I’m two weeks in to a polyphasic sleep adaptation. I wrote a fairly lengthy blog post about it, but some details that might interest LWers:
1) I’m using a Zeo which is proving to be extremely valuable even just for my own sanity, because adaptation is hard enough without objective data that it’s working. I’ve started informally trying to guess what my chart will look like after each nap (e.g. Wake, REM, REM, Wake (the bars represent 5 minutes)) and I plan to start doing so formally tomorrow. I expect to get to the stage where these predictions are quite accurate. Then again, I also expect that as I adapt, my naps will become more consistent.
2) I’ve been running myself through a battery of tests on Quantified Mind. No conclusions yet.
Unfortunately, with both the Zeo and QM, I didn’t do much/any data-gathering before adaptation, because I only acquired / started using the technologies in the week prior to adaptation, and for logistical reasons I didn’t feel like I could delay my adaptation for the month it would have required to get enough Zeo data and eliminate all of the practice effects on QM.
It’s possible that at some point I’ll be forced to return to monophasic. At this stage, the data I’m gathering may become more valuable, especially if I later return to polyphasic.
3) Moments of extreme tiredness have been an interesting exercise in Systems 1 and 2 fighting each other. My body / limbic system wants nothing more than sleep, but my neocortex is driven to succeed. I can watch them battle if I pay close enough attention.
If anyone has experiments etc. they’d like me to attempt, I’m open to suggestion, although they may not be feasible.
If anyone has experiments etc. they’d like me to attempt, I’m open to suggestion, although they may not be feasible.
If you revert to monophasic and plan to try polyphasic again, I suggest taking up spaced repetition. Long-term memory is one of the most likely places for polyphasic to be wreaking havoc.
Roger. In fact, I plan to take it up while polyphasic anyway, for the object-level benefits. I’ve used Anki before, just not lately (I was mostly using it for my university classes, and I’m presently on a coop work term).
Oh, and I don’t have to set anything up, i.e. Anki automatically tracks performance, right?
Oh, and I don’t have to set anything up, i.e. Anki automatically tracks performance, right?
I believe so. (Mnemosyne 1.x doesn’t track anything, Mnemosyne 2.x does but I’m not sure how much.) There was actually a previous LWer who tried polyphasic while doing Anki, I was excited, and then it turned out he had lost his data. Hopefully you’ll do better.
Right, I saw that post. I don’t have deletionist tendencies (the contrary, in fact) so odds are good.
Then you use Mnemosyne? What pitch would you make me for that as opposed to Anki? I don’t currently have a serious investment in any solution. Oh, it occurs to me you may not actually have a strong preference or reasons for Mnemosyne aside from the cost of switching.
I’ve been using Anki for a few months now. All polyphasic, so we don’t have anything to compare it to until I’m forced back to monophasic for whatever reason. The other thing that might make it hard to compare is that I historically have not been well-rested while monophasic (part of my impetus for switching: I figure if I’m going to be sleep deprived anyway I might as well be efficiently sleep-deprived).
Anyway, in addition to adding course notes and points from books I’ve read, I’m also adding poems and definitions. I want to add quotations, but I’m not sure how to format them. What do you do? I feel like cloze deletion might make sense for long quotations, but not for short? I checked your SRS page on your site but didn’t find any examples there.
My main goal is to have the quotation come to mind at a moment it feels relevant, with a secondary goal of knowing who said the quotation if it’s brought up. (the latter is a hash function that’s easy to flashcard). This suggests an approach like:
Front: Dorothy Parker quote on boredom. Back: “The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity.”
I’ve been using Anki for a few months now. All polyphasic, so we don’t have anything to compare it to until I’m forced back to monophasic for whatever reason
Have you been yet?
Anyway, in addition to adding course notes and points from books I’ve read, I’m also adding poems and definitions. I want to add quotations, but I’m not sure how to format them. What do you do? I feel like cloze deletion might make sense for long quotations, but not for short? I checked your SRS page on your site but didn’t find any examples there. My main goal is to have the quotation come to mind at a moment it feels relevant
I just go quote/source. I’m not really sure if this is optimal but at least my own subjective experience is that it seems to work pretty well for remembering quotes.
Yes! Well, mostly biphasic, sleeping around 6h/night and a 20min nap in the day. I will dig into my data to see if anything lies in there, but the kinds of cards I’ve had in my deck have changed substantially over that time, so I don’t put much weight behind this.
I just go quote/source.
Can you give an example? What would be the front/back of the card? Or what would cue you to think of the quotation in the first place, especially if you have several from the same source?
Or what would cue you to think of the quotation in the first place, especially if you have several from the same source?
Why does anyone think of a quote? It comes to mind as a convenient way to express some sentiment or situation. An example from a few minutes ago on IRC:
14:56:31 < X> how are you doing today?
