https://zettelkasten.de/Zettelkasten.de2024-03-14T08:20:49ZChristian Tietze, Sascha Fasthttps://zettelkasten.detag:zettelkasten.de,2024-03-14:/posts/the-archive-6th-anniversary-discount/Celebrating The Archive Anniversary with Exclusive Discounts2024-03-14T08:20:49Z2024-03-14T08:20:49Z<p>For this year’s anniversary of <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/the-archive/">our app, <em>The Archive</em>,</a> we want to show our gratitude to our amazing community by rolling out exclusive discounts for a limited time. </p>
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tag:zettelkasten.de,2024-01-25:/posts/field-report-7-atomic-habits/Field Report #7: How I Process “Atomic Habits” by James Clear2024-01-25T08:58:00Z2024-01-27T07:13:41Z<blockquote>
<p>Those who do not react flexibly to the demands of the situation make themselves slaves to their stubbornness.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>When processing James Clear’s <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Atomic-Habits-Proven-Build-Break/dp/1847941842?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1690877191&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=saschafast-20&linkId=eaa502e1af7a2ebe6ef430607a04b227&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl">Atomic Habits</a><sup id="fnref1"><a href="#fn1">1</a></sup>, I deviate from the <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/barbell-method-reading/">actually recommended reading method</a>. The reason is: I work the way the book requires and not the way I would like to. </p>
<p><em>Atomic Habits</em> is perhaps the best-selling book on habits and how to work on them. Reading this book was one reason I decided to tackle my own long-planned habit book. Clear is the most popular proponent of the hedonism model of habits, which assumes that habits are fundamentally the result of conditioning. My criticism is that it unjustifiably reduces the human being to a simple dopamine-driven machine. I consider this to be factually incorrect and want to make a counter-proposal with my book.</p>
<p>I am pursuing the following goals with this book:</p>
<ol>
<li>Enrichment of my structure note on habits in general.</li>
<li>Inspiration for my own book. It will be more comprehensive than any book available and suggests concrete habits (e.g. starting the working day with an exercise routine), but also offers projects that you can use to improve your own habit structure. </li>
<li>Enriching thematic structure sheets such as nutrition or training. Habits are the infrastructure of lifestyle. Therefore, I hope to improve my existing habit-based content.</li>
</ol>
<p>These are the choices I made in the course of processing:</p>
<p><strong>1.</strong> I roughly skimmed the book and decided that I don’t need to read it before processing it into notes. The reasons are:</p>
<ul>
<li>
<strong>It’s written clearly and understandably.</strong> The simple language allows me to focus more on processing <em>after reading</em>.</li>
<li>
<strong>It is very well-structured.</strong> Even after the first skim, I have a good overview of how the book is structured.</li>
<li>
<strong>I am very familiar with the topic of habits.</strong> I have already worked extensively with habits as part of my work as a trainer.</li>
<li>
<strong>I already have existing structures in my notepad for the topic.</strong> </li>
<li>
<strong>I know exactly what I want to do with the book.</strong> So it’s not open-ended processing or familiarising myself with a topic that I don’t yet know.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>2.</strong> I have placed the following structure notes on a hotkey using the saved search function. I use these structure notes as an entry point for integrating the new notes.</p>
<ul>
<li>
<strong>A structure note for general habits.</strong> I already had this before.</li>
<li>
<strong>A structure note for a planned book about habits.</strong> I also had this one long before.</li>
<li>
<strong>A structure note for the book I am processing (here: Atomic Habits).</strong> I don’t always do this, only if I want to read the book repeatedly or if I want to get an overview of the book itself and not just the topic (e.g. if I want to write an article about the book).</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>3.</strong> Clear provides very good summaries of each chapter at the end. I have therefore decided on the following workflow:</p>
<ol>
<li>Skim the chapter.</li>
<li>Write the points of the summary at the end in the outline of the structure note about the book.</li>
<li>Write my own thoughts and links into this part of the outline.</li>
<li>Go through the book and create notes on the individual points of the outline.</li>
<li>After I have written a note, I check the references to the corresponding part of the book and edit them if necessary. If I have the impression that it only reproduces what is in the reference anyway, I go straight to the primary source.</li>
<li>While writing the note, links usually emerge. I record these.</li>
