CONTENTS

Genius

Introduction to Genius

Minimum requirements

How to install Genius

How to navigate in Genius hyperspace

General principles of the SuperMemo method used in Genius

SuperMemo in Genius

How to learn with Genius

How to create knowledge systems

Components available for creating knowledge elements in Genius

Writing scripts

Using hints and ready-made database to learn more about Genius

How to translate knowledge systems to other languages

Options available on Genius menus

Safety of knowledge systems developed with Genius

Principles of effectively using Genius

Selection of material

Regularity

Moderation

Simplicity

Univocality

Concentration

Awareness of the mental stages passed by a typical learner

Pleasure

Health

SuperMemo decalog

Further reading. Books and publications by the authors (in reference to SuperMemo)

Articles and reviews in popular press (in reference to SuperMemo):


Introduction to Genius

Genius is SuperMemo Worlds attempt to enter the domain of hypermedia publishing and thus to widen the present scope of applications of SuperMemo.

Here is the short list of application areas for Genius:

hypermedia publishing

hypermedia presentations

individual and corporate training

classroom education

student testing and automatic knowledge evaluation

learning large bodies of facts and figures by means of repetition spacing (in the manner known from SuperMemo)

Genius 1.0 is intended only as a beginning of a long road of development proceeding along the lines established earlier in the work on developing SuperMemo.

A major part of SuperMemo Worlds resources goes into market research and evaluation of user needs in reference to software development. This user-oriented approach has catapulted SuperMemo into the position of certifiably most popular and most awarded Windows software ever born on Polish soil.

Our hope is that through user feedback and constant investment in development, the crude piece of software and a mere seed of a wider idea that we present to your hands will in the future allow SuperMemo World pass the magic barrier of a million copies distributed worldwide, and join the elite of software granddaddies along word processors, spreadsheets, database systems and the like.


Minimum requirements

Although the set of minimum requirements printed on the cover of Genius CD-ROM may seem daunting, you may try using Genius on less powerful computers. Depending on the degree of compromise, you may wish to elect only a subset of Genius functionality that is less hardware demanding. In particular, you would want to limit number of components placed in each knowledge element and reduce the use of large multimedia objects.

In case your computer does not meet the minimum requirements, you may opt for using SuperMemo 7.5 for Windows instead of Genius until you upgrade your system. The files needed to run SuperMemo you will find in directory SUPRMEMO on Genius CD-ROM. Copy these files to an empty directory and run SM7.EXE.

See also:

How to Install Genius


How to install Genius

To install Genius do the following:

1.	Insert Genius CD-ROM into your CD-ROM drive

2.	Type <X>:\INSTALL at File : Run prompt in Program Manager (X: stands for your CD-ROM drive letter)

3.	Choose Continue in Genius Setup dialog box

4.	If you want to install Video for Windows 1.1 choose Yes upon receiving Install Video for Windows 1.1 query and follow the prompts of the installation procedure

5.	Click Genius icon to fire off Genius

See also:

Minimum requirements


How to navigate in Genius hyperspace

Genius makes it possible to store knowledge in hypermedia knowledge bases called here knowledge systems. A knowledge system is composed of a series of knowledge elements that are interlinked into a network of semantic associations. Each knowledge element has a form of a page of text, sound, graphics, animation, video, etc. You can study the knowledge comprised in a knowledge system by moving between individual elements. The process of intelligently choosing the knowledge exploration path is called navigation.

Upon launching Genius, two windows appear on Genius desktop: (1) element window with the current page of the knowledge system (in the front), and (2) hierarchy window with the tree knowledge structure of the system.

At the bottom of the element window, the button Next Topic makes it possible to go to the next element within the knowledge hierarchy.

At the top of the element window, the navigation toolbar appears with the following buttons at hand:

1.	Contents - view the location of the currently displayed element in knowledge hierarchy

2.	Search - search for an element containing a given word

3.	Back - go to the previously viewed element

4.	History - see the list of the last fifty viewed elements with a possibility of evoking a selected element by double-click

5.	navigation group - move to next or previous elements in the hierarchy, elements parent, etc.

6.	synchronize button - determine whether changing the displayed element will be reflected by expanding the knowledge hierarchy in the hierarchy window to visualize the elements location in the system

Note that two kinds of knowledge elements are used in Genius:

1.	topics - present synthetic presentation of the learned or presented material, and are mostly used in navigation or review

2.	items - formed as stimulus-response pairs, present topics decomposed along the principle of minimum information, and are mostly used in the learning process (the same way as in SuperMemo)

As topics are less suitable for repetition, or may purely serve as guidance in the navigation process, you can permanently remove them from the learning process by choosing Ignore at the bottom of the element window.

See also:

Components available for creating knowledge elements in Genius

How to create knowledge systems


General principles of the SuperMemo method used in Genius

The main advantage you will find in Genius that puts it apart from other hypermedia authoring tools is that it makes possible for you to use a speed-learning technique called SuperMemo. This technique was developed in Poland in the 1980s, and has become the main competitive advantage of software produced at SuperMemo World since 1991.

As you will have to wait a few weeks before you see the first effects of using the SuperMemo technology, please read the following paragraph to understand what SuperMemo is, and why it is worth a dose of your persistence.

Every learner knows from his own experience that, after a period of learning, forgetting can ruin even the most meticulously woven structure of the learned knowledge. The obvious remedy against forgetting is repetition. However, repetition is time consuming. In the face of an increasing pressure to learn more and faster, most of the students on this planet waste a great deal of their life for learning things they are bound to forget. Ask a recent graduate about the proportion of the learned knowledge that he or she has retained in his or her brain after a 4-6 year course of studies. If the number produced is greater than 5%, it may only be attributed to the student's poor understanding of the devastating power of forgetting. Indeed, forgetting can ruin lives and careers, it inhibits progress of sciences, medicine, technology and all other branches of human activity where knowledge plays a part.

There is, however, a partial solution to the problem of forgetting: SuperMemo. The solution is partial, because it does not allow you to learn with no effort at all. However, it can be demonstrated in strictly scientific terms that SuperMemo helps you increase the speed of learning manifold. Indeed, it makes it possible to closely approach the maximum natural capability of the human brain to store and retain information. In the lifetime perspective, SuperMemo allows you to learn 10-50 times faster than by means of conventional methods, and to reach knowledge retention of 95% or more. How about gaining the level of knowledge of an experienced professor in just a few years?

SuperMemo minimizes the effects of forgetting and the overall time needed for learning. This is done by scheduling repetitions of knowledge in strictly determined intervals of time. The intervals that minimize the learning time are called optimal intervals They are determined on the basis of two contradictory criteria:

Intervals should be as long as possible to obtain the minimum frequency of repetitions, and to make the best use of the so-called spacing effect, which says that longer inter-repetition intervals, up to a certain limit, produce better memories

Intervals should be short enough to ensure that the knowledge is still remembered.

In practice, these two criteria translate into the following one:

Intervals should be as long as it is necessary for a selected, small fraction of knowledge to be forgotten. This fraction, called the forgetting index, can vary from 3%, for slower and very exact learning, to 20% for blitz-learning characterized by lower knowledge retention.

If the forgetting index drops below 3%, the knowledge acquisition rate becomes unacceptably low. On the other hand, the acquisition rate peaks at the forgetting index of about 20%. Above that value, both the retention and acquisition rate decrease. Note, that one can compare traditional learning, in which repetitions are arbitrarily set in time, to time-optimized learning with the forgetting index above 50%. Such learning is not only slow, but above all, the retention of knowledge may be unacceptably low, and in consequence, instead of remembering things which are important, the learner remembers only things which are easy to remember.

