In a recent LessWrong post, Qiaochu Yuan noted that “various mnemonic techniques like memory palaces, along with spaced repetition, seem to more or less solve the problem of memorization.” The list below is an attempt to compile all existing Anki decks created by Less Wrong users, in the hope that they will be of help to others in memorizing the corresponding material. (Anki is arguably the most popular spaced repetition software.) If you know of a deck not included here, please mention it in the comments section and I’ll add it to the list. Thanks!
Please note that I have excluded some of my own Anki decks, which may not be of interest to members of the LessWrong community; all such decks may be found here.
Update (August 2019): The links to many of the decks below died in the intervening years, in part because AnkiWeb deletes shared decks with low download activity. Fortunately, I managed to regenerate almost all of these decks from my own master deck. To prevent further loss of content, I have now uploaded all of the extant decks to my server and added backup links to these archived versions.
Accounting and Finance
- Ivo Welch’s Corporate Finance (2nd ed.) (incomplete) [archived], by Pablo.
- Mark Piper’s Accounting Made Simple [archived], by Pablo.
AI
- AI policy [archived], by Roxanne Heston.
- Nick Bostrom’s Superintelligence [archived], by Pablo.
Apps and Software
- Chrome keyboard shortcuts (Windows) [archived], by Pablo.
- Google Docs keyboard shortcuts (Mac), by Pablo [not currently available].
- Mac keyboard shortcuts [archived], by Pablo.
- Vimium keyboard shortcuts [archived], by Pablo.
Art and Music
- 100 Greatest Paintings of All Time [archived], by Risto_Saarelma. Based on lukeprog‘s listology, itself based on Piero Scaruffi’s 1000 Greatest Western Paintings of All Times.
- Ear Training (chords) [archived], by Pablo. Contains sound samples of about 40 of the most common chords, in root position.
Communication
- Adele Faber & Elaine Mazlish’s How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk [archived], by divia.
- Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan & Al Switzle’s Crucial Conversations [archived], by divia.
- Marshall Rosenberg’s Nonviolent Communication [archived], by divia.
Dreaming and Psychedelia
- MAPS’s Responding to Difficult Psychedelic Experiences [archived], by divia.
- Stephen LaBerge & Howard Rheingold’s Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming [archived], by divia.
Languages
- German cases [archived], by Pablo.
- La Rochefoucauld’s Maxims [archived], by Pablo.
- Wittgenstein’s Tractatus [archived], by Pablo.
Miscellaneous
Mnemonics
- How to Formulate Knowledge [archived], by alexvermeer. Based on Piotr Wozniak’s 20 Rules of Formulating Knowledge. [See also divia’s similar deck]
- The Major Mnemonic Memory System [archived], by alexvermeer. Contains cards for the sounds associated with 0 through 9 as well as 100 pegs.
Psychology and Psychiatry
- List of personality disorders [archived], by Pablo. From Theodore Millon’s Personality Disorders in Modern Life.
- Peter Gray’s Psychology (6th ed.) (incomplete) [archived], by Pablo.
Rationality and Cognitive Science
- List of Cognitive Biases and Fallacies [archived], by phob. Based on Wikipedia’s List of cognitive biases and List of fallacies.
- Rationality Habits Checklist [archived], by Qiaochu_Yuan. Based on this post.
Self-Help
- Carol Dweck’s Mindset: The New Psychology of Success [archived], by alexvermeer.
- David Burns’s The Feeling Good Handbook [archived], by Pablo.
- Get Motivated [archived], by alexvermeer. An experimental deck for getting yourself motivated using the advice from Piers Steel’s The Procrastination Equation and the author’s own How to Get Motivated poster.
- Richard Wiseman’s 59 Seconds [archived], by Dorikka.
- Tim Ferriss’s The Four Hour Work Week [archived], by alexvermeer.
Sequences and Related LW Material
- A Human’s Guide to Words [archived], by divia.
- Eliezer Yudkowsky’s “Twelve Virtues of Rationality” [archived], by alexvermeer.
- LessWrong wiki [archived], by mapnoterritory.
- Mysterious Answers to Mysterious Questions [archived], by divia.
Statistics
- Quick Bayes Table [archived], by alexvermeer. A simple deck of cards for internalizing conversions between percent, odds, and decibels of evidence.
With thanks to Lorenzo Buonanno.