Its original application is for learning, but the underlying mechanism is far more broadly applicable and can be fruitfully used in software interfaces and as a behavioral guide
A friend of ours recently mused about a childhood companion who had a disconcerting habit of flaking on social plans. What to do? Deciding once and for all that she’d finally had enough and giving up entirely on the relationship seemed arbitrary and severe, but continuing to persist in perpetual rescheduling seemed naïve, liable to lead to an endless amount of disappointment and wasted time. Solution: exponential backoff on the invitation rate. Try to reschedule in a week, then two, then four, then eight. The rate of “retransmission” goes toward zero — yet you never have to completely give up.
You are employing the power of exponential backoff to deal with the flood of incoming items. For the most relevant things - you'll deal with them right away. For the things that you don't want to deal with now - you'll have an assurance that they'd rise to your attention again.