<li>Once I have written a note, I include it both in the structure note on habits in general and in the structure note for the book on habits.</li>
</ol>
<p>It took me a total of three mornings (from 7am to 1pm) to complete the whole process – including the reading, of course.</p>
<h2 id="action-items-principles-methods-best-practices">Action Items: Principles, Methods, Best Practices</h2>
<ul>
<li>
<input type="checkbox"> <strong>Develop a whole series of workflows so that you can work optimally in each individual case.</strong> Without a choice, you have no flexibility and are forced to use tools that are often unsuitable for the task at hand.</li>
<li>
<input type="checkbox"> <strong>Concentrate on the actual task of the first read.</strong> The first read has one main purpose: to prepare the book for processing. If this can be done by just skimming, leave it at skimming.</li>
<li>
<input type="checkbox"> <strong>First, ask yourself what the book is asking of you.</strong> The individual in individualising the workflow is the to be processed source, not you.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Recommended Reading:</strong> A very related approach is the <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/knowledge-cycle-efficiently-organize-writing-projects/">Short Knowledge Cycle</a>. Highly recommended reading!</p>
<div class="footnotes">
<hr>
<ol>
<li id="fn1">
<p>Affiliate Link. <a href="#fnref1">↩</a></p>
</li>
</ol>
</div>
tag:zettelkasten.de,2023-09-08:/posts/upgrade-atomic-to-holistic-thinking/Upgrade Atomic Thinking to Holistic Thinking2023-09-08T07:16:13Z2023-09-08T07:16:13Z<p>In his essay <a href="https://mattgemmell.scot/atomic-thoughts/">Atomic Thoughts</a>, Matt Gemmell writes about the atomicity of ideas. The <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/create-zettel-from-reading-notes/">principle of atomicity</a> is a guiding principle for understanding a larger and complicated idea. Its power lies in the fact that it mimics how our mind works. The recommendation for application could be summarised as follows:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>Whenever you come across a train of thought that is difficult to grasp, break it down into smaller and thus easier to understand components.</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Unfortunately, this is only half the truth.</p>
<h2 id="analysis-is-only-a-part-of-understanding-but-not-understanding-itself">Analysis is only a part of understanding, but not understanding itself</h2>
<!-- The good thing about the article (2nd dream phase) -->
<p>Breaking down the idea is undoubtedly valuable because it gets to the root of the problem of understanding: it is not the length of the distance our mind has to travel that challenges us. Rather, it is the question of what the first steps are. Once we get going, the path almost goes by itself.</p>
<p>Matt, however, went a bit too far:</p>
<!-- The Problem (3. The Shadow Returns, 4. Life in Hell) -->
<blockquote>
<p>The essential factor is that you’re breaking it up, and then connecting it back together. <strong>This seems to be how our own minds work,</strong> and it’s certainly the approach that I find most conducive to well-ordered and insightful thought. (Highlights by me, <a href="https://mattgemmell.scot/atomic-thoughts/">https://mattgemmell.scot/atomic-thoughts/</a>)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>There is a whole book that warns against this idea: <em>The Master and His Emissary</em> by Iain McGilchrist.<sup id="fnref1"><a href="#fn1">1</a></sup> The warning is: Too much focus on the analytical way leads to a narrow and incomplete view. This tunnel vision leads to false assumptions about the world. And those who act on false assumptions will be punished.</p>
<p>The analytical way is the way of the left brain. Metaphorically speaking, the left brain takes what the right brain presents whole and living and dissects it until it is dead. Our right hemisphere seems to be home to a living world of ideas, while the left hemisphere is an industrial complex that rips out the living and feeds its cold machinery with it. Even worse: the left hemisphere seems to be greedy, holding on to the ideas it has taken out. However, in the end, the ideas should be returned to the right hemisphere so that they can become part of the living world of thought again.</p>
<p>This does not mean that the left brain is fundamentally problematic. It provides us with deep insights. It enables us to think <em>about</em> something. Only the left hemisphere gives us the possibility to separate out individual qualities of the world and to see commonalities of individual qualities in what for the right brain are unique occurrences in the world. When the right brain keeps us in contact with the living earth, the left brain lets us become spirit and fly into the sky.</p>
