ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Forgetting curve

Okay, let me explain forgetting curve to you like you are five years old!

Have you ever forgotten something that you learned before? Like the name of a new friend or how to spell a word? Well, that's because of forgetfulness. The forgetting curve is a way to measure how quickly we forget things over time.

Now let's say you learn something new today, your brain stores it into your memory. But after some time, you might forget it. The forgetting curve shows how much you are likely to forget over time. This means that you may remember everything you learned today, but tomorrow, you might forget some of it.

As time passes, you forget more information, but the rate at which you forget also varies. For example, you might forget 50% of what you learned in a day, but only 20% of what you learned in a week. Basically, the further you get away from when you learned something, the more likely you are to forget it.

However, there are things you can do to slow down the forgetting curve, like reviewing what you learned or practicing it frequently. This way, you’re more likely to remember what you’ve learned for longer periods of time.

So, just remember that forgetting curve is how fast we forget information over time, but with practice and review, we can keep things in our memory for longer.
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