Hi, I’m Thomas Frank, this is Crash Course Study Skills,

嗨！我是 Thomas Frank ，這裡是讀書技巧速成班

and if you happen to be watching this at whatever point in the future that we all get neural implants to let us store our memories on servers in space,

而如果你來自未來某個時間點，我們已經開始使用神經植入物將記憶上傳到太空中的伺服器，才碰巧看到這部影片

what I’m about to tell you is woefully inaccurate.

那麼我接下來要講的會非極為不適用

Also, do we have flying cars yet?

順便問一下，我們有沒有飛天車了阿？

For those of you who still rely on that mushy gray stuff in your cranium to remember things, though, listen up.

而要是你還是在使用頭蓋骨裡面軟軟爛爛的灰質來記東西的話，就注意聽好啦

Today we’re digging into how your memory works and how you can make it work better.

今天我們要深入探究你的記憶是如何運作的，以及你該如何增進記憶力

At least, I think we are.

至少，我覺得我們應該是

Nick, we’re not filming those makeup tutorials today, are we?

Nick ，我們今天不是要上化妝家教班對吧？

[Theme Music]

[主題音樂]

The science of how memory works is complicated, to say the least.

不管怎麼說，記憶如何運作的科學是很複雜的

After all, how do we explain how a bunch of nerve cells, chemicals, and electrical jolts

畢竟，我們要怎麼解釋那一堆神經細胞、化學變化和電流刺激

somehow let you remember algebra, where you left your car keys, and all the lines to The Dark Knight?

是如何讓你可以記得各種代數、你的車鑰匙掉在哪還有黑暗騎士裡所有的台詞呢？

Well, it’s simple. We, uh…. rely on Hank from 3 years ago to do it for us.

這個嘛，很簡單，我們是...呃...靠漢克，他從三年前就開始幫我們搞定這些了

Seriously, there are two whole episodes of Crash Course Psychology that go through the entire process of how memories are formed and retrieved.

說認真的，有整整兩集的心理學速成班影片是在談這整個記憶的形成和提取

But just like Xzibit left to his own devices in a car dealership, I can’t resist putting crash courses in your Crash Course.

但就像艾勒比把他的手法用在汽車行銷，我忍不住把人家的速成班內容再濃縮成懶人包給你

Plus, understanding how your memory works will help you to optimize the way you study.

更何況，了解你的記憶如何運作將有助於優化你的學

So let’s do a quick review.

所以我們來做個快速複習

Your brain turns information into memories by putting it through a few different stages.

你的大腦經由幾個不同的階段把資訊轉換成記憶

The first is sensory memory, which processes pretty much everything your senses detect or experience in the real world.

一開始是感官記憶，它可以處理幾乎所有你的感官在現實中偵測到或經歷過的事物

That sensory memory has the attention span of a five-year-old at the DMV, though, so most of what it takes in is lost almost immediately.

然而它的專注時間就像在加州車輛管理局玩耍的五歲小孩一樣，大部分的東西它看過就馬上忘了

But what does stick moves into your short-term or working memory.

但是那些可以記得較牢一點的部分則移動到短期記憶或工作記憶

This type of memory is sort of like the RAM in your computer – the memories don’t stick around permanently.

這類的記憶有點類似電腦中的記憶體 － 這種記憶無法永遠留住

In fact, unless you continuously rehearse what’s floating around in working memory, it’ll pull a disappearing act after about 15-30 seconds.

事實上，除非你不斷的重複覆誦那些飄在你工作記憶中的內容，否則它會在十五到三十秒後消失

This can also happen if you try to cram too much in at once, because your working memory can really only handle 4-7 bits or items of information at a time.

如果你一次塞入太多記憶也會有這種現象，因為你的工作記憶只能一次處理四到七位元或小件的資訊

Now you can somewhat increase this limit by grouping bits into chunks –

目前你有方法稍微增加這個上限，就是把這些小位元集結成

like splitting “FBIKGBCIA” into FBI, KGB, CIA, but there’s still a limit.