<p>What has once been unfolded and dissected by the left brain should be returned to the right brain and revived. The left brain is unable to do this because it tries to use the same way of making the whole that it uses for dissecting. But what was alive and is dissected to death cannot be brought back to life by sewing it together. It has to be digested and become food for a living being. We cannot sew on a piece of muscle from a cow, but must eat the meat, digest it and then use its amino acids to build our own muscles.</p>
<p>In musical education we can observe the interaction of both hemispheres of the brain: Technical knowledge about rhythm and harmony does not make music cold and dead for the musician. Rather, this analytical view deepens its appreciation. A fully developed musician lives in the spirit as well as the body of music. He ascends into the sky and breaks free from the limitations of the body. At the same time he keeps contact with the earth and <em>feels</em> the ground. He does what Jung said: you reach up into the sky as high as your roots reach towards the bottom of hell.<sup id="fnref2"><a href="#fn2">2</a></sup></p>
<p>However, if you confuse left-brain analysis and manner with the workings of the human mind as a whole, you lose your grounding. Our forum member @Amontillado gets to the heart of the problem:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The compartmentalization of the outline will make the telling a <strong>stilted thing</strong>. (<a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/comment/17108/#Comment_17108">Link to full comment in the forum</a>)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>@Will comfirms:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I have the same experience with outlines; they feel like they are going somewhere when they are in the outline form. And I have a hard time using them to write the intended narrative. (<a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/comment/17111/#Comment_17111">Link to full comment in the forum</a>)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>There is a phenomenon that I call “solving gross motor problems with fine motor skills”. It vividly shows what happens when the left hemisphere of the brain oversteps its jurisdiction. Fighting, throwing, running and scuffling are domains of gross motor skills. Even technically demanding aspects such as punch combinations in boxing or combinations of quick directions changes in football are gross motor tasks. The (good) teaching of these techniques does follow the usual pattern of breaking them down into smaller subtasks and then putting them back together. But the return must make the <em>leap</em> in a fluent execution of a whole. This leap is a <em>paradigm shift</em>. If one does not make this leap, the movements remain wooden and mechanical. They can be strung together, but they remain inharmonious and hideous. They remain <em>stilted</em>. Easy to recognise is the nerd who lives entirely in the world of mind and analysis, but moves like an awkward puppet when he is supposed to dribble the basketball. The frustration these people feel when they are put under pressure in sports is left-brain frustration.<sup id="fnref3"><a href="#fn3">3</a></sup> It is rarer that people start out with a good body feeling (gross motor skills) but have difficulty benefiting from individual technique exercises. After all, the right hemisphere of the brain is made to process what the left hemisphere has digested.</p>
<p>These three phenomena, the failure of resynthesis by analytical means, the profundity of a musician and the problems of gross motor learning can be wonderfully explained by the way the two halves of our brain have to work together to create a complete picture of reality. What is born alive in the right half is handed over to the left for analysis, but must find its way back to the right half to be alive again.</p>
<p><em>Knowledge work is subject to the same rules. Only when we use our brain harmoniously do we get good results. We have to use both halves of the brain. And: we have to relate them to each other.</em></p>
<!-- 5. redemption -->
<p><a href="" name="feynman-technique" id="feynman-technique"></a></p>
<h2 id="the-commonality-of-the-feynman-technique-and-the-zettelkasten-method-lies-in-the-right-hemisphere">The commonality of the Feynman Technique and the Zettelkasten Method lies in the right hemisphere</h2>
<p><a href="https://fs.blog/feynman-learning-technique/">The Feynman technique</a> is an example of using both sides of the brain to understand. Essentially, the technique works like this:</p>
<ol>
<li>pick a topic and try to explain it to someone else.</li>
<li>record all the gaps in your explanation attempt. 3.</li>
<li>fill in the gaps by learning.</li>
<li>repeat step 1–3 until you are satisfied.</li>
</ol>
<figure class="post-figure "><a href="/posts/upgrade-atomic-to-holistic-thinking/2023-01-06-leini-caption-en.jpg"><img alt="" src="/posts/upgrade-atomic-to-holistic-thinking/2023-01-06-leini-caption-en.jpg" class="post-figure__image"></a><figcaption class="post-figure__caption"></figcaption></figure>
