A Review: Quantum Country
Title of Work: Quantum Country
Author: Andy Matuschak
Format:
Published:
Started:
Finished: 2023-01-25\
Posted: Goodreads
Rating: 4/5
I came across this research project on human memory and learning on the personal website of one of the authors, Andy Matuschak. If you have any interest in how memory works, limitations and solutions for personal knowledge storage, or just slick web design (I’m geeking out over bi-directional links rn)—check out his site.
“Quantum Country is a new kind of book. Its interface integrates powerful ideas from cognitive science to make memory a choice. This is important in a topic like quantum computing, which overwhelms many learners with unfamiliar concepts and notation.”
-Quantum Country
Regarding the project itself, we find a tech-enabled ebook promising improved retention and understanding of “all the basic principles of quantum computing and quantum mechanics, plus two important applications: the quantum search algorithm and quantum teleportation.” This is proposed through the leverage of an embedded Spaced Repetition System (SRS), in this case in-text conceptual flashcards which will be repeatedly presented to the willing reader on an exponentially spaced schedule. You read once and answer the questions, marking as you go those that you remembered and those that you forgot. In the following days, weeks, and months you will receive timed emails prompting to you to review the questions in hopes of curbing the “forgetting curve”, the theoretical rate at which an individual loses new information.
I completed the first essay, Quantum computing for the very curious, in a few hours and found the content to be very well presented. There is a tone of compassion for the busy, forgetful, or just plain attention deficient reader. You are invited to learn but not beaten over the head with the obligation. While I did not totally grok every concept, I feel curious and invested for the time being in the spaced reviews that will arrive in my inbox.
Note: This concept of using SRS in-text is being developed further by the author into a writing tool called Orbit. I’ve just skimmed the documentation but it looks like with Orbit one could write their own web article/e-book/lesson and embed the flash card functionality directly in-line with html. The spaced repetition is handled by Orbit and the reader is prompted to make an account so progress and retention can be tracked.
These types of experiments are exciting to me because they represent the ubiquitous human desire to learn, to understand. It is not a gimmick restricted to learning “boring” topics like quantum physics or Spanish vocab. These investigations and tools are an effort to augment the ways in which we as humans acquire and retain knowledge. How much further along could we be and how much faster can we get there if we stop trying to learn in systems that aren’t optimal for the way our brains are wired?