As optimal intervals differ for particular facts or rules that are to be remembered, SuperMemo requires that the learned knowledge be split into smallest possible pieces called items. If items were to be repeated collectively, e.g., as chapters of a textbook in traditional learning, the overall optimal intervals would have to be as short as the optimal intervals for the most difficult subitem in the set. This would make learning even less effective than learning by means of classical methods. Splitting knowledge to small pieces makes it possible for SuperMemo to determine an independent repetition spacing for each of the items.

Simplicity of items is perhaps even more important for cytophysiological reasons. Simple items make it possible for the right neuronal synapses to be fully stimulated at the right time. Complex items result in trains of diversified nervous impulses that result in unpredictably intricate molecular memory patterns, which make optimization of repetition spacing difficult or not possible at all.

Optimum repetition spacing and simplicity of items are a formula for speed and high retention. However, the speed of learning is not the most important element of education. It is the quality of knowledge and its representation that count most. SuperMemo allows you to learn very fast, but it is still your responsibility to select the learned material and represent it in the most suitable form.

Summary

1.	The key to effective learning is in minimizing the number of  repetitions necessary to maintain knowledge in the brain.

2.	SuperMemo optimizes the process of learning by approximating optimal intervals that should separate repetitions of knowledge.

3.	The knowledge memorized by means of SuperMemo must be split into smallest possible pieces called items (see sample databases installed on your hard disk to see how to effectively split knowledge to items).

4.	Applying SuperMemo, one must not forget that the quality of learning will depend on selection of the learned material and the way it is split into items.

See also:

SuperMemo in Genius

How to learn with Genius

SuperMemo Decalog


SuperMemo in Genius

All elements that enter the learning process in Genius are henceforth presented to the user in strictly determined intervals of time upon choosing option Learn : Outstanding material. Those intervals are determined by the SuperMemo method.

Repetition spacing (i.e. computing optimum inter-repetition intervals) has been and continues to be the mainstay of popularity of SuperMemo software due to its ability to eliminate the problem of forgetting in learning. If you continue working with Genius regularly, you are guaranteed to achieve a desired level of knowledge retention that is determined by the parameter Options : Learning : Forgetting index (forgetting index is the default requested percentage proportion of knowledge elements that can be forgotten at the moment of repetition).

New algorithms applied in Genius are theoretically far more sound than the algorithms used in the latest releases of SuperMemo, and have been based on a large body of data collected while working with SuperMemo 6 and SuperMemo 7. The major improvements over SuperMemo are:

mechanisms for faster determination of element difficulty

establishing the concept of absolute item difficulty (in contrast to relative difficulty expressed by SuperMemo E-Factors)

mechanisms for on-line determination of the optimum shape of the matrix of optimum intervals used in repetition spacing

Presentation of new algorithms and statistical analyses available from Miscellaneous : Analysis has been placed in Appendix A.

See also:

General principles of the SuperMemo method used in Genius

How to learn with Genius

SuperMemo Decalog


How to learn with Genius

You can choose two modes of learning:

1.	selective mode, in which (1) you navigate towards the knowledge element of interest and (2) choose either button Commit that will enter the displayed element into the learning process or button Review that will enter the displayed topic with all its subordinate items into the learning process. Both buttons: Commit and Review you will find at the bottom of the element window

2.	ear mode, in which you choose to learn elements as they are stored in the knowledge system by pressing button Learn at the bottom of the element window (this is exactly the mode you know from SuperMemo that might be preferred in learning large bodies of facts and rules, e.g. vocabulary of a foreign language)

In both selective and linear modes, the repetition proceeds along the following cycle (same as in SuperMemo):

1.	displaying question components of the elements

2.	upon choosing Show Answer, displaying answer components of the element

3.	displaying the grade panel (note that unlike in SuperMemo, grade names are customizable)

4.	moving to the next element in the repetition cycle or returning to the navigating mode (if there are no more items to learn/review)

See also:

SuperMemo in Genius

General principles of the SuperMemo method used in Genius

SuperMemo Decalog

How to create knowledge systems


How to create knowledge systems

You can create your own knowledge systems by following the steps listed below:

1.	create knowledge hierarchy in the hierarchy window. Use commands Add, Sibling, and Insert to expand the hierarchy. Drag and drop knowledge elements or use Delete to modify once created structure.

2.	create individual knowledge elements: (1) Ctrl-click a selected element in the hierarchy to open the element window, (2) drag and drop element components from the editing toolbar in the element window and (3) change the properties of added components to create the final shape of the element.

To open the editing toolbar, click the Edit tabset at the top of the element window.

To drag and drop components onto the element window click three spots in turn: (1) selected component on the editing toolbar, (2) top-left corner of the components requested location in the element window, and (3) bottom-right corner of the components location.

Note, that all objects used in creating knowledge elements are stored in indexed object registries for reuse and search purposes. Creating registries is automatic. Each object maintains a list of its users. If the list of users is empty, the object is deleted with or without confirmation (images, sounds, or videos are examples or objects whose deleting must be confirmed, while texts or lexicon entries are deleted without confirmation).

To reuse registry objects, right-click the newly created component, choose Link registry item on the pop-up menu, and choose the linked object from the registry that appears on the screen.

See also:

Selection of material

Components available for creating knowledge elements in Genius

Simplicity

Univocality

How to navigate in Genius hyperspace

Writing scripts

Using hints and ready-made database to learn more about Genius


Components available for creating knowledge elements in Genius

These are the component buttons on the Edit tab of the element window:

They correspond respectively with the following components:

text component

Spell-Pad component

image component

sound component

video component

script component

binary component

circle

rectangle

rounded rectangle

line

Each of the components can be placed in three of the following states:

1.	editing state, in which parameters of the component can be changed (e.g. text typed in, size of the component changed, etc.)

2.	dragging state, in which the component can be dragged with a mouse to a new location (or resized)

3.	presentation state, in which the component is displayed read-only in the form as it will be seen by the learner at repetitions

You can switch components between the three states individually (by choosing an option on components pop-up menu activated with right-click), or all of them at once by clicking one of the mode buttons: editing, dragging and presentation mode buttons:

You can open component pop-up menu by right-clicking the selected component. On components pop-up menus you will find a relevant subset of the following options allowing you to change properties of particular components:

Editing Mode - set the component in the editing mode.

Dragging Mode - set the component in the dragging mode.

Presentation Mode - set the component in the presentation mode.

Delete - delete the component upon confirmation.

Move To ClipBox - move the component to the Clip-Box (blue trash-bin on the main windows toolbar).

Hyperlink - view or change the hyperlink connecting the component with a selected topic. If you set a hyperlink different from zero, the learner will be able to evoke the selected topic by clicking the component. The easiest way to set a hyperlink is to chose Move to ClipBox option on the components pop-up menu, and then to drag the contents of the ClipBox on the topic in question.

Answer - mark the component as answer (it will be hidden at question time during repetitions).

Display At ... - determine exactly when the component should be visible (e.g. only at answer time, only on first question, etc.).

Script - edit the script (only in script components).

Link Registry Item - link a new registry item (e.g. sound, image, video, etc.).

Import File - import a new object file (e.g. bitmap file, sound file, video file, etc.).

Paste - paste the object to the clipboard.

Play On Click - determine which playable component should be played upon clicking the given component.

Show Panel - determine if operation panel of sound or video components should be displayed.

Extract section - extract a section of a video file. Only the extracted section will be displayed to the learner.

New Font - define a new font.

Link Registry Font - link a new font from the font registry.

Stretch Image - stretch bitmap image to fit the image components area.

Center Text - center the components text.

Recorder - use the sound component as a sound recorder for pronunciation drills (only in sound components).

Border - determine the border of the component.

Frames - determine the number of frames skipped in single step on clicking the step button in video operation panel.

Color - change the color of the component.

Line Thickness - change the line thickness in the line component.