就像是把「 FBIKGBCIA 」切成 FBI 、 KGB 、 CIA ，但這還是有極限

Now, all this happens primarily in your brain’s prefrontal cortex,

現在講的這些主要都發生在你的前額葉皮質區

but eventually the information has to make its way to other areas of the brain if it’s going to be encoded in long-term memory.

但最終，如果這部分資訊要編碼進到長期記憶，它得要前進到腦中其它區域才行

To greatly simplify things, it’ll first head to the hippocampus, which augments it with chemicals called neurotransmitters.

這邊盡量簡化，首先它必需前往海馬迴，以一種叫神經傳導物質的化學物質增幅

Along with many other functions, these transmit details about the information – metadata, if you will.

這些伴隨很多其他功能的傳播資訊詳細資料你可以稱為後設資料

Eventually, this leads to the formation of new synapses, which are essentially connections between neurons – though the neurons don’t actually touch.

最終，這些過程導致新突觸的形成，這些神經元間的突觸連結是非常重要的 – 即使其實他們沒有真的碰在一起

Instead, they prefer to keep a small gap between each other and let more of those neurotransmitters move information between them.

實際上它們之間會留一個小間隙，讓更多的神經傳導物質在其中傳遞訊息

The whole process of memory formation causes physical changes within your brain:

這整個記憶形成的過程造成你腦中的物理性的改變：

neurotransmitters shuttle all over the place, neural pathways are forged,

神經傳導物質在其中到處穿梭，神經通路也漸形成

and neurons themselves undergo structural improvements using proteins such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF.

而神經元本身則藉由腦源性神經營養因子 (或稱為BDNF)，改善其結構

And, just like the process of strengthening your muscles through exercise, this all takes time –

此外，就像是經由運動強化你肌肉的過程，這些都需要時間 –

which is why cramming for a test doesn’t work, and why you can’t instantly just download jujitsu into your brain like Neo.

這也是為什麼考前短時間內死背硬記沒什麼用，還有你為什麼無法瞬間下載柔術技巧到你的腦袋裡

As Pierce J. Howard noted in his book The Owner’s Manual for the Brain:

就如 Pierce J. Howard 在他的書 The Owner’s Manual for the Brain 裡寫的：

“Work involving higher mental functions, such as analysis and synthesis, needs to be spaced out to allow new neural connections to solidify.

「工作包含了更多的意識功能，像是分析和統合，需要更多的空間以鞏固神經元連結

New learning drives out old learning when insufficient time intervenes.”

如果沒有給予足夠的時間間隔，學了新的就會忘了舊的。」

Now that you have a bit of an understanding of how your memory works, one crucial tip should be clear:

現在你對你的記憶如何運作有了一些了解，有一個重點你得要明白：

you have to space your learning out over time.

你需要讓你的學習有間隔

But we’re not going to just leave it at that, because – as cognitive scientists have known for a long time – the way you do that spacing matters quite a bit.

但是並不是這樣而已，因為 – 就像認知科學長久以來的所了解的 – 間隔的方式非常多

To explain this, let’s start with why we forget things in the first place.

要解釋這個，讓我們從為什麼我們會忘記開始講起

Part of the reason is that your brain doesn’t encode all memories equally.

部分原因是你的腦並不是平等地把各種記憶編碼

During the long-term encoding process, the hippocampus will use different levels of neurotransmitters based on, among other things, how important the information is.

在長期記憶編碼的過程中，海馬迴會依資訊的重要程度或一些其它原因，使用不同等級的神經傳導物質 48

And this plays a big role in how strongly it’s embedded in long-term memory.

這對於資訊嵌入長期記憶的程度扮演非常重要的角色

This filtering mechanism is great for survival, as it allows your brain to safely disregard unimportant things,

這個過濾機制對於生存非常重要，可以讓你的腦安全地忽略一些不重要的事情

like what you had for breakfast two weeks ago, while paying special attention to what’s important, like that fact that there are ninjas behind you right now.

