals (for example, 1 day, 3 days, 7 days, 14 days) can multiply retention by several times compared to traditional cramming.

In one meta-analysis from the University of California, students who used spaced repetition retained twice as much information after a month compared to those who reviewed everything once. That’s like doubling your brain’s RAM just by planning your study schedule.

And unlike cramming, which feels productive but evaporates faster than my willpower near a plate of tacos, spaced repetition actually builds long-term memory.

From our partners at 1440 Media:

The Daily Newsletter for Intellectually Curious Readers

Join over 4 million Americans who start their day with 1440 – your daily digest for unbiased, fact-centric news. From politics to sports, we cover it all by analyzing over 100 sources. Our concise, 5-minute read lands in your inbox each morning at no cost. Experience news without the noise; let 1440 help you make up your own mind. Sign up now and invite your friends and family to be part of the informed.

Join for free today!

Why We Still Cram (Even Though We Know It Doesn’t Work)

Because cramming feels good. You feel busy. You feel like Neo in the Matrix downloading kung fu. But your brain isn’t downloading… it’s just buffering.

Psychologists call this fluency illusion… the mistaken belief that because you recognize something now, you’ll remember it later. But recognition is not recall. Recognizing your ex’s name doesn’t mean you remember their birthday (trust me, you don’t want to test that theory).

How to Outsmart the Curve (Without Feeling Like a Robot)

Here’s how to put spaced repetition to work in your actual, chaotic, human life:

1. Use the “1-3-7-14” Rule

Review what you learned after 1 day, 3 days, 7 days, and 14 days. It’s simple, easy to track, and surprisingly powerful.

2. Use Tools That Think For You

Apps like Anki, RemNote, or Brainscape automate spaced repetition. They predict when you’re about to forget something and schedule reviews accordingly. It’s like having a personal trainer for your hippocampus.

3. Mix It Up

Combine facts with application. Don’t just reread. Solve problems, quiz yourself, or explain the topic out loud (we’ll talk about that in our upcoming “Rubber Duck Effect” issue). When you vary how you review, your brain builds richer memory networks.

4. Sleep On It

Literally. Studies show memory consolidation happens during sleep, especially during slow-wave and REM cycles. So when you study, then sleep, you’re letting your brain “replay” the lesson overnight.

5. Forget on Purpose

Let some forgetting happen before you review. Counterintuitive, but true. Mild forgetting forces your brain to work harder to recall, and that extra effort cements the memory.

The “Ebbinghaus Hack” for Real Life

You don’t need a PhD to use this. Just schedule reviews right before your memory curve nosedives. For example, if you’re learning Italian (and keep mixing up pesce and peach like I do), here’s how it might look:

• Day 1: Learn “pesce = fish.”

• Day 2: Review it briefly.

• Day 4: Quiz yourself again.

• Day 8: Try using it in a sentence.

• Day 15: Teach it to someone or record yourself saying it.

Each time, you’re telling your brain, “Hey, this word matters.” Soon, it stops forgetting it.

The Bigger Lesson: Forgetting Isn’t Failure

If you forget, it doesn’t mean you’re bad at learning. It means you’re normal. The real trick is understanding your brain’s rhythm, learning when to remind it before it forgets.

Ebbinghaus may not have had TikTok, but he did leave us a truth worth remembering:

Learning isn’t about cramming more in. It’s about keeping what matters from leaking out.

So if you remember one thing from this article… well, let’s be honest, you probably won’t. But if you review it tomorrow, maybe you will.

Stay curious,

Ray