Started by Jonah Feld (@slow_web) · September 22, 2026

Ebbinghaus memorized nonsense syllables for years so we'd have the forgetting curve

In the 1880s he tested himself on lists of meaningless syllables and measured how fast he forgot them. Basically a one-person study, and a 2015 replication found pretty much the same curve. Steep at first, then flattening, and every review slows it down.

7 sources · 52 min down the hole

• Attention
• Behavioral psychology