Line Style - change the line style in the line component.

Brush Style - change the brush style in shape components.

Brush Pattern - change the image pattern in shape components.

Button text - change the text in execution buttons in script and binary components.

Multiple Choice Test (None, Wrong, Correct) - determine if the component takes part in multiple-choice test and if it makes up the correct or wrong answer.

See also:

text component

Spell-Pad component

image component

sound component

video component

script component

binary component

circle

rectangle

rounded rectangle

line

Writing scripts

Using hints and ready-made database to learn more about Genius


Text Component

Text components are used to display text in topics in items. To create a text component (1) click on the text component button, (2) click the top-left corner of the created text component area, (3) click on the bottom-right corner of the text component area, (4) type in the text of the text component. To see the text as it will appear to the learner, click the presentation mode button (pie-chart button presented rightmost above). You can change the properties of a text component by choosing options on the components pop-up menu. To open the menu, right-click the component. To see the function of particular pop-up menu options, drag the mouse over the option in question. See below for a general description of pop-up menu options for different components.

See also:

Spell-Pad component

image component

sound component

video component

script component

binary component

circle

rectangle

rounded rectangle

line

Writing scripts

Using hints and ready-made database to learn more about Genius


Spell-Pad component

Spell-Pad component is used to test the learners ability to spell (type-in) a given text. To create the Spell-Pad component, repeat the three-click actions as in creating the text component, and type in the text which the learner should practise at repetitions. To test the Spell-Pad, click the presentation mode button (pie-chart button presented rightmost above). To change it properties, right-click the mouse to open the components pop-up menu.

See also:

text component

image component

sound component

video component

script component

binary component

circle

rectangle

rounded rectangle

line

Writing scripts

Using hints and ready-made database to learn more about Genius


Image Component

Image component is used to present a graphic bitmap to the learner. Top create the image component, repeat the three-click placement actions and import a desired graphic file (right-click to get the pop-up menu, and choose Import file).

See also:

text component

Spell-Pad component

sound component

video component

script component

binary component

circle

rectangle

rounded rectangle

line

Writing scripts

Using hints and ready-made database to learn more about Genius


Sound Component

Sound component is used to illustrate topics and items with sound. To add sound to a newly created component, choose Import file from the components pop-up menu.

See also:

text component

Spell-Pad component

image component

video component

script component

binary component

circle

rectangle

rounded rectangle

line

Writing scripts

Using hints and ready-made database to learn more about Genius


Video Component

Video component is used to illustrate topics and items with video. To add sound to a newly created component, choose Import file from the components pop-up menu and import a previously captured AVI files. See also:

text component

Spell-Pad component

image component

sound component

script component

binary component

circle

rectangle

rounded rectangle

line

Writing scripts

Using hints and ready-made database to learn more about Genius


Script Component

Script component is used to move, hide, and otherwise affect other components through simple script language programs. To learn how to write scripts see Section Writing scripts.

See also:

text component

Spell-Pad component

image component

sound component

video component

binary component

circle

rectangle

rounded rectangle

line

Writing scripts

Using hints and ready-made database to learn more about Genius


Binary Component

Binary component is a user-written executable module (EXE or DLL). Writing EXE and DLL files requires some programming knowledge. For specification of DLL calling interface, contact SuperMemo World, R&D Dept.

See also:

text component

Spell-Pad component

image component

sound component

video component

script component

circle

rectangle

rounded rectangle

line

Writing scripts

Using hints and ready-made database to learn more about Genius


Shape Components

Shape components: circle, rectangle, rounded rectangle and line are useful in creating mind-maps and can form graphic background for the remaining components. Note that shape components in presentation mode do not have pop-up menus. To change shapes to editing mode click the editing mode button on the toolbar.

See also:

text component

Spell-Pad component

image component

sound component

video component

script component

binary component

Writing scripts

Using hints and ready-made database to learn more about Genius


Writing scripts

Program script components make it possible to use simple script language to manipulate knowledge element components (and not only). This makes it possible to create interactive presentations, animation, video subtitling, etc.

To create a script do the following:

1.	create an knowledge element in the desired shape

2.	add a program script component from the editing toolbar

3.	right-click the component and choose Script on the pop-up menu

4.	write the script and choose OK

While writing the script, use the script editors pop-up menu that makes it possible to insert full command syntax into the editor (right-click the editor to open the pop-up menu).

For example, to repeatedly play music from a sound component designated by number tag 3, you could write:

PLAY 3

GOTO 1

To view component number tags click 148 speed-button on the editing toolbar, or choose Component Order on the elements pop-up menu. Note, that when you right-click within the element window, you will either open a components pop-up menu (if you click over a component) or elements pop-up menu (when you click an empty area within the element).

The best way to learn more about scripts is to inspect script components within samples knowledge systems shipped with Genius.

See also:

text component

Spell-Pad component

image component

sound component

video component

script component

binary component

circle

rectangle

rounded rectangle

line

Using hints and ready-made database to learn more about Genius


Using hints and ready-made database to learn more about Genius

Advanced knowledge system development reaches beyond the scope of this guide. Use button and menu hints to learn more about particular buttons, menu items and pop-up menu items in Genius.

To view hints do the following:

1.	make sure that the hints radio button on the main toolbar is checked

2.	position the mouse pointer over the button in question, or over the selected menu item (in the latter case, the left mouse button must be down)

Use Genius, Cross Country and Video English knowledge system samples to learn more about creating knowledge elements in Genius.

See also:

Components available for creating knowledge elements in Genius

How to navigate in Genius hyperspace

Writing scripts


How to translate knowledge systems to other languages

As you have probably noticed, Genius provides you with an option of Shift-clicking individual texts in the knowledge system and displaying the translation of the clicked phrase to the elected language.

If you would like to translate Genius knowledge systems to your native language, you can do it in hours by using the following algorithm:

1.	Choose Search : Text and click the TEXT button (this button hints Output registry text into a file).

2.	Translate the generated text file to your native language by replacing question marks with the translation (remember that you may not change the order of items, skip deleted items, or otherwise change the structure of the file; you must also remember that by providing translation longer than the original, you may encounter the problem of your text not fitting the text components window in Genius)

3.	Choose File : Translation import to import the translation into the knowledge system. If some of your translations do not match the original text in the system, see if you have not deleted or reordered items in the registry output text file

See also:

Search

File


Options available on Genius menus

The main menu of Genius provides the following options:

File

Open; New; Copy; Semi-Copy; Delete; Recover; Reset; SuperMemo import;Translation import; Exit; 1-7

Edit

Add new items

Search

Title; Text; Lexicon; Image; Sound; Video; Script; Program; Font; Template

Learn

Outstanding material; New material; Cut drills

Browse

All; Intact; Drill; Outstanding;

Miscellaneous

Options

Here is a short list of parameters you can set with Miscellaneous : Options:

Learning : Classic layout

Learning : Forgetting index

Appending : Default item template

Storage : Secondary storage

Language : Translation

Workload; Analysis; Reschedule

Window

Cascade; Tile Vertical; Tile Horizontal; Default; Classic; Toolbar; Next; Previous; Arrange icons

Help

Introduction; About


File

Open ... - opens a new knowledge system for use.

New ... - creates a new empty knowledge system. To create the system, type in its name (no more than 8 characters) and provide it with extension KNO.

Copy ... - copy the currently opened knowledge system to a new location. To copy a system, type in the destination system name (provide it with extension KNO). If the destination system already exists, it will be deleted before proceeding with the copying procedure.

Semi-Copy - copy the currently opened knowledge system without its ELEMENTS subdirectory. This subdirectory contains multimedia objects such as video files, sound files, bitmaps, etc. In hypermedia knowledge systems, these files make up over 95% of the knowledge system size. Semi-Copy can be used for fast back-ups of large knowledge systems whose multimedia objects have already been backed up, or have not changed much since the last back-up.

