The Forgetting Curve

The concept of the Forgetting Curve was designed by Hermann Ebbinghaus in the 1880s. It remains relevant and is highly regarded even today. The Forgetting Curve considers how we forget newly learned information over time. In this blog post we are going to look at what the Forgetting Curve is, and how we can combat it, to ensure we retain more useful knowledge.

Some of Ebbinghaus’ key learnings from his research are:

• Memories weaken over time
• The biggest drop in retention happens soon after learning – his research showed you forget 50% of all new information within a day, and 90% within a week!
• It’s easier to remember things that are relevant
• It is easier to remember information when it is presented logically and clearly. Your brain can focus on the content rather than trying to decipher it
• How you feel affects how well you remember – stress and sleep are two physiological factors that impact our memory retention

Memory is a wonderful thing. We have evolved to remember the things that we need to know – things that are important for our survival. We also remember things that cause strong emotions – surprise, fear, success or relief – for longer.

So how we can remember the things that we don’t need to learn for survival but that we want to remember anyway? Ebbinghaus provided some learnings from his research to help combat the effects of the Forgetting Curve.

• Use Spaced Learning – this is the idea that we review the learned information shortly after the first learning, when recall has slipped, but we aren’t starting from scratch. Subsequent reviews consolidate learning further.
• Improve Clarity – make it easy to remember the information in the first place. Diagrams, videos, summaries are easier ways to remember information compared to a long essay.
• Make Information Meaningful – establish a personal reason for remembering the information. Making the information engaging can also help. The more you know how something will benefit you in the long term, the more likely your brain will prioritise it.
• Keep Challenging our Memory – sometimes when you review information you find gaps in your knowledge – this is when learning is most powerful, because there will be a higher mental challenge.

So now you know why we forget some things, remember others, but also how to hold on to the information you want to that you’ve previously struggled with!

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