<p>We start with a conversation and try to explain the whole thing <em>coherently</em>. Only in the moments of failure do we take a step back and analyse (left brain). But then we return until we have created a harmonious whole. We find this whole only in contact with another person. We don’t find it alone during analysis. Only in conversation and <em>coherent</em> explanation do we find the whole. Only the return to the right hemisphere of the brain gives us the whole.</p>
<p>This is the special strength of the Feynman technique: it is a <em>brain-friendly</em><sup id="fnref4"><a href="#fn4">4</a></sup> thinking technique.</p>
<p>Even the Zettelkasten Method only gives us a real understanding when it takes into account the way our brain works.</p>
<ol>
<li>If we follow <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/barbell-method-reading/">the barbell method of reading</a>, we do not start with the exact analysis, but in the first reading cycle we look at the source as a whole. In doing so, we only notice individual things that stand out. We stay in right brain mode for as long as we can. We gain a feeling for the source rather than exact knowledge.</li>
<li>In processing, the second reading cycle, we begin the analysis: we dissect the source into individual atomic thoughts. We make full use of the strength of the left hemisphere. </li>
<li>We relate each atomic thought, each note, to other thoughts. This is a difficult step because on the one hand we are still using the analytical and thinking in parts left hemisphere. On the other hand, we have to make the leap to hand over the individual parts to our right hemisphere to create a whole.</li>
</ol>
<p>It is this third step that probably causes most people problems with the Zettelkasten Method. True, it is not a problem specific to the Zettelkasten Method, but a general mindset problem. But the Zettelkasten Method reliably exposes this problem. One of the most common complaints of Zettelkasten beginners is that they have used the method to the best of their ability, but they do not feel that <em>anything is happening in the Zettelkasten.</em> They follow the principle of atomicity and set links. And yet the Zettelkasten does not “speak” to them. Their Zettelkasten does not come alive. This problem arises when you follow the steps in the wording but not the spirit of the instructions.</p>
<p>There are some things that help in this third step to break away from the analytical way of the left brain and bring the right half on board.</p>
<ol>
<li>
<strong>We need <em>places</em> in the Zettelkasten.</strong> Places are where the individual ideas can come together and connect. I call these places <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/introduction/#structure-notes">structure notes</a>. Of course there are methods and techniques to make them “correct”. But isn’t it precisely the “correct” use of methodology and technique that has not led to success so far? The special ingredient so that thoughts can combine into wholeness is <em>life</em>. The structure notes should deal with something that is important to you and that you want to take with you into the world. A <em>Dungeons and Dragons</em> player who writes a structure note about their favourite character will make that leap. Someone who wants to gather information because they think it might be useful later likely won’t.</li>
<li>
<strong>It’s about the <em>idea</em>, not the note.</strong> The methods and techniques of the Zettelkasten Method fail if you believe that the targets of their application are notes. It is always only about the ideas contained in them. The Zettelkasten Method is not a method for idea bureaucracy. It does not allow one to avoid the actual work of thinking. Rather, it is an invitation and provides a thinking environment for you. The Zettelkasten relates to the thinker as the workshop does to the craftsman: good tools and lovely furnishings make good work possible, but do not replace it. Therefore, great thinking work can be done without a Zettelkasten, and wonderful craftsmanship can emerge even in the most adverse of circumstances.</li>
<li>
<strong>You need a lot of practice.</strong> In my experience, most beginners of the Zettelkasten Method lack practice in handling knowledge. If you don’t understand the basic stuff called “knowledge”, no method that provides the tools to work on that basic stuff will help. What good is the greatest workflow if you can’t make a deeper judgement than “this is certainly useful”. The best strategy in football is of no use if you can’t keep the ball on your foot.</li>
</ol>
