## How to Write Good Prompts Using Spaced Repetition to Create Understanding ### How to Write Good Prompts: Using Spaced Repetition to Create Understanding  #### Metadata * Author: [[andymatuschak.org]] * Full Title: How to Write Good Prompts: Using Spaced Repetition to Create Understanding * Category: #articles * URL: <https://andymatuschak.org/prompts/> #### Highlights * Such fantasies probably came from playing too many video games. But the feelings I have when using spaced repetition systems are strikingly similar. At their best, these systems feel like magic.This guide assumes basic familiarity with spaced repetition systems. For an introduction, see Michael Nielsen, Augmenting Long-term Memory (2018), which is also the source of the phrase "makes memory a choice." Memory ceases to be a haphazard phenomenon, something you hope happens: spaced repetition systems make memory a choice. Used well, they can accelerate learning, facilitate creative work, and more. But like in my childhood daydreams, these wonders unfold only when you press just the right sequence of keys, producing just the right incantation. That is, when you manage to write good prompts—the questions and answers you review during practice sessions * No matter the application, it's helpful to remember that when you write a prompt in a spaced repetition system, you are giving your future self a recurring task. Prompt design is task design * I'd cooked fairly seriously for about a decade before I began to use spaced repetition, and of course I naturally internalized many core techniques and ratios. Yet whenever I was making anything complex, I'd constantly pause to consult references, which made it difficult to move with creativity and ease. I rarely felt "flow" while cooking. My experiences felt surprisingly similar to my first few years learning to program, in which I encountered exactly the same problems. With years of full-time attention, I automatically internalized all the core knowledge I needed day-to-day as a programmer. I'm sure that I'd eventually do the same in the kitchen, but since cooking has only my part-time attention, the process might take a few more decades. # How to Write Good Prompts: Using Spaced Repetition to Create Understanding  ## Metadata - Author: [[andymatuschak.org]] - Full Title: How to Write Good Prompts: Using Spaced Repetition to Create Understanding - Category: #articles - URL: https://andymatuschak.org/prompts/ ## Highlights - Such fantasies probably came from playing too many video games. But the feelings I have when using spaced repetition systems are strikingly similar. At their best, these systems feel like magic.This guide assumes basic familiarity with spaced repetition systems. For an introduction, see Michael Nielsen, Augmenting Long-term Memory (2018), which is also the source of the phrase "makes memory a choice." Memory ceases to be a haphazard phenomenon, something you hope happens: spaced repetition systems make memory a choice. Used well, they can accelerate learning, facilitate creative work, and more. But like in my childhood daydreams, these wonders unfold only when you press just the right sequence of keys, producing just the right incantation. That is, when you manage to write good prompts—the questions and answers you review during practice sessions - No matter the application, it’s helpful to remember that when you write a prompt in a spaced repetition system, you are giving your future self a recurring task. Prompt design is task design - I'd cooked fairly seriously for about a decade before I began to use spaced repetition, and of course I naturally internalized many core techniques and ratios. Yet whenever I was making anything complex, I'd constantly pause to consult references, which made it difficult to move with creativity and ease. I rarely felt "flow" while cooking. My experiences felt surprisingly similar to my first few years learning to program, in which I encountered exactly the same problems. With years of full-time attention, I automatically internalized all the core knowledge I needed day-to-day as a programmer. I'm sure that I'd eventually do the same in the kitchen, but since cooking has only my part-time attention, the process might take a few more decades.