Delete - delete the currently opened knowledge system after confirmation.

Recover - recover from knowledge system integrity problems. Integrity problems in knowledge system may appear in case of hardware or system software problems. Bad clusters, lost sectors, data corruption, etc. can often be remedied by replacing affected files (e.g. corrupted AVI file, etc.). However, if the problem occurs in Genius index files or files storing optimization data used by repetition spacing algorithm, only File : Recover can remedy the problem.
Note: If you encounter problems that could not be remedied with Genius Recover, send a copy of your knowledge system to SuperMemo World for examination and recovery (CDR media recommended).

Reset - delete all repetition spacing data from the knowledge system. In other words, make it look as it has not been used in the learning process. File : Reset is useful if you would like to pass your knowledge system to another user, or even distribute it commercially. File : Reset will remove all data pertaining to your learning process, and leave all items in the intact (or ignored) state.

SuperMemo import ... - import a SuperMemo database.

If you would like to use your SuperMemo databases in Genius do the following:

1.	Create an empty knowledge system with File : New

2.	Add two text components to the knowledge systems master node (upon creating an empty knowledge system, master node holds the only element of the system).

3.	Choose Answer from the second text components pop-up menu. This way, Genius will know in which position to place imported questions and answer; the latter will naturally enter the position of the component with its Answer pop-up menu item checked

4.	Choose File : SuperMemo import to import the selected database

Note that you can edit import filters that will let you create a knowledge hierarchy on the basis of string inclusions in the old database. To create a filter, use filter editor the same way as you use hierarchy editor in the hierarchy window. To each node of the filter, attach the list of strings that will qualify imported items for inclusion in the selected category.

Genius does not import audiovisual components associated with SuperMemo databases; however, you will find such an option in your Genius 1.1 upgrade (expected January 1995).

Translation import ... - import a file with the translation of the text registry to a selected language. To learn more about this option, see topic:.How to translate knowledge systems to other languages

Exit - exit Genius.

1-7 - make it possible to open up to seven recently opened knowledge systems.


Edit

(note, that the submenu contents of this menu item depends on the currently active window).

Add new items - add new item to the knowledge system. Add new items will add the new item to the currently active hierarchy node and load it with the default item template specified in Options : Appending : Default Item Template.

See also:

Components available for creating knowledge elements in Genius

How to navigate in Genius hyperspace

Writing scripts

Search: Template


Search

- open a selected registry

Title ... - open title registry with all meaningful titles in the system.

Text ... - open text registry with all text uses in text, Spell-Pad and sound components.

Lexicon ... - open lexicon registry with all words used in the system

Image ... - open image registry with all bitmaps used in the system

Sound ... - open sound registry with all WAV and MID files used in the system

Video ... - open video registry with all AVI files used in the system

Script ... - open script registry with all scripts used in the system

Program ... - open program registry with the list of all external EXE and DLL files executed by the system

Font ... - open font registry with all user-defined fonts used in the system

Template ... - open template registry with all templates defined and stored by the user

See also:

text component

Spell-Pad component

image component

sound component

video component

script component

binary component

Shape component


Learn

Outstanding material - proceed with repetitions of the outstanding material (in the same manner as in SuperMemo). In the first stage, repetitions scheduled for the current day and all preceding days are executed. In the second stage, new elements are memorized (if available). In the third and final stage, final drill is executed in which all elements that scored a grade below good (i.e. 4) are repeated as long as it takes for all of them to score at least good.

New material - proceed with memorizing new material (i.e. the second stage of Learn : Outstanding material).

Cut drills - delete items scheduled for final drill (i.e. the last stage of Learn : Outstanding material).

See also:

How to learn with Genius

Regularity

Safety of knowledge systems developed with Genius

Principles of effectively using Genius

Concentration

Pleasure

SuperMemo decalog


Browse

All ... - open the browser with all elements stored in the system (including all deleted element slot that have not yet been filled by new material).

Intact ... - open the browser with all intact elements, i.e. elements that are waiting for memorization in the intact queue.

Drill ... - open the browser with all elements scheduled for final drill.

Outstanding ... - open the browser with all elements scheduled for repetition on a given day. These include current repetitions and repetitions from the recent period in which learning was not executed.

See also:

Learn

How to learn with Genius


Miscellaneous

Options ... - open a tabbed dialog with options of Genius.

Here is a short list of parameters you can set with Miscellaneous : Options:

Learning : Classic layout - use classic SuperMemo window layout upon entering into the learning mode

Learning : Forgetting index - determine the proportion of elements that can be forgotten at repetitions (state it as percentage). Higher value of forgetting index will let you learn faster at the cost of knowledge retention

Appending : Default item template - name of the item template that will be used when appending new item components. You can save templates with Save As Template on the elements pop-up menu. Templates are stored in template registry (see Search : Template) and make it easy to add a large number of knowledge elements with same component layout and properties (instead of using Append new items you can Ctrl-click nodes newly added to knowledge hierarchy and load templates into the knowledge element by means of Load Template)

Storage : Secondary storage - determines the location of multimedia elements that have not been installed on your hard disk, and instead are accessed directly from CD-ROM

Language : Translation - determines translation registry used when Shift-clicking text components. You can use several translation registries with one knowledge system and decide upon the language used by choosing Language : Translation

Workload ... - display the number of items scheduled for repetition on particular days and months

Analysis ... - display matrices and graphs illustrating the progress of the learning process (see Appendix A for more)

Reschedule ... - reschedule outstanding items in a selected period of time (same as Mercy in SuperMemo)

See also:

Learn

Edit

How to translate knowledge systems to other languages


Window

Cascade - cascade all desktop windows

Tile Vertical - tile all desktop windows vertically

Tile Horizontal - tile all desktop windows horizontally

Default - arrange desktop windows in the default manner

Classic - arrange desktop windows in the classical manner (as in SuperMemo)

Toolbar - show or hide top toolbar

Next - activate the next available window on the desktop

Previous - activate the previous available window on the desktop

Arrange icons - arrange icons of minimized desktop windows

See also:

Miscellaneous


Help

Introduction - introduction to Genius by Genius itself (opening the knowledge system named Genius)

About ... - version and copyright note


Safety of knowledge systems developed with Genius

To ensure the safety of knowledge systems developed with Genius, stick to the following rules:

never modify nor move the knowledge system files by means of tools other than Genius

keep frequent Semi-Copy back-ups of the knowledge system (every several hours is not too frequent)

back-up the entire knowledge system every month (e.g. on CDR media)

run File : Recover on the knowledge system every week (pass through registry recovery at least once a month)

contact SuperMemo World immediately in case of encountering errors that could not be remedied with File : Recover (best of all, send a CDR back-up of the entire system to SuperMemo World for free inspection)

in case of system problems or other errors quit Genius, quit Windows, back-up the system and run File : Recover

in case you suspect a bug in the program, send a report to SuperMemo World. The most useful reports are rewarded with a free upgrade to the newest version of Genius or even free enrollment in beta-testing programs for future releases


Principles of effectively using Genius

Genius is based on the SuperMemo method that computes optimum inter-repetition intervals in the process of learning. You can use Genius to navigate in hyperspace of the knowledge system and look up the most relevant topics of interest; however, the greatest advantage of Genius over other hypermedia products is its ability to make you remember with little effort.

To make the best use of Genius in learning, select button Learn at the bottom of the element window (the one which displays topics and items). Learn will guide you through a series of repetitions that will make sure that you spend minimum time to retain once learned knowledge in your memory.

