eli5 why do we “forget” long practiced skills after a period of time of not using said skills? and how can we regain those skills

Question

i noticed that after the holidays my math plummeted and teachers told me its because of the break i took… why does this happen and how can i regain those skills acquired prior to the break

In: 356

Answer 1

You would have to use it for years upon years in order to retain it long-term/permanently. A few semesters of math yeah you will probably forget it after a small break.

For example I haven’t programmed in over 2 years since I’m taking a small break from work. I had a career as a programmer for 25 years. I can pick it up tomorrow like nothing ever happened. Kind of like riding a bike or driving a car. You can refrain from doing those for a long time and you will pick them up like nothing ever happened

If you want to regain your math skills just read through your textbook. It’ll come back to you faster than you know it. I haven’t had calculus in almost 20 years, and I picked up my textbook a few months ago and it all slowly came back to me