像是你兩週前吃早餐吃了什麼，同時讓你能全神貫注於重要的事情上，像是注意現在就在你身後的那些忍者

Unfortunately, you can’t always consciously decide what’s important and what’s not,

不幸的是，你無法每次都用自己的意識來決定什麼重要或什麼不重要

which is why it can be hard to remember all the details from that history chapter you just read.

這也是為什麼要記住你才剛讀的歷史篇章內所有細節會那麼難

At a primal level, your brain just doesn’t think the details of Genghis Khan’s war with the Quarismian Shah in 1219 are as important as a bear attacking you.

打從一開始，你的腦就覺得成吉思汗和花剌子模王國統治者在 1219 年的戰爭細節，沒有那隻現在正在攻擊你的熊重要

However, there are a few tricks you can pull to make it care a bit more.

然而，你可以用些技巧讓你的腦更注意這些細節一些

First, understand that your brain latches more readily onto things that are tangible, visual, and uncommon than it does with the abstract or the mundane.

首先，你要知道對你的腦來說，比起那些抽象的或單調無奇的東西，它更擅於理解具體的、形象化的或不常見的事物

Because of this, it can be helpful to develop mnemonics, which are mental devices that help you associate pieces of information in ways that are easier to remember.

因此，想一些口訣，也就是用些更容易記得的方法幫你將片段的訊息連結在一起，會有所助益

And mnemonics can take many forms.

而口訣有各種形式

You can create sayings to remember sequences of letters – such as “Ernie Ate Dynamite, GoodBye Ernie” to remember the names of the strings on a guitar.

你可以自創一個格言來記憶一連串字母 – 像是「 Ernie 吃了黃色炸藥，再見了 Ernie。 」來記吉他弦的名稱

Or you can make up weird stories in your head that includes cues to the information you’re trying to associate.

或是你可以在腦中編個莫名其妙的故事，其中包含你需要聯想資訊的提示

Like, the way I remember that Helsinki is the capital of Finland is by imagining a giant flaming sinkhole in the ground opening up with a bunch of sharks jumping out of it.

比如說，我記芬蘭首都是赫爾辛基的方法，就是想像一個在地上燃燒的大排水口，裡面有一堆跳來跳去的鯊魚

Since it’s weird, it’s easy to remember, and it helps me associate the words Hell, Fin, and Sink, which in turn connect Finland and Helsinki.

因為這個故事超怪，所以很容易記起來，而且可以幫我聯想到地獄、鰭和排水口，依序也就連結到芬蘭和赫爾辛基

Additionally, the more connections that lead to a memory, the stronger it’ll be – especially if they’re learned in different contexts.

此外，連到一個記憶的連結越多，這個記憶就越強烈 – 尤其如果這些連結習得自不同的環境背景會更有幫助

When I first learned about caravels, which were those small ships that Portuguese explorers used to travel down the African coast in the 15th century,

例如卡拉維爾帆船，這是十五世紀時葡萄牙人用來旅行非洲海岸的一種小船，我第一次學習時

I had a hard time remembering that name – caravels.

我覺得這個名字實在很難記 – caravels

But once I started using them in Civilization V to build my empire –

但是一旦我開始用它們在文明帝國 V 建立我的王國 –

and to make sure Ghandi never got far enough to nuke me, the memory became a lot more solid, since I was interacting with it in a new context.

也確保甘地永遠沒辦法給我核平外送 (遊戲梗，甘地在此款遊戲裡很愛丟核彈)，這份記憶變得超具體，因為我在一個全新的環境背景下與它互動

Of course, you still have to repeatedly access your new memories once they’re encoded if you want them to stick around.

當然，一旦你的新記憶編碼完成，如果你希望可以記得牢，你仍然要不斷重複讀取它

This is pretty much the iron law of memorization:

這幾乎是記憶的鐵則：

Except in cases where they’re attached to a particularly intense emotional experience, memories fade away unless you repeatedly recall them.