You must not forget, however, that the mere use of Genius is not a formula for success. The mere personality of the learner is likely to render the SuperMemo method applied in Genius unusable in a substantial proportion of potential users. The main problem, as in many other human activities, is perseverance. Only strongly motivated individuals are able to persist in repetitions, which, if not reasonably managed, may become unbearably monotonous. For others, the mental burden and short-term time expenditure seem to overshadow long-term benefits. However, there are yet more snags awaiting an unprepared learner. The most important ones are discussed in the following topics:

Selection of material

Regularity

Moderation

Simplicity

Univocality

Concentration

Awareness of the mental stages passed by a typical learner

Pleasure

Health

SuperMemo decalog


Selection of material

As Genius makes learning easy, you may be tempted to learn much more than you really need. Only in time will you discover the true extent of knowledge that pertains to your interest and the fact that although SuperMemo is extremely effective, it is not omnipotent and, in limited time, allows you to master only a limited amount of knowledge. Working immoderately, sooner or later, you will be overwhelmed by the amount of repetitions, and will discover the true capacity of SuperMemo (throughput), which is proportional to the daily allotment of time.

Working with Genius imposes a strict limitation on the amount of new knowledge that can be learnt in unit time, and requires particularly accurate selection of material. In choosing facts and rules to remember, you should primarily use the criterion of applicability. A multitude of items may seem worth knowing, but because of the limited capacity of memory, only a small fraction of them may be mastered, and the choice should favor items of the highest applicability in day-to-day situations. You will not waste much time if you include items that you would remember anyway just because of their high daily applicability. Therefore, you better always err on the safe side, and include all important items you are not sure you would remember. Concerning the selection of the material to learn, another general principle is that you should first master the most fundamental aspects of the learned subject and get into details at later stages of work. Meticulous dismembering of textbooks page by page is bound to produce excess of details at the cost of principal knowledge. An important psychological aspect of the general-to-specialized approach is that you can soon discover great profits coming from the perfect knowledge of the most fundamental facts in your field and become yet more encouraged to expand your database into more detailed areas. With amazement, you will notice how new facts and rules slot in in what you have already learned.

Good foundations make it easier to slot in new knowledge structures, provide additional encouragement to work, and free you from the unhealthy impression that you are acquiring knowledge for the knowledge's sake.

See also:

Regularity

Selection of material

Simplicity

Univocality

Concentration

Awareness of the mental stages passed by a typical learner

Pleasure

SuperMemo decalog


Regularity

The most frequent reason for unsuccessful application of Genius is lack of regularity on the part of the learner. In fact, irregular repetitions fall out of the definition of the SuperMemo method. No wonder then that for those who lack regularity success is not forthcoming. Regular sessions with Genius are among the most demanding factors and require a lot of will power and determination. Indeed, Genius is not only a good therapy for poor memory, but it also helps to develop iron will. The importance of regularity arises from the fact that SuperMemo computes optimal intervals that should separate repetitions, and it does not allow the learner to delay or advance repetitions. It should not be interpreted as a flaw of the method, but as a inherent property of memory which has fixed mechanisms regulating storage and erasure of memories. Every day of delay, not only increases the proportion of forgotten items, but also results in an inevitable accumulation of work that has to be caught up with in following days. This imposes additional stress on the learner who, with each day passing by, is less inclined to return to repetitions. In Genius, the best results are obtained when the learner uses the method every day the same period of time. Working every second day, although less effective, is much better a solution than working every second week, etc. Systematic work with Genius is a sine qua non of success, and those who do not intend to work regularly should not hope that Genius will make up for their laziness. To paraphrase a well-known adage you might say that SuperMemo is like sex: you cannot leave it to others. Treat your repetitions like you treat your daily religious or physiological rituals.

See also:

Selection of material

Concentration

Moderation

Awareness of the mental stages passed by a typical learner

Pleasure

SuperMemo decalog


Moderation

It is a frequent case that a fledgling Genius learner, enchanted with results obtained by a friend who used the method, embarks on an exceedingly ambitious program of gaining new knowledge. The thing (s)he usually overestimates is his or her own learning capability as well as perseverance. Genius does not guarantee that a learner will be successful. It requires some skills and working strategy that develop over a longer period of time. The fact that a learner can memorize a myriad of items in a short time does not necessarily mean that the same learner will have enough perseverance to sustain repetitions of the newly memorized material. Nor does it indicate that the learned items are properly structured and will be maintained in memory as easily as they have been memorized. Two factors contribute to dangers of immoderation:

1.	Learning speed (knowledge acquisition rate) decreases substantially during the first year of using SuperMemo and the decline is most visible in the first few weeks.

2.	Learning new material is much more a straightforward process than maintaining the acquired knowledge in memory. Badly structured items reveal their vicious intractability only after several repetitions.

Before starting any extensive process of expanding his database, it is absolutely necessary that the learner examine his ability to:

formulate simple, clear and univocal items (with hardly any exception, absolute beginners are bound to form a great deal of ill-structured items),

work continually for a longer time with Genius (only the most persistent individuals can sustain memorathons lasting more than 1 hour).

Moderation, and cool judgment of one's needs and capabilities are, therefore, a very important prerequisite of a successful application of Genius. The recommended time of working with Genius is 5-20 minutes a day for beginners, and no more than 1-2 hours a day for advanced learners.

See also:

Univocality

Simplicity

Regularity


Simplicity

It is a very sorry picture to see an enthusiastic Genius beginner waste his time on learning monster items that not only do not want to stick to his or her memory, but are also absolutely redundant as far as the true learner's needs are concerned. Imagine a learner who wants to remember all European countries and tries to cram a long list of their names. The typical situation is that he remembers most of the names on the list, but usually fails to mention one or two. The result is that the item is considered forgotten again and again, and that the learner cannot observe any learning progress. Using mnemonic techniques, the learner could learn to produce the whole list in a determined order, but this is unlikely to represent knowledge which he really wants to possess. A vast majority of educated people is unable to list all the European countries, unless they use the trick of systematic scanning the European map in their imagination. Obviously, learning the list of names is not enough to know something about the geography of Europe, and the scanning trick cannot be done if the learner knows the list and nothing more. A good Genius learner will not attempt storing the whole list in one item. He will use one of his tricks for knowledge structuring, and split the list into many items. Depending on what sort of knowledge might be useful, the learner might use tricks such as:

grouping items by geographical locations of particular countries,

by their affiliation (e.g., EEC, Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, NATO),

by natural language family, etc.

These tricks will certainly introduce information redundancy, but a clever learner will certainly use the redundancy to his or her additional profit. Monster items consume much more time and produce much less useful memories than the same items split into many subitems. To ensure full recallability, a multifaceted approach to a stored piece of knowledge should be taken, i.e., all possible combinations of questions concerning a given relation should be asked. For example, if somebody wishes to remember that the leading cause of death is heart disease, which accounts for almost 40% of deaths in western countries, the following question might appear insufficient:

What is the leading cause of death in western countries?

It does not let you remember the proportion of deaths caused by heart disease, nor does it ensure that the 40% statistics refers to western countries. Instead, a multifaceted set of questions could look as follows:

What is the leading cause of death in western countries?

In what group of countries is heart disease a leading cause of death?

What proportion of deaths in western countries is attributable to heart disease?

What disease is responsible for 40% of deaths in western countries?

Is heart disease a leading cause of death in western countries?

Such a collection of items, although redundant and time-consuming, will be learned faster and will leave a more stable trace in the learner's memory. The simplicity and multifaceted approach in knowledge structuring are the most powerful tools in making Genius repetitions truly effective in the sense of workload and quality of memories.