<p>I can report after more than a decade of working with the Zettelkasten Method that the way of working with it has changed significantly as familiarity with it increased. My personal <a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/2257/what-is-your-preferred-metaphor-for-zettelkasten-and-why">favourite metaphor for the Zettelkasten</a> is the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permaculture">permaculture farm</a>. Permaculture is based on observing the cycles of nature, and building a functioning ecosystem yourself, into which humans can harmoniously integrate. It manages the balancing act between agricultural use and living nature. My structure notes strive to become permacultural digital gardens, <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/luhmanns-second-zettelkasten/">ecosystems</a>. The permaculture farm’s aliveness is the criterion of success for sustainability. You can’t fake that like a certificate. I do have simple storage places (for example <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/tags/toolbox/">tool boxes</a>). But the best structure notes develop such a life of their own.</p>
<h2 id="what-this-means-for-practice">What this means for practice</h2>
<p>The Zettelkasten Method’s life of its own only emerges when we do more than just analyse.</p>
<ol>
<li>
<strong>Create places in your Zettelkasten.</strong> In this way you give your thoughts a place where they can meet.</li>
<li>
<strong>Work with the <em>ideas</em> of your Zettelkasten.</strong> Avoid idea bureaucracy by doing more than “correctly” hitting the methodological beats of the Zettelkasten Method.</li>
<li>
<strong>Practice a lot.</strong> Only with practice will you train your intuition for what works and what doesn’t.</li>
<li>
<strong>Talk to others about your thoughts.</strong> Feynman is not the only one who teaches this. Von Kleist already discussed this in his essay <a href="https://de-wikisource-org.translate.goog/wiki/Ueber_die_allm%C3%A4hliche_Verfertigung_der_Gedanken_beim_Reden?_x_tr_sl=de&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=de&_x_tr_pto=wapp">On the Gradual Fabrication of Thoughts in Talking</a> (see our translation <a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/1168/translation-of-kleist-on-the-gradual-construction-of-thoughts-during-speech">in the forums</a>) about 150 years earlier, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socratic_method">Socrates more than 2000 years before that</a>.</li>
<li>
<strong>Write complete texts.</strong> Writing complete texts is similar to speaking. In the flow of writing we recognise much that remained hidden from us in bullet points and outlines.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="parting-words">Parting words</h2>
<p>I have probably made my points stronger than necessary. That article is just <em>one</em> of Matt Gemmell’s articles. I treated the article as an atom without considering Matt’s other opinions. Only a conversation with Matt could give me <em>true</em> context.</p>
<p>Matt, if you feel misunderstood: a big apology hug to you.</p>
<hr>
<p><strong>Christian’s comment:</strong> The <em>Principle of Atomicity</em> appealed to me as a programmer because it suits my analytical work process. It allowed me to seamlessly continue work with the Zettelkasten using a mindset I spend the rest of the day in. Summing up, I can confirm that getting out of this analytical rut is difficult, but very fruitful. Conversations with Sascha and our behind-the-scenes cooperation for this blog make this clear to me again and again.</p>
<div class="footnotes">
<hr>
<ol>
<li id="fn1">
<p>Iain McGilchrist (2009): The Master and his Emissary. The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World, Totton: Yale University Press. <a href="https://amzn.to/3lNGg69">On Amazon</a> <a href="#fnref1">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn2">
<p>Anticlassical music movements are based on the misunderstanding that formality and liveliness of music are incompatible. <a href="#fnref2">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn3">
<p>A large part of these problems can be remedied by good teaching methods. At the same time, it is amazing what kind of <em>mental</em> development people experience when they find themselves succeeding where they expect defeat. <a href="#fnref3">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn4">
<p>Sadly, there is no good translation of “gehirngerecht”. A better translation is “brain-appropriate”. But this composite seems to be not common. <a href="#fnref4">↩</a></p>
</li>
</ol>
</div>
tag:zettelkasten.de,2023-07-14:/posts/zk-101-live-workshop-announcement/Workshop Announcement: The Zettelkasten Method 101 LIVE Workshop2023-07-14T09:42:32Z2023-07-14T09:42:32Z<p>Dear Zettlers,</p>
<p>we are happy to announce the LIVE workshop:</p>
<p>Unlock your Integrated Thinking Environment with the Zettelkasten Method!</p>
<p>By mastering the Zettelkasten Method, you’ll gain the most powerful tool to tackle modern knowledge problems. Whether you aim to become a lifelong learner, produce high-quality content, develop innovative solutions, or stay ahead as an early adopter, this workshop is for you!</p>
<p>This workshop is all about action and accomplishment. Say goodbye to filler material and esoteric babble—this course focuses on practical implementation from the very first session.</p>
<p><strong>Course Content Highlights:</strong></p>
<ol>