除非是附在一個非常強烈的情感經歷上，否則記憶都會漸漸褪色消失，要避免就要不斷地回想這些記憶

Well, sort of. Let’s go to the Thought Bubble.

似乎是時候來看看 Thought Bubble

In the 1880’s, a German psychologist named Herman Ebbinghaus wanted to understand how memories decayed over time,

在 1880 年代，有一位德國心理學家叫做 赫爾曼·艾賓浩斯，他想要了解記憶是如何衰退的

and he especially wanted to know how long the process took.

尤其想知道這個過程需要多久

He began by running countless tests on his own memory, forcing himself to recall long lists of meaningless letters until eventually, he came up with the Forgetting Curve.

他開始對自己的記憶做無數的測試，逼自己去回想一長串無意義的字母，直到他想出了遺忘曲線

While largely hypothetical and simplistic in its details, this model demonstrated how memories decay quickly unless accessed again and again.

雖然大部分只是假設，細節也過度簡化，但這個模型闡明了記憶是如何快速衰退，除非不斷地被讀取

Since Ebbinghaus’s days, our understanding of how memory decays has come a long way.

因為艾賓浩斯的付出，我們對於記憶衰退的理解有了進展

According to the Forget-to-Learn theory, which is presented in Benedict Carey’s book How We Learn, memories actually have two different strengths:

按照 Benedict Carey 的著作「我們如何學習」內所述的遺忘學習理論，記憶含有兩種能力

storage strength and retrieval strength.

儲存力和檢索力

Picture your brain as a library where none of the books ever get stolen or damaged.

把你的腦想像成一個圖書館，裡面的書永遠都不會被偷或被損

When a new book is put on a shelf, it’s there for good.

當一本新書被放上書架，它就永遠在那兒了

This represents storage strength, which, according to the theory, doesn’t weaken.

這代表的就是儲存力，按其理論來說，儲存力是不會減弱的

Once a memory is encoded, the neural pattern can only get stronger.

一旦一份記憶被編碼，神經模形就只會變強

Now, unfortunately this library has a particularly lazy librarian who doesn’t do a very good job of keeping the library’s catalog organized.

但現在不幸的是，這個圖書館裡有個懶惰的圖書館員，他對圖書館內編目和組織維護做得並不好

This represents retrieval strength, which does fade with time.

此代表的就是檢索力，它就會隨著時間變弱了

Unless you go in and organize the catalog – or recall the memory – you’ll eventually lose track of it.

除非你親自進去組織目錄 – 或著說回憶那些記憶 – 否則最終你會失去它們的蹤跡

Thanks, Thought Bubble. Now here’s where it gets good.

Thought Bubble 謝啦！ 接著談談其帶來的好處

The more a memory’s retrieval strength has faded, and the greater the difficulty of recalling it, the greater the increase in learning will be.

記憶的檢索力衰退的越多，要回憶起來就越難，但學習後進步也越明顯

This is called the Spacing Effect.

這叫做間隔效應

It’s essentially the “No pain, no gain,” of the mental realm;

這基本上就像是精神領域裡的「一分耕耘一分收穫」

the harder you have to work to recall something, the greater the reward for doing so.

你回憶某件事越困難，實際這麼做後得到的回饋就越多

There’s an obvious catch, though – if you wait too long, the retrieval strength diminishes so much that you won’t be able to recall the memory at all.

但這有個明顯的陷阱，如果你等太久使檢索力減弱的太多，結果會讓你完全無法回憶起來

This where the Principle of Desirable Difficulty comes in.

這就是有益困境原則發揮作用之處

To maximize the efficiency of your studying, you want to the find the point right before you’re about to forget something.

為了將你的學習效益最大化，你希望能找到最剛好、快要忘記的時間點

And you can do this by using spaced repetition techniques.

