[throwamon]

> Spaced repetition and incremental reading don't have to be a conscious effort

> The valuable part looks like to be in the effort of understanding, thinking deeply and widely and summarizing.

Which part of this is not conscious effort? You just made a stronger case for such automated systems, especially for people who don't have good memory or abnormal levels of discipline and motivation.

[frogulis]

I read it as "flash card systems can be low-effort, but the value comes from effort, so taking a low-effort, automated option is not necessarily best".

Maybe the paragraph isn't phrased in the clearest way, but I agree with this interpretation, if that is what they meant.