<li>Introduction: Discover the unique power of the Zettelkasten Method and kick-start your own Zettelkasten.</li>
<li>Creating Good Notes: Learn how to transform your notes into valuable knowledge, not just dead information.</li>
<li>Value-Creating by Integrating Notes Into Your Zettelkasten: Turn formalities into learning opportunities.</li>
<li>Creating Structure: Gain control over your notes, regardless of the size of your Zettelkasten.</li>
<li>Using the Zettelkasten: Utilize your Zettelkasten for real-world results, personal development, and learning.</li>
</ol>
<p>The course consists of 5 sessions, each lasting 60 minutes, with 30 extra minutes allocated to answer questions during and after each session. Additionally, three open consulting hours will be available for further support.</p>
<p>Limited to 8 participants at a time, the next cohort begins in October (exact dates announced in September). Secure your spot:</p>
<aside class="note"><p>The October cohort is sold out</p></aside>
<p>Investment: €249/$279</p>
<p>About me:</p>
<p>Expect an intense, involved, and demanding teacher who is generous with his energy and time to those who put in the effort. With over a decade of experience using and developing the Zettelkasten method, the instructor is a seasoned practitioner.</p>
<p>For more detailed information on the course, <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/course">see the course page</a>.</p>
tag:zettelkasten.de,2023-06-26:/posts/building-a-second-brain-and-zettelkasten/How to Increase Knowledge Productivity: Combining the Zettelkasten Method and Building a Second Brain2023-06-26T08:15:35Z2023-07-07T09:36:41Z<p>{{TOC}}</p>
<h3 class="skip-toc" id="how-to-read-this-article">How to read this article</h3>
<p>This article is structured in two parts. First, I summarize the <em>Building a Second Brain</em> (BASB) method by Tiago Forte. Then, I will compare it to the Zettelkasten Method (ZKM). I will first discuss the differences, because they can help to understand BASB and the ZKM more deeply. Then I will explain how to reconcile BASB and the ZKM. Spoiler: they can be combined perfectly.</p>
<p>I have made some changes in my own way of working. I will include these as examples at the end.</p>
<h2 id="the-ultimate-goal-of-building-a-second-brain-is-inner-peace">The ultimate goal of Building a Second Brain is inner peace</h2>
<p>What did Robin Hood feel when he aimed at his own arrow at the center of his target before splitting it? Of all the answers, I like the following the best: oneness with the world with a consciousness that was freed from all its contents. Zen. The perfect inner harmony.</p>
<figure class="post-figure "><a href="/posts/building-a-second-brain-and-zettelkasten/robin-hood.jpg"><img alt="" src="/posts/building-a-second-brain-and-zettelkasten/robin-hood.jpg" class="post-figure__image"></a><figcaption class="post-figure__caption">Picture by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@artem_kniaz">Artem Kniaz</a> from <a href="https://unsplash.com/de/fotos/jzJrcP2W-ZI">Unsplash</a></figcaption></figure>
<p>Every form of self-management is an attempt to take a step towards this inner harmony. It is therefore no coincidence that David Allen in <em>Getting Things Done</em> repeatedly points to the goal of “mind like water” throughout his book.<sup id="fnref1"><a href="#fn1">1</a></sup> Forte’s <em>Building a Second Brain</em> builds on the tradition of Getting Things Done. Not only does he write this explicitly.<sup id="fnref2"><a href="#fn2">2</a></sup> It is reflected in advice like this:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>Don’t worry about analyzing, interpreting, or categorizing each point to decide whether to highlight it. That is way too taxing and will break the flow of your concentration. Instead, rely on your intuition</strong> to tell you when a passage is interesting, counterintuitive, or relevant to your favorite problems or current project.<sup id="fnref3"><a href="#fn3">3</a></sup> (Emphasis mine)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Knowledge work is characterized by the fact that tasks are not given, but must first be recognized as such.<sup id="fnref4"><a href="#fn4">4</a></sup> This lack of clarity about how to understand something and what to do with it leads to psychological entropy. Then, we feel nervous, uncertain, and anxious.<sup id="fnref5"><a href="#fn5">5</a></sup></p>
<p>Any form of self-management is ultimately a method of managing psychological entropy. This is also true for <em>Building a Second Brain</em>.</p>
<p><em>BASB is a hybrid of (1) information management and (2) project management systems. It is based on GTD and includes customizations for collecting content for projects.</em></p>
<p><strong>(1) <em>Building a Second Brain</em> is an information <em>management</em> system.</strong> <em>Processing</em> of sources is not the focus of the system, nor is the <em>way</em> of processing information an essential part of the system. Even the processing method Forte proposes, the <em>progressive summarization</em> is not a processing method of information, but a <em>preparation method of resources like articles, podcasts, and books for later use</em>. BASB’s strengths lie in the management of sources of knowledge.</p>