See also:

Univocality

How to learn with Genius

Using hints and ready-made database to learn more about Genius

General principles of the SuperMemo method used in Genius

How to create knowledge systems


Univocality

The fact that your items are simple, doesn't yet guarantee that they are easy to remember. One of the powerful obstacles in creating easy databases is the problem of interference, or confusion, coming from the fact that two different items might have similar questions or similar answers. For example, imagine that you want to learn something about Genius, and you create a special database devoted to that purpose. Consider the two following items of your database about Genius:

1.	Q: What is the name of items which resemble one another?

A: ambiguous items

2.	Q: How are similar-looking items called?

A: equivocal items

You need not much experience with Genius to predict that the learner who wants to master a database containing such two items will continually confuse ambiguous items with equivocal items until he discovers that he has two items whose questions are semantically identical but answers differ. The simple remedy to the problem is to formulate an item with two optional answers:

Q: What is the name of items which are similar to one another?

A:  a. ambiguous items OR
b. equivocal items

In such a case, providing one of the answers is sufficient to classify the item as remembered (unless the user wishes to remember both terms and replaces OR with AND). The problem of interference is particularly visible in attempts to remember numbers. No simple trick of splitting items into subitems can suffice here. The ages long solution to the problem here is mnemonic techniques. One popular mnemonic technique is to represent numbers as pictures and attempt to remember scenes formed by those pictures instead of remembering numbers. For example, instead of having the item:

Q: What is the value of the constant ?
A: 3.14

the learner might memorize the universal list of 10 pictures corresponding to 10 digits e.g.:

1 - harpoon (because 1 looks like a harpoon),

2 - coin (because a coin has two sides),

3 - tripod (because a tripod has three legs),

4 - dog (because a dog has four legs), etc.

and formulate the mnemonic item in the following way:

A: What is the value of the constant ?

Q: 3.14 because:  rhymes with fry and ... on a small  tripod a big balloon is being fried (balloon represents the decimal point), suddenly somebody pierces the balloon with a harpoon, and from inside the bursting sphere a big dog jumps on the learner.

Although construction of the pictured scene may seem awkward and time consuming, it ultimately yields items that in most cases are much easier to remember than those composed of dry numbers. The net result is saved time.

See also:

Simplicity

How to learn with Genius

SuperMemo decalog

Selection of material

Principles of effectively using Genius

General principles of the SuperMemo method used in Genius


Concentration

In the pursuit of more and more knowledge, the learner may develop a tendency to give careless answers and hastily jump from question to question in order to reduce the repetition time. There are no dangers related to fast repetitions on condition that the speed is achieved by simplicity of items rather than by negligence in providing answers. It is often possible to automatically answer a question without understanding its important implications. Instead of being semantic, i.e., based on the meaning, the repetitions become syntactic or literal, based on the automatic rendition of the item's wording. Not only is the thus acquired knowledge of little value, but what is more dangerous, the learner may become disillusioned with the SuperMemo method because of inadequate progress in the development of desired skills. To prevent such an outcome, the learner must constantly control the learning process by asking the following questions:

Is the given item truly important for the skills I want to develop?

Does the ability to answer the question truly ensure that I remember exactly what I want to remember?

If I have any problems with remembering a given item, is it truly formulated in the simplest and most univocal way?

If I have problems with a simple and univocal item, what mnemonic technique could I apply to eliminate my problem?

Are the following elements of the learning process suitably chosen?

The extent of the subject I want to master in the context of my learning capability and availability of time.

The degree to which I want to get into details of knowledge.

The retention level I want to reach.

The amount of time a day I can afford to spend on Genius.

All these questions must recur again and again, and the learner must constantly maintain the highest level of alertness and concentration. The degree of improvement obtained by mastering concentration ability is extraordinarily high and worth while. Sloppy work will produce little results and cause disillusionment.

See also:

Regularity

Simplicity

Univocality

How to learn with Genius

SuperMemo decalog

Pleasure

Moderation

Selection of material

Principles of effectively using Genius

General principles of the SuperMemo method used in Genius


Awareness of the mental stages passed by a typical learner

It may be quite useful to realize from the very beginning the stages passed by a typical learner during the evolution of his understanding and attitude towards Genius. The observations presented below were compiled from hundreds of letters and questionnaires sent to SuperMemo World, as well as from personal contacts of the author with dozens of learners at both basic and advanced levels.

90% of learners start their affair with SuperMemo because of good opinions they heard about the program from their colleagues or from press. In other words, the initial attitude is positive and full of expectation. After studying the basics of SuperMemo, reactions of learners vary greatly, and are highly correlated with the general level of intelligence and education, especially with respect to exact sciences. A substantial group of learners become discouraged because of mechanical and repetitive nature of SuperMemo workouts. In this group, individuals with no university education, or university education in humanities strongly prevail. On the other end of the spectrum are individuals with strong background in mathematics, physics or computing sciences, who seem to have fewer problems with grasping the basics of SuperMemo, and whose first contact with the method is likely to enhance their positive attitude. From this group, SuperMemo has recruited the greatest number of enthusiastic supporters. Only 75% of individuals continue their repetitions beyond one month! The drop-outs provide the following reasons for cessation of repetitions: (1) they do not believe in SuperMemo (10%, no university education or education in humanities), (2) they do not believe in their own learning powers (5%, mostly individuals over 45 years of age, and women - housewife type), (3) they do not have time for repetitions (25%, mostly private entrepreneurs, physicians, lawyers, etc.), and (4) they intend to return to repetitions in the future (60%, students). Only those learners who pass the first month of repetitions can truly testify to the usefulness of the method. Among those the approval rate is 95%! Most of them consider SuperMemo an excellent aid in learning (50%) or a useful product (45%); only 5% of those polled did not have a specified opinion or rated SuperMemo as nothing special. SuperMemo World has not received a single questionnaire from a learner who had tried out SuperMemo for at least one month, and was generally dissatisfied with the method or the program. However, the attrition rate after the first month remains still high. Having passed a month of repetitions, almost all learners wish they had used SuperMemo on a permanent basis, but for hundreds of reasons they cannot cope with busy repetition schedules. The most widespread attitude is to hope to resume repetitions in some unspecified future. Here, the major drawback of SuperMemo becomes visible: it does not produce amazing results for free! It does produce amazing results, but only through hard and systematic work. In busy times of our dynamically growing civilization, we all too often stick to the principle that better an egg today than a hen tomorrow. 10 minutes spent on a business call, reading a scientific paper, or writing a report seem to bring immediate result. The same 10 minutes spent on reasonable repetitions with SuperMemo, can save several hours or even days in the lifetime, but the saving is hard to sense, even for an experienced learner. Moreover, after a longer period of repetitions, the learner may easily come to the false conclusion that the knowledge has already been mastered, and requires no further repetitions. Thus even the most enthusiastic learners often drop weeks of repetitions; the more so, that abusing Mercy, Wipe and Reset  can easily produce the impression that all is OK with the learning process. For an average user, breaks in repetitions regularly make up 20% of the learning time.

You should not forget that you are not the only one who says I will do it tomorrow, or next week, or I think I still remember it all right. Forgetting is like radiation: you cannot smell it, you cannot taste it, and when you finally notice its power, the damage is already irreversible.

See also:

How to learn with Genius

Principles of effectively using Genius

General principles of the SuperMemo method used in Genius

SuperMemo decalog

Pleasure

Moderation


Pleasure

There is a sure way to tell if a given learner will be successful in his work with Genius or not. If he finds pleasure in long-lasting sessions with repetitory work, he is bound to do terrific job. Despite what meets the eye at first, Genius repetitions do not have to be monotonous. Here is a couple of examples of extra activities that accompany repetitions and provide a splendid ground to make the work with Genius interesting and challenging:

Modification of items that do not seem to comply with the principles of simplicity and univocality.

Removal of items that no longer seem worth remembering.

Cross-analysis of the database, in order to eliminate discrepancies or redundancy (e.g., by means of Find all). Note that not all sorts of redundancy are undesirable. For example, having the same foreign word twice in a databases introduces unnecessary noise in the optimization process; however, having the same word in different contexts might increase its semantic associativeness, and increase A-factors in all related items.