14:57:28 <@gwern> X: feeling a bit put out that I sort want to go for a walk but I sort don't
and I no longer have the dog which would have pushed me over
the edge in favor of taking a walk
14:57:44 <@gwern> 'those barbarians were a solution, of sorts'
A paraphrased quote from Cavafy’s “Waiting for the Barbarians” encapsulates my vague frustration at the moment over losing my dog (died Thursday) as a commitment device for getting some minimal exercise.
What is there about my dog or daily walks that relates to Cavafy? Nothing, but it’s a favorite poem of mine and there are quotes in my Mnemosyne and so it comes to mind.
I’m two weeks in to a polyphasic sleep adaptation. I wrote a fairly lengthy blog post about it, but some details that might interest LWers:
1) I’m using a Zeo which is proving to be extremely valuable even just for my own sanity, because adaptation is hard enough without objective data that it’s working. I’ve started informally trying to guess what my chart will look like after each nap (e.g. Wake, REM, REM, Wake (the bars represent 5 minutes)) and I plan to start doing so formally tomorrow. I expect to get to the stage where these predictions are quite accurate. Then again, I also expect that as I adapt, my naps will become more consistent.
2) I’ve been running myself through a battery of tests on Quantified Mind. No conclusions yet.
Unfortunately, with both the Zeo and QM, I didn’t do much/any data-gathering before adaptation, because I only acquired / started using the technologies in the week prior to adaptation, and for logistical reasons I didn’t feel like I could delay my adaptation for the month it would have required to get enough Zeo data and eliminate all of the practice effects on QM.
It’s possible that at some point I’ll be forced to return to monophasic. At this stage, the data I’m gathering may become more valuable, especially if I later return to polyphasic.
3) Moments of extreme tiredness have been an interesting exercise in Systems 1 and 2 fighting each other. My body / limbic system wants nothing more than sleep, but my neocortex is driven to succeed. I can watch them battle if I pay close enough attention.
If anyone has experiments etc. they’d like me to attempt, I’m open to suggestion, although they may not be feasible.
If you revert to monophasic and plan to try polyphasic again, I suggest taking up spaced repetition. Long-term memory is one of the most likely places for polyphasic to be wreaking havoc.
Roger. In fact, I plan to take it up while polyphasic anyway, for the object-level benefits. I’ve used Anki before, just not lately (I was mostly using it for my university classes, and I’m presently on a coop work term).
Oh, and I don’t have to set anything up, i.e. Anki automatically tracks performance, right?
I believe so. (Mnemosyne 1.x doesn’t track anything, Mnemosyne 2.x does but I’m not sure how much.) There was actually a previous LWer who tried polyphasic while doing Anki, I was excited, and then it turned out he had lost his data. Hopefully you’ll do better.
Right, I saw that post. I don’t have deletionist tendencies (the contrary, in fact) so odds are good.
Then you use Mnemosyne? What pitch would you make me for that as opposed to Anki? I don’t currently have a serious investment in any solution. Oh, it occurs to me you may not actually have a strong preference or reasons for Mnemosyne aside from the cost of switching.
Yes.
I’ve been using Anki for a few months now. All polyphasic, so we don’t have anything to compare it to until I’m forced back to monophasic for whatever reason. The other thing that might make it hard to compare is that I historically have not been well-rested while monophasic (part of my impetus for switching: I figure if I’m going to be sleep deprived anyway I might as well be efficiently sleep-deprived).
Anyway, in addition to adding course notes and points from books I’ve read, I’m also adding poems and definitions. I want to add quotations, but I’m not sure how to format them. What do you do? I feel like cloze deletion might make sense for long quotations, but not for short? I checked your SRS page on your site but didn’t find any examples there.
My main goal is to have the quotation come to mind at a moment it feels relevant, with a secondary goal of knowing who said the quotation if it’s brought up. (the latter is a hash function that’s easy to flashcard). This suggests an approach like:
Front: Dorothy Parker quote on boredom.
Back: “The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity.”
Thanks :)
Have you been yet?
I just go quote/source. I’m not really sure if this is optimal but at least my own subjective experience is that it seems to work pretty well for remembering quotes.
Yes! Well, mostly biphasic, sleeping around 6h/night and a 20min nap in the day. I will dig into my data to see if anything lies in there, but the kinds of cards I’ve had in my deck have changed substantially over that time, so I don’t put much weight behind this.
Can you give an example? What would be the front/back of the card? Or what would cue you to think of the quotation in the first place, especially if you have several from the same source?
The easiness settings in theory would help adjust for changes in card difficulties, I think.
There’s hundreds in http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/182368464/gwern.cards.7z but it’s literally what I said.
Why does anyone think of a quote? It comes to mind as a convenient way to express some sentiment or situation. An example from a few minutes ago on IRC:
A paraphrased quote from Cavafy’s “Waiting for the Barbarians” encapsulates my vague frustration at the moment over losing my dog (died Thursday) as a commitment device for getting some minimal exercise.
What is there about my dog or daily walks that relates to Cavafy? Nothing, but it’s a favorite poem of mine and there are quotes in my Mnemosyne and so it comes to mind.