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Self-Directed Learning: Study Budget & Forgetting Curve

Simulate self-directed learning as a resource-allocation problem: split a limited daily study budget across topics, watch spaced-repetition strength grow and Ebbinghaus forgetting decay retention, and see cognitive-overload fatigue punish spreading yourself too thin.

Education & Learning Tools2DModerate60 FPS📱 Mobile-adapted

Self-directed learning is a resource-allocation problem as much as a motivational one: a fixed daily study budget has to be split across competing topics, each of which decays according to its own forgetting curve the moment you stop reviewing it. This simulator models five topics with independent Ebbinghaus-style retention curves and a spaced-repetition strength that grows with diminishing returns the more a topic is already mastered. Set a daily minute allocation per topic, advance simulated days, and watch each topic's retention rise on review and decay between reviews — while a shared cognitive budget punishes over-scheduling with a fatigue discount, showing exactly why an effective self-directed learner budgets time deliberately rather than cramming everything at once.

⚙ Under the hood

This simulation models the process of self-directed learning. It allows users to experiment with different strategies for setting goals, managing time, and evaluating progress.

Self Directed Learning

2D · HTML5 Canvas 2D · 60 FPS target · runs fully client-side, no install