Comment by NiloCK

> Half the benefit of SRS comes from working out what the flashcards are. You have to circle around a concept, look for similarities, differences, examples, generalisations, properties, etc.

This is at least half true, but among SRS folks it's overstated.

The same argument stands for any creative endeavor.

Debussy had a greater experience than I did with Claire de Lune, because he composed it. In turn, my experience of it is probably greater than the next persons' because I learned it. Bottom of the heap is the lowly listener - but I think everyone would agree that listening is a wonderful way to appreciate music and shouldn't be diminished.

Same for literature, visual arts, etc etc.

The still greater reason that create-your-own has historically dominated for SRS decks is the specific curation aspect. Anything curated by someone else suffers from mismatch with your own intentions and prior knowledge profile.

(Plug time. Like most people, I am building my own grandiose SRS app. Some writing on it is here: http://patched.network )