<p>While BASB’s “second brain” doesn’t move beyond the resource, the work with the Zettelkasten begins only after we have extracted the ideas and thoughts from the resource and put each of them on an atomic note while leaving behind the resource. This is one of the main differences between BASB and the ZKM. BASB is a system for resource management; ZKM is a method for working with ideas themselves.</p>
<p><strong>(2) <em>Building a Second Brain</em> is a project management system.</strong> The emphasis of the whole system on action effectiveness is particularly evident through the filing system PARA.<sup id="fnref6"><a href="#fn6">6</a></sup> The four parts (<strong>P</strong>rojects, <strong>A</strong>reas, <strong>R</strong>resources, <strong>A</strong>rchive) are aligned to a hierarchy of urgency. At the same time, a connection is made between urgency and importance because completed projects are “the blood flow of your Second Brain.”<sup id="fnref7"><a href="#fn7">7</a></sup> Importance and urgency are the categories of projects and tasks. In a sense, the overall system speaks the “language of action”.</p>
<p>In contrast, the Zettelkasten Method speaks the “language of knowledge”. In the Zettelkasten, there is no such thing as importance or urgency. Each note merely contains ideas and their connections to other ideas. Their actionability is a second layer that we put onto them.</p>
<h3 id="who-is-building-a-second-brain-for">Who is <em>Building a Second Brain</em> for?</h3>
<figure class="post-figure "><a href="/posts/building-a-second-brain-and-zettelkasten/walnut.jpg"><img alt="" src="/posts/building-a-second-brain-and-zettelkasten/walnut.jpg" class="post-figure__image"></a><figcaption class="post-figure__caption">Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/ulleo-1834854/">Leopictures</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com/">Pixabay</a></figcaption></figure>
<p>BASB is for people who want to manage their information streams and resources in a project-oriented way. But probably the most important target group is people who feel overwhelmed by uncertain tasks and modern information overload.</p>
<p>In my experience, there are two main types of overload that can be related to the two components of the temperament characteristic of openness.</p>
<ol>
<li>Overload because of <strong>Openness to Experience</strong>. Formulated as a belief set, the trait <em>Openness to experience</em> would read: <em>What is new is most likely good.</em> Because we live in an age of information inflation,<sup id="fnref8"><a href="#fn8">8</a></sup> we are inundated with newness. People with a high <em>Openness to Experience</em> live in an information land of milk and honey. But people in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Land_of_Cockaigne_(Bruegel)">Land of Cockaigne</a> are not happy. They are overstuffed and overwhelmed. They don’t know what to do with themselves. And those who don’t know what to do feel <em>anxiety</em>.<sup id="fnref9"><a href="#fn9">9</a></sup> You could compare people with a high <em>Openness to Experience</em> to people who have a particularly strong susceptibility to fast food and sweets. Both tend to engage in erratic behaviour, which in turn can lead to <em>anxiety</em>-generating lifestyles.</li>
<li>Overload because of <strong>Intellect</strong>. Formulated as a belief set, the trait <em>intellect</em> would read: <em>Something is interesting if it is a thing that can be studied.</em> These people love to analyze and construct. These are the ones who get lost in analyzing and constructing a perfect system. They run the risk of doing more work on their system than using it for its intended purpose. They can become overwhelmed by a self-created information overload as they build an elaborate system of RSS feeds, web clippers, and other techniques of capturing information and information resources. But they also run the risk of conducting purposeless research, neglecting project- and deadline-oriented work.</li>
</ol>
<p>BASB can provide the solution for both types of overload:</p>
<ol>
<li>It allows managing information and resources with little effort. This helps people who feel overwhelmed with the overabundance of information and resources.</li>
<li>It is explicitly project-oriented. This helps people who lose sight of project-oriented work because they are so interested in the matter at hand.</li>
</ol>
<h3 id="how-does-basb-work">How does BASB work?</h3>
<p><strong>Disclaimer: If you already are familiar with BASB you can skip <a href="#basb-zkm-compare">by clicking this link</a>.</strong></p>
<p>Like any management system, BASB consists of three components:</p>
<ol>
<li>
<strong>The System.</strong> How are the folders, files, inboxes, etc. arranged?</li>
<li>
<strong>The Workflow.</strong> How do the resources become the desired end result?</li>
