“People come, they see everything and nothing more than that, just like in porn movies; consequently, they leave disappointed.”
This is a telling story about people’s perception of the simplicity of the idea of a slip box (zettelkasten, card catalog, commonplace book or whatever you want to call your note taking system).
It’s also a testament to the fact that the value of a zettelkasten is in the upfront work that is required in making valuable notes and linking them. Many people end up trying out the simple looking system and then wonder why it isn’t working for them. The answer is that they’re not working for it.
Just as sex can be fun, working with a system of notes can be fun. (“Just” can be a problematic word, n’cest pas?) In either framing, both partners need to do some work—neither necessarily the same work. The end result can be magic.
As Potter Stewart might have said, “I may not be able to define proper note taking, but I know it when I see it.”
On a slip in his zettelkasten (a card catalog or filing cabinet of personal notes), entitled “Does Spirit hide in the filing cabinet?”, Niklas Luhmann wrote a note about people who came to see his system:
This is a telling story about people’s perception of the simplicity of the idea of a slip box (zettelkasten, card catalog, commonplace book or whatever you want to call your note taking system).
Niklas Luhmann, Zettelkasten II, index card no. 9/8,3
It’s also a testament to the fact that the value of a zettelkasten is in the upfront work that is required in making valuable notes and linking them. Many people end up trying out the simple looking system and then wonder why it isn’t working for them. The answer is that they’re not working for it.
Just as sex can be fun, working with a system of notes can be fun. (“Just” can be a problematic word, n’cest pas?) In either framing, both partners need to do some work—neither necessarily the same work. The end result can be magic.
As Potter Stewart might have said, “I may not be able to define proper note taking, but I know it when I see it.”
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“It’s also a testament to the fact that the value of a Zettelkasten is in the upfront work that is required in making valuable notes and linking them.”
Meh. Maybe, if you’re wired that way. But for me it lies in the incremental maintenance and build and connection. And finding the most organic and text-based ways of connecting rather than any kind of categorisation. I feel quite liberated for having realised that, thanks!
The trick is to invest a lot of work in the notes, but only AFTER capturing them, which must be as quick and unobstructed as possible.
When I’m not taking notes in a notebook I’ve been using Obsidian.md while learning Drupal. I’ve enjoyed linking long notes in a web of Markdown files and images while grab snippets of information from multiple sites.
I’m still using a notebook when reading and intend to curate it somewhere eventually. Probably online.
Proof I can’t read another person’s handwriting.
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@joe4ska It’s also in German, so you can’t rely on the redundancy of your native language to help you out with letter prediction.
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That’s really good.
I have the Zettel itch but I would need to step back and figure out how I want to do it. Which I probably WILL do, since Evernote is running out of steam ….