Appending new items.

Analysis of the repeated items:

1.	What does a given fact or rule imply? Does it agree with other facts I know?

2.	In what situations can I use the knowledge I learn? What will the profit or satisfaction be?

3.	In what situation did I find that I should remember the given item? Was I really able to make use of knowing it?

Inspecting statistical data used in monitoring the learner's progress, etc.

If the repetition process appears to be tedious and monotonous, the learner must seriously reconsider all the earlier mentioned prerequisites of success. Lack of enthusiasm is the first symptom of misguided application of the method. On the other hand, if reasonably and consequently applied, Genius appears to be quite addictive, and you will find it absolutely indispensable for your personal and professional success.

See also:

How to learn with Genius

Principles of effectively using Genius

General principles of the SuperMemo method used in Genius

SuperMemo decalog

Moderation


Health

As in most human activities, general health helps to achieve better results in the process of learning. It increasingly becomes a common knowledge how to keep healthy and fit. It may still, however, be useful to list the most important principles that should be remembered by every learner:

Sufficient amount of sleep. It is during sleep that the conversion of short-term to long-term memories takes place. Particularly, the REM phase of sleep is valuable, and each all-nighter reduces the proportion of REM sleep in the next night. Intense intellectual work may cause increased demand for sleep, and nothing should prevent the learner from satisfying it. No one has ever benefited from trying to save time by sleeping less. By trying to emulate Edison, the learner is bound to reduce his or her performance. Tiredness caused by lack of sleep is one of the main factors that can ruin a Genius session. On the other hand, 40 minutes of Genius a day are likely to increase your natural demand for sleep by up to one hour!

Physical exercise is absolutely necessary for every successful learner. Without it, the respiratory and circulatory systems cannot adapt easily to increased demand for oxygen in intense intellectual work. An unfit learner tends to be drowsy and cannot maintain the sufficient level of alertness in long sessions with Genius. Pains of the back, eye strain, hemorrhoidal problems, gastrointestinal disorders, repetitive strain injury, and many other ailments of a hard-working learner are greatly prevented by a high level of fitness in physically active individuals. Sports that result in a long-lasting increase in the heart rate and oxygen consumption, e.g., jogging, intense cycling, swimming, etc. are particularly recommended.

It is a common knowledge that smoking and alcohol are major preventable causes of a great spectrum of disorders that not only interfere with the process of learning, but are also dangerous to health and, in the long run, life. Alcoholism is notorious for its toxic effects to the brain, and is a major environmental cause of senile dementia (loss of memory in old age). It is also known to reduce the number of NMDA receptors in the brain (receptors involved in memory), and to reduce retention in recall memory tests. It affects both short and long-term memory. Smoking is most renowned for its contribution to heart disease and cancer; however, even for a learner who is not much concerned with his or her own future, it is worth noting that smoking also causes hypertension, increased excitability of the nervous system, cerebral hypoxia (reduced oxygenation of the brain) and many other effects that are highly undesirable in learning.

Adequate nutrition is indispensable in successful learning. It is difficult to specify particular guidelines except for the fact that the foods consumed should comply with what is generally considered a healthy diet. For example, everybody knows from one's own experience that a satisfying lunch makes one more inclined to get down to learning, but on the other hand, research demonstrates that the level of mental alertness drops substantially after a meal. It is also known that a low-fat diet prevents arteriosclerosis and should be considered desirable. However, another research shows that reduced blood level of lipoproteins (a group of fat components) has a negative influence on the performance in intelligence tests. An average, healthy diet should satisfy all the nutritional needs of a learner, so that no supplements shall be necessary. Regular administration of vitamins, particularly B and C, or mineral preparations, however, might be of preventive value.

Tea and coffee are used by many people as stimulants, especially in case of sleep deficit. While having a positive effect on the alertness, high levels of caffeine and teophylline (active compounds of coffee and tea) may cause restlessness, problems with concentration and, worst of all, sleep disturbances. Both drinks, as well as all sorts of caffeine-containing colas, should be used with moderation.

In the state of rest, the brain uses only a small proportion of oxygen that is bound to hemoglobin in the lungs. However, in cases of intense intellectual work, it may use up 30 or more percent of total oxygen. As you will observe, SuperMemo is a particularly tiring technique, primarily because it forces your brain to work at its top gear (repetitions are scheduled on the verge of forgetting). An average, untrained learner will experience an overwhelming drowsiness as soon as after 20 minutes of continuous repetitions. Most of individuals find it impossible to work with Genius for more that 1 hour, and each minute beyond that limit may bring a genuine mental torture. This entails the great importance of the availability of fresh air in the room when the learning takes place. Sufficient amount of sleep, fresh air and enthusiasm for work are the best allies of a learner who wishes to spend long sessions with Genius and to produce fabulous results.

See also:

SuperMemo decalog

Pleasure


SuperMemo decalog

1.	Create your databases using only the most applicable knowledge. Don't get too far into details before forming a general picture of the field you want to master. Too much pudding will choke the dog.

2.	Work regularly the same amount of time every day. No pain, no gain.

3.	Don't overwork. More haste, less speed.

4.	Before embarking on intense expansion of your database, check if your ability to formulate easy-to-remember items is sufficient, and check what your mental powers are and how much time you can afford to sustain long-lasting repetition process. Look before you leap.

5.	Make sure that your items are as simple as possible and that they ask about all important aspects of the learned fact or rule. Small is beautiful.

6.	Save on future repetition time by using mnemonic techniques for the most intractable items. A stitch in time saves nine.

7.	Concentrate and don't stop thinking. Repetitions should be conscious, not automatic. All troubles come from ignorance.

8.	If you do not find working with Genius pleasant, then stop appending new items and pay more attention to cleaning your databases from useless or ill-structured garbage. Nothings succeeds like success.

9.	Keep fit. Do not cut down on sleep, exercise regularly and give up all hazardous habits like smoking or drinking. Healthy flesh nurtures healthy spirit.

10.	Read the above rules from time to time or formulate them as Genius items that could be placed in one of your databases. For example: Question: What is the best method to use against intractable items? Answer: Use Delete! Experience shows that of all intractable items, a substantial majority are intractable because of having little or no appeal of applicability. These items should simply be deleted. Most of the remaining items in the intractable group are items which should be completely restructured; usually split into a number of smaller components. Consequently, in 90% of cases of intractablity, Del will appear to be the best cure. Mnemonic techniques and redundancy should be used in the remaining cases.

See also:

How to learn with Genius

Principles of effectively using Genius

General principles of the SuperMemo method used in Genius

Regularity

Simplicity

Pleasure

Health

Concentration


component

component - single object placed within the knowledge element display area. A component may be of the following types: text, Spell-Pad, sound, image, video, program script, external binary object (DLL or EXE) or shape (rectangle, ellipse, line, etc.).


element

element - single page-like part of the knowledge system associated with a single knowledge hierarchy node