<li>
<strong>The Habits.</strong> What are the regularly recurring actions needed to take to make the system work and be maintained?</li>
</ol>
<p>Let’s start with the system.</p>
<h2 id="the-system-para">The system - PARA</h2>
<figure class="post-figure "><a href="/posts/building-a-second-brain-and-zettelkasten/2023-06-20_iceberg-v2.png"><img alt="" src="/posts/building-a-second-brain-and-zettelkasten/2023-06-20_iceberg-v2.png" class="post-figure__image"></a><figcaption class="post-figure__caption"></figcaption></figure>
<p>PARA is the storage system of BASB. The acronym stands for the four containers <em><strong>P</strong>rojects</em>, <em><strong>A</strong>reas</em>, <em><strong>R</strong>esources</em> and <em><strong>A</strong>rchive</em>.</p>
<p>In most programs, you’d create a folder for each container. However, in some programs there are no folders. Therefore, I usually speak of “containers”. However, I understand PARA as a manifestation of a general principle of self-organization: the iceberg principle of self-organization. I will describe this in more detail towards the end.</p>
<p><strong>Projects</strong> are short-term efforts in work and personal life. They are what you are <em>currently</em> working on.<sup id="fnref10"><a href="#fn10">10</a></sup> They have characteristics conducive to work:</p>
<ol>
<li>A beginning and an end (unlike a hobby or an area of responsibility).<sup id="fnref11"><a href="#fn11">11</a></sup>
</li>
<li>A concrete result to be achieved and consist of concrete steps that are necessary and together sufficient to achieve that goal.<sup id="fnref12"><a href="#fn12">12</a></sup> <em>Example:</em> Achieve 100 kilos in the bench press.</li>
</ol>
<p><strong>Areas (of Responsibility)</strong> are concerned with anything that you want to keep in mind for the long term. They differ from projects in that you do not pursue a goal with them, but want to maintain a standard. Accordingly, they are not limited in time. One could say that they represent an aspiration on ourselves and our living world.<sup id="fnref13"><a href="#fn13">13</a></sup></p>
<p><em>Example:</em> Health and Fitness.</p>
<p><strong>Resources</strong> are topics that might become relevant or useful at best in the long run.<sup id="fnref14"><a href="#fn14">14</a></sup> They are a catch-all container for everything that is neither a project nor a responsibility. Resources are:<sup id="fnref15"><a href="#fn15">15</a></sup></p>
<ul>
<li>topics that are interesting,<sup id="fnref16"><a href="#fn16">16</a></sup>
</li>
<li>subjects to be researched,<sup id="fnref17"><a href="#fn17">17</a></sup>
</li>
<li>useful information for later use,<sup id="fnref18"><a href="#fn18">18</a></sup>
</li>
<li>hobbies.<sup id="fnref19"><a href="#fn19">19</a></sup> (Note: I consider hobbies to be an area of responsibility because hobbies also have standards).</li>
</ul>
<p><em>Example:</em> A workout plan to try at some point.</p>
<p>The <strong>Archive</strong> is for everything inactive from the above three categories.<sup id="fnref20"><a href="#fn20">20</a></sup> It is a storage for things finished and postponed.<sup id="fnref21"><a href="#fn21">21</a></sup></p>
<p><em>Example:</em> An old training plan.</p>
<figure class="post-figure "><a href="/posts/building-a-second-brain-and-zettelkasten/2023-06-16_basb-layers.png"><img alt="" src="/posts/building-a-second-brain-and-zettelkasten/2023-06-16_basb-layers.png" class="post-figure__image"></a><figcaption class="post-figure__caption">Tying it all together: Areas of Responsibility and their projects and tasks, applied to two example areas.</figcaption></figure>
<p>The four containers are sorted by action relevance:<sup id="fnref22"><a href="#fn22">22</a></sup></p>
<ol>
<li>Projects are most relevant to action because you are currently working on them and have a deadline.<sup id="fnref23"><a href="#fn23">23</a></sup> The fact that you have to have a deadline is not the deciding factor, only that you are actively working on them. My personal criterion for this is that I sit down at least once a week to work on the project.</li>
<li>Areas of responsibility have a longer time horizon and are therefore not immediately relevant for action.<sup id="fnref24"><a href="#fn24">24</a></sup>
</li>
<li>Resources become actionable only in specific contexts.<sup id="fnref25"><a href="#fn25">25</a></sup>
</li>
<li>Archived stuff is inactive until it is needed.<sup id="fnref26"><a href="#fn26">26</a></sup> Therefore, it is hardly relevant to action.</li>
</ol>
<p>This four-folder system is kept simple for a reason: Complex systems usually require complex maintenance. PARA abandons this complexity. CODE, BASB’s workflow, is similarly kept simple.</p>
<h2 id="the-workflow-code">The workflow - CODE</h2>
<p>The BASB workflow is divided into four steps:</p>
<ol>
<li>
<em><strong>C</strong>apture</em> includes everything you fill your inboxes with.</li>
<li>
<em><strong>O</strong>rganise</em> means filing in the PARA folder system.</li>
<li>
<em