Wednesday, July 6, 2011

WiseGeek: SparkNotes for Everything

WiseGeek advertises itself as a site with "clear answers for common questions;" that is a very apt description for the articles contained on their site. The main reason I love WiseGeek is that all of their articles can easily be converted into flashcards. If I ever wish to get a basic overview of any subject, country, etc., I incrementally read the WiseGeek article discussing it.

14 comments:

  1. Awesome. Thanks for the tip. On a related note, to help me remember fiction books that I've read, I've started using sparknotes quizzes since it's a lot less work to get it into supermemo.

    Also, nice It's Always Sunny pic.

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  2. I never thought of using SparkNotes for remembering fiction books I've read, good idea. I'm mainly using "TVTropes" to remember plots and devices that were used in movies, tv shows, books, etc. that I complete. I incrementally read the entire entry, although it takes ages to do so (I only read each one for 1 or 2 minutes every 10 or 15 days).

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  3. Didn't know any of those two. WiseGeek seems particularly interesting, and will certainly be a reference to generate many cards in the future. Thank you!

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  4. Hii LittleFish !!
    I'm having a problem with SuperMemo. When I open the program the first screen that appears shows me a question and answer. The problem is that I did not even hit the Learn button. Do you know how to solve ?

    Thank you.

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  5. Are the questions and answers about Supermemo itself? Did you create the questions and answers you are seeing? If you did not make them, it is likely the default "Supermemo fact of the day" that you are seeing. If so, you should have the option to close this small box.

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  6. No. The flashcards that I'm seeing are the ones that I've created.
    It appears in the first screen just after a run SuperMemo.
    The problem is that it appears without me pressing the learn button

    Is there anyway to solve this problem?

    Sorry for the english i'm not american =/

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  7. Try pressing the "Esc" key multiple times, and see if this gets you out of that screen.

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  8. It didn't work.
    The last flashcard that I answered keeps appearing for me when I open SuperMemo.

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  9. If you click "Show answer" and mark it as "good" it doesn't say "Nothing more to learn"?

    This is most unusual...

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  10. Yeah my super memo does the same thing when I start it up. I think it's just showing you the last thing you went over before you start your next set of flashcards. I don't think it's a problem though. I've always just click learn and continue on. :)

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  11. Just go to Tools (on the toolbar) then Options -> Access tab and then select Default element. Normally it is Last used but you can change to the first element in your collection. Cheers.

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  12. Thanks for the interesting addition! Now it seems that ChatGPT has taken the place of a number of web sites that would simplify information for me, such as WiseGeek. I'll post more about it eventually, but with the right prompt, ChatGPT can explain things to you in simple succinct sentences that can easily be put into SuperMemo! I love the future!

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  13. Yes, I've also used ChatGPT, however, it makes mistakes, and often goes into little detail. I am a medical student, so when my learning outcomes involve "the anatomy of the scapula", I need to know everything involved in minute detail (supraglenoid tubercle, acromion, glenoid, etc). ChatGPT often does not deliver. Do you have any prompts that you use? I am not just interested in learning surface level trivia, I am interested in having a deep level of understanding on a wide range of subjects.

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    Replies
    1. Yeah, you're right. When it comes to quick surface-level knowledge, ChatGPT is great, but maybe it's not as good for deeper information like the stuff you're referring to. When it comes to that kind of stuff, ChatGPT seems to be very useful at rephrasing knowledge in an easier to understand way. I'll make a more detailed post in the future, but asking "how could you use xyz as a metaphor to explain 'concept abc'?" has been useful, along with "explain this to me but as if I were only five years old". Also, "how would you explain this to Homer Simpson" has been useful sometimes, because it's dumbing it down for a dumb person that is still an adult. Recently I went to an art museum that had a bunch of works of Pablo Picasso and a lot of the museum's explanations felt long-winded and boring. I had ChatGPT open while walking around the museum asking an AI version of Picasso questions like "did you grow up poor?" "Did your parents foster your artistic abilities?" "Was your home life extremely unstable?", stuff like that. I guess I think of ChatGPT as an extremely useful way to augment the acquisition of information that can later go into SuperMemo.

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