而你可以用間隔重複法來達到你的目的

The general idea behind spaced repetition is to steadily increase the amount of time in between each study session for any piece of information.

間隔重複法的基本概念，就是穩定的增加每次學習某片段資訊的間隔時間

So instead of reviewing a fact or concept once every few days,

所以可以用這個方法取代每幾天就複習一個觀念一次

you’d use a schedule like this where you’d wait a day between the first and second sessions, three days between the second and third, and so on.

你可以用一個行事曆像這個一樣，在第一和第二次複習間隔一天，第二和第三次複習間隔兩天，以此類推

To do this precisely, you need a system that tracks your progress in memorizing each piece of information you need to study – since it never happens evenly.

要精確的執行，你需要一個系統來追蹤你想學的各段資訊的記憶進度 – 因為你對各段記憶的進度總是均等

If you’ve got 100 Japanese kanji to learn, it’s inevitable that you’ll remember some easier than others.

如果你有一百個日文漢字要學，無可避免的你會有部分比較容易記得

If you use the exact same time delays for every kanji, you’ll spend too much time studying some, and others won’t ever be learned at all.

如果你對每個漢字用完全一樣的延遲技巧，你會花費太多時間在學習其中一部分，而其它部分則完全沒機會學到

To solve this problem, you can use the Leitner System.

為了解決這個問題，你可以使用 Leitner 生字卡系統

In it, you’ve got five boxes, each of which represents a specific study interval.

在這個系統裡，你會有五個盒子，每個代表特定的學習間隔

Box 1 gets studied every day, Box 2 every three days, Box 3 once a week, and so on.

一號盒子需要每天學習，二號盒子每三天學習一次，三號盒子每週學習一次，以此類推

Every fact or term gets its own flash card, and all cards start off in Box 1.

每個事件或單詞有一個獨立的單字卡，而全部的卡片都從一號盒子開始

Once you get a card right, move it to the next box.

一旦你答對一張卡片，把它移到下一個盒子

And if you get a card wrong – no matter what box it’s in – send it back to Box 1.

而要是你答錯了，不論它在哪個盒子，都把它丟回一號盒子

If you play by these rules, you’ll ensure that you maximize your efficiency by spending more time studying the cards you have the weakest grasp on.

如果你照這個規則玩，經由花比較多時間在你最沒把握的卡片上，你能夠將你的學習效率最大化

The increasing time intervals of the boxes also help you leverage the spacing effect and get to close to that point of desirable difficulty.

而盒子增加的時間間格也能夠幫助你利用間隔效應，接近有益困境點

There are also a ton of spaced repetition apps for both computers and smartphones that will let you make this whole process digital.

在電腦或是智慧型手機上還有很多利用間隔重複法的應用軟體，可以讓你將這些過程數位化

The best known one is probably Anki, which is free on most platforms, but there’s also TinyCards, Quizlet, and many, many others.

最知名的大概是是 Anki ，大部分平台都可以免費使用，但也還有 TinyCards 、 Quizlet 等等許多其它的應用程式可供選擇

Now when it comes to subjects that aren’t easily studied through flash cards – like math or even a sport like skateboarding – it’s harder to use a rigid spaced repetition algorithm.

現在來談一些比較難用單字卡學習的科目 – 像是數學或甚至運動，例如滑板 – 這很難應用嚴格的間隔複習演算法

However, the spacing effect applies here as well, so be sure to space out your practice over time.

然而，間隔效應還是能夠使用，所以請確實隨時間將練習之間做間隔

During any given day’s practice, you’ll eventually hit a wall where you stop making progress

在任何一天的練習中，你最終都可能會碰到一道牆阻止你進步

whether it’s learning derivatives in calculus or kickflips in skateboarding

不論是學習微積分的導函數還是學滑板的尖翻

– but if you come back to it a few days later, everything will be more likely to click into place.

– 但當你在幾天之後再回來練習時，一切都變得更容易到位

In each of these study sessions, make sure you’re putting the focus on recalling information from your own memory.

