https://feedbackandforgetting.com/ How learning actually works — sourced, replicated, recomputed. en https://feedbackandforgetting.com/learning-memory/active-recall/https://feedbackandforgetting.com/learning-memory/active-recall/Fri, 06 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMTIn the 2006 study, self-testing beat rereading on delayed tests while rereading felt surer. The reviews, read at abstract level, and a week-long recall plan. https://feedbackandforgetting.com/language-minds/bilingual-advantage/https://feedbackandforgetting.com/language-minds/bilingual-advantage/Fri, 06 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMTBy two reviews' abstracts, bilinguals' very small edge on mental-control tasks lost significance or left no evidence after bias correction. See the CSV. https://feedbackandforgetting.com/creative-minds/brainstorming/https://feedbackandforgetting.com/creative-minds/brainstorming/Fri, 06 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMTA 2018 review reports that talking brainstorming groups produce fewer ideas than the same number of people working alone. What was read, and what it covers. https://feedbackandforgetting.com/creative-minds/candle-problem/https://feedbackandforgetting.com/creative-minds/candle-problem/Fri, 06 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMTFunctional fixedness in the candle problem: the answer uses the tack box as a shelf. Classic studies were readable here only as citations; a 2021 test, in full. https://feedbackandforgetting.com/systems-loops/cobra-effect/https://feedbackandforgetting.com/systems-loops/cobra-effect/Fri, 06 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMTSnake bounties in British India from 1869–1872 are on record. The cobra effect story of breeding cobras for a bounty has no period record found as of Nov 2026. https://feedbackandforgetting.com/language-minds/critical-period-hypothesis/https://feedbackandforgetting.com/language-minds/critical-period-hypothesis/Fri, 06 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMTA 2018 study of 669,498 grammar-quiz takers modeled grammar-learning ability as high until about 17.4, then falling. One study, one model; accent not tested. https://feedbackandforgetting.com/systems-loops/feedback-loops/https://feedbackandforgetting.com/systems-loops/feedback-loops/Fri, 06 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMTFeedback loops in traffic, a steam governor, a thermostat, a bathtub and the beer game, each marked tested or untested, with CC BY loop diagrams and a CSV. https://feedbackandforgetting.com/learning-memory/feynman-technique/https://feedbackandforgetting.com/learning-memory/feynman-technique/Fri, 06 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe Feynman technique’s moves were studied as self-explanation, learning by teaching and the illusion of explanatory depth. What held up, and how to try it. https://feedbackandforgetting.com/influence-persuasion/foot-in-the-door/https://feedbackandforgetting.com/influence-persuasion/foot-in-the-door/Fri, 06 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe foot-in-the-door technique asks small, then bigger. One 1975 study’s abstract reports 51.9% vs 33.3% agreeing; later tests were mixed. See what held up. https://feedbackandforgetting.com/learning-memory/forgetting-curve/https://feedbackandforgetting.com/learning-memory/forgetting-curve/Fri, 06 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMTEbbinghaus's forgetting curve tracks how much faster he relearned nonsense syllables, not what he recalled. See the 1885 data, the 2015 replication and a CSV. https://feedbackandforgetting.com/systems-loops/goodharts-law/https://feedbackandforgetting.com/systems-loops/goodharts-law/Fri, 06 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMTLater papers trace Goodhart’s law to a 1975 paper on UK monetary management. The line about a measure becoming a target came later; papers credit Strathern. https://feedbackandforgetting.com/creative-minds/incubation-effect/https://feedbackandforgetting.com/creative-minds/incubation-effect/Fri, 06 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMTWallas built his four stages of creativity from Helmholtz's and Poincaré's own accounts. What lab tests of the incubation effect found, read as an abstract. https://feedbackandforgetting.com/learning-memory/learning-myths/https://feedbackandforgetting.com/learning-memory/learning-myths/Fri, 06 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMTA scorecard of learning myths and neuromyths, from learning styles to the learning pyramid: the study behind each claim, if one was found, and its status. https://feedbackandforgetting.com/learning-memory/learning-styles/https://feedbackandforgetting.com/learning-memory/learning-styles/Fri, 06 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMTIn a 2012 survey report, over 90% of 242 UK and Dutch teachers backed learning styles. Few studies ran the right test, and those read here found no clear gain. https://feedbackandforgetting.com/influence-persuasion/milgram-experiment/https://feedbackandforgetting.com/influence-persuasion/milgram-experiment/Fri, 06 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMTMilgram ran 23 versions of his obedience experiment. In the 21 a 2014 synthesis compared, 2.5% to 92.5% went on to 450 volts. See every version, with a CSV. https://feedbackandforgetting.com/influence-persuasion/persuasion-classics/https://feedbackandforgetting.com/influence-persuasion/persuasion-classics/Fri, 06 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe door-in-the-face technique asks big, then smaller. A 2021 rerun’s abstract reports similar compliance; see five other classics and how much could be read. https://feedbackandforgetting.com/learning-memory/spaced-repetition/https://feedbackandforgetting.com/learning-memory/spaced-repetition/Fri, 06 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMTSpaced study beat massed study on average in classrooms. In one lab’s abstracts, growing review gaps didn’t beat equal gaps on delayed tests. See the studies. https://feedbackandforgetting.com/language-minds/vocabulary-size/https://feedbackandforgetting.com/language-minds/vocabulary-size/Fri, 06 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMTA 2016 vocabulary size test put the median 20-year-old native speaker of American English at about 42,000 lemmas or 11,100 word families: the unit matters.