Final drill

final drill - last stage of the learning process passed on a given day, in which only elements that scored a grade less than Good (4) are repeated


hyperlink

hyperlink - connection established between a component and an element different than the element owning the component. Hyperlinks make it possible to navigate in knowledge hyperspace by clicking individual components rather than using navigation toolbar commands


intact queue

intact queue - queue of elements that are awaiting memorization. Intact queue is modified upon using learning options, Commit (removing the current element from the intact queue), and Reset (adding a memorized element back to the end of the intact queue). Intact queue determines the order of learned elements in the linear learning mode


item

item - knowledge element that is associated with the owning topic. Optimally, an item should have an stimulus-response form that results in best memory effects (the same way as it was used in SuperMemo)


knowledge system

knowledge system - collection of knowledge elements organized into knowledge hierarchy and connected by hyperlinks


mnemonic hyperspace

mnemonic hyperspace - extension of Tony Buzans concept of mind maps by application of hyperlinks between the mind map components and mind map editability. Mind maps are considered an excellent form for representing knowledge for the purpose of learning. Genius makes it possible to create simple mind maps that contain multimedia objects


outstanding element

outstanding element - element that is awaiting repetition that satisfies the criteria of optimum interval. Each element in the learning process has its next repetition date determined by the repetition spacing algorithm. On the given date and later on, the element is considered outstanding


repetition spacing

repetition spacing - technique of optimizing the learning process by computing optimum intervals that should separate repetitions of individual pieces of knowledge. SuperMemo pioneered application of repetition spacing in learning in 1987 and has gained world-wide acclaim through its impact on increasing the productivity of learning


Topic

topic - knowledge element that presents the synthetic review of a selected piece of knowledge. Optimally, topics should be used only in selective learning mode for knowledge presentation and could be ignored in the learning process per se. All children of the topic that form a continues list of elements marked with attribute Item, are considered elements that decompose the synthetic knowledge of the topic into stimulus-response pairs used in the learning process (in the manner known from SuperMemo)


Further reading

Books and publications by the authors (in reference to SuperMemo):

Biedalak, K. 1991, SuperMemo 5 User's Guide. SuperMemo World

Gorzelañczyk, E.J., Wozniak, P.A. 1990, A model of the presynaptic terminal of the adrenergic synapse. Proceedings of 10th International Biophysics Congress, Vancouver, Canada, p. 404

Gorzelañczyk, E.J., Wozniak, P.A. 1991, Hypothetical model of processes involved in the release of norepinephrine in the adrenergic synapse. BioSystems, Vol. 25, pp. 275-281

Gorzelañczyk, E.J., Wozniak, P.A. 1994, A mathematical model of processes involved in long-term potentiation. Abstracts of the XXX-th Congress of Polish Biochemical Society, Szczecin, Poland (in Polish)

Wozniak, P.A. 1990, Optimization of learning. A new approach and computer application. Technical University of Poznañ

Wozniak, P.A. 1991, SuperMemo 6 Professional. User's Guide. SuperMemo World

Wozniak, P.A., Biedalak, K., 1992, The SuperMemo method - optimization of learning. Informatyka, Vol. 10, p. 1 (in Polish)

Wozniak, P.A., Gorzelañczyk, E.J., 1992, Optimal scheduling of repetitions in paired-associate learning. Acta Neurobiologiae Experimentalis, Vol. 52, p. 189

Wozniak, P.A. 1993a, A new method of fast learning and its software implementation. Polish Technical Review, Vol. 1, p. 8

Wozniak, P.A. 1993b, SuperMemo as a new tool increasing productivity of a programmer. Proceedings of the V-th International School of Polish Information Processing Society, Szczyrk 1993

Wozniak, P.A. 1993c, SuperMemo as a new tool increasing productivity of a programmer. Informatyka, Vol. 12, p. 1-11

Wozniak, P.A., Gorzelañczyk, E.J., 1994, Optimization of repetition spacing in the practice of learning. Acta Neurobiologiae Experimentalis, Vol. 54, p. 59-62

Wozniak, P.A., Gorzelañczyk, E.J., 1995, Two components of long-term memory. Acta Neurobiologiae Experimentalis, Vol. 55, p. 301-305

Wozniak, P.A., 1994, SuperMemo: Polish speed-learning technology. Multimedia release on CD-ROM.  Sumbitted to Polish Technical Review.


Articles and reviews in popular press
Articles and reviews in popular press (in reference to SuperMemo):

Baranek T., SuperMemo 7.0 - kdo chce, ten umi [SuperMemo - who wants, he can]. Cena/Vykon, Mar 1994, Czech Republic

Bergfors J., SuperMemo. Polskt program passar plugghast [Polish cramware]. MikroDatorn, Mar 1993, Sweden

Bergfors J. Plugga och lar, nu utan besvar [Learn fast and forget about forgetting]. MikroDatorn, Jun 1993, Sweden

Byte International, Speed-learning software, Dec 1993, p. IS-48, USA

Chabinski A., Repetitio est mater studiorum, SuperMemo version 7.2, Chip, Jul 1994, p.54-55, Poland

Chip, SuperMemo 6 a 7, Feb 1994, p. 173, Czech Republic

Dramczyk B., SuperMemo version 2.0, Powtorka z powtarzania [Repetition on repetitions]. Commodore&Amiga, Sep 1994, p. 16-17, Poland

Drazek T., Przedluzamy pamiec [Strengthening memory]. PC World Komputer, Jul-Aug 1994, p.95, Poland

Grabowski J., Zapomnieæ o zapominaniu [Forget about forgetting]. PC Kurier, Aug 20, 1992, Poland

Gradisnik J., SuperMemo 7.2 - Repetitio mater studiorum est. WIN.INI, Vol 6, p.26-28, Slovenia

Gryciuk W., SuperMemo 7 for Windows, Computerworld, Sep 27, 1993, Poland

Gryciuk W., SuperMemo - zloty medal na Infosystemie [Gold medal for SuperMemo at Infosystem], Computerworld, May 30, 1994, p.6, Poland

Hausner M., Neco super ... [A little bit super ...], PC World, Jul 1994, p.45-46, Czech Republic.

Horodeñski A., Cud niepamiêci naukowo okie³znany [Scientific conquest of forgetful memory]. Computerworld, Feb 17, 1992, Poland

Horodeñski A., SuperMemo - trener szarych komórek [SuperMemo - a brain cell developer]. Computerworld, Jun 8, 1992, Poland

Korec P., Brana nejen jazykum otverena [A gate for languages is open]. PC World, Jul 1994, p.44-45, Czech Republic

Kowalski J., SuperMemo (1). Zapomnij o zapominaniu [Forget about forgetting]. Enter, Oct 1994, p.88-90, Poland

Kowalski J., SuperMemo (2). Zapomnij o zapominaniu [Forget about forgetting]. Enter, Nov 1994,  Poland

Liszewski P., SuperMemo CD-ROM. PC World Komputer, Apr 1995

MicroPC, Memory devil with the help of a micro, Jun 1994, Finland

Mlodzki J., Od pomyslu do przemyslu. Rozmowa z panem Piotrem Wozniakiem, tworca metody SuperMemo [From an idea to an industry. Interview with Piotr Wozniak, the author of SuperMemo], Bajtek, Jul 1994, p.18-19, Poland

Pampuch M., SuperMemo. Amiga, Sep 1993, Poland

Partycka D., SuperMemo 6. Œwiat PC-tów, Jul 1993, Poland

Br0mba Pietraœ M., SuperMemo czyli ucz siê szybko i zapomnij o zapominaniu [Learn fast and forget about forgetting]. Bajtek, Jan 1993, Poland

Br0mba Pietraœ M., SuperMemo 7.2PL dla Windows, Bajtek, Sep 1994, p.16, Poland

P³óciennik P., Szybka nauka [Fast learning]. Gazeta Wyborcza, Oct 18, 1993, Poland

Reisch E., Das Klassenziel Erreicht, SuperMemo fur Windows [Perfectness reached]. Chip, Feb 1995, p.82-84, Germany

Spruit K., SuperMemo for Windows. Computer Totaal, Mar 1995, p.119, Holland

Wimmer P., Pochwa³a SuperMemo [Praising SuperMemo]. Enter, Oct 1992, Poland

Wimmer P., Super SuperMemo. PC Kurier, Sep 30, 1993, Poland

Wimmer P., SuperMemo kontra Sclerosis Mentis. PC Kurier, Dec 8, 1994, Poland