在每一個學期，請確保有專注在靠自己的記憶來回憶訊息

As we talked about in our video on reading assignments, there are two main kinds of memory – recognition and recall.

就如同我們在前一部閱讀作業的影片所談到的，有兩種類型的記憶，僅認得和可回憶

Recognition is what happens when you’re exposed to information you’ve already seen before and remember it.

僅認得是指當你接觸到一些曾經看過的訊息時，你記得你有看過

But recall involves dredging the information up from the depths of your memory banks without seeing it,

但是可回憶則包含在沒看到提示的情況下，能夠將訊息從你深深的腦海裡撈上來

which is exactly what you’ll have to do in both your exams and in many real-world situations.

這正是你需要在考試或實際狀況所需要的

So when you study, make sure you’re focusing on active recall.

所以當你在學習時，請確實專注於主動回憶

Don’t just passively read over your notes or slides – use them to create quizzes for yourself,

別只是被動地讀過你的筆記或講義 – 但可以用這些教材來幫自己做些小測驗

or challenge yourself to sit down and write out a summary of what you’ve learned from memory.

或也可以挑戰你自己，直接坐下來然後從記憶中寫下你學過知識的總結

If you’re studying a subject like math or physics, put a huge emphasis on practicing with real problems and actually use the concepts and formulas you’ve learned.

如果你正在學像是數學或物理等科目，則要著重練習實際的問題以及主動使用學過的觀念和公式

In short, studying should feel like work, and it should challenge your brain.

簡單來說，學習應該感覺要像是工作，要讓你的腦覺得有挑戰性

When it does, you’ll remember more while spending fewer hours at your desk.

如此一來，你將記得更多，卻花更少的時間蹲在書桌前

Thanks for watching, and I’ll see you next week.

感謝收看，我們下次見

This episode is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus, an on-demand subscription service

這集影片是由 The Great Courses Plus 贊助撥出，The Great Courses Plus 是一個需求訂閱服務

where you can get unlimited access to over 7,000 different video lectures about any topic that interests you,

你可以在那無限次地閱覽你有興趣的各式主題課程，影片數量超過七千部

including science, literature, history, math, even cooking or photography.

包含科學、文學、歷史、數學，甚至烹飪或攝影

The classes are taught by award winning professors – from the Ivy League and other top schools around the world.

課程是由獲獎的教授 – 來自常春藤聯盟和其它全世界頂尖學校 – 所授課

If you're looking to improve your study skills further, you might like this lecture from

如果你正在找方法進一步加強你的學習技巧，你也許會喜歡這門 Steve Joordens 教授的課

Professor Steve Joordens, called Encoding—Our Gateway into Long-Term Memory where you'll learn more about how to improve your own recall.

叫做「編碼 – 進入長期記憶的大門」，你可以學到更多關於如何增進回憶能力的知識

Right now, The Great Courses Plus is offering Crash Course viewers a free one-month trial.

現在，The Great Courses Plus 提供速成班影片觀看者一個月免費試用

Go to thegreatcoursesplus.com/studyskills, or click on the link in the video description below, to start your free trial today.

前往 thegreatcoursesplus.com/studyskills 或是點擊下方影片敘述連結，今天就開始免費試用吧

Crash Course Study Skills is filmed in the Dr. Cheryl C. Kinney Crash Course Studio in Missoula, MT, and it's made with the help of all of these nice people.

學習技巧速成班是由 Cheryl C 博士和蒙大拿州的 Kinney 速成班工作室以及這幾位大好人的協助所拍攝而成

If you'd like to keep Crash Course free for everyone, forever, you can support the series over on Patreon, a crowdfunding platform that allows you to support the content that you love.

如果你願意幫助速成班系列影片永久免費提供大家學習，你可以到 Patreon 平台上贊助，它是是一個募資平台，讓你可以支持你喜歡的內容

Thank you so much for your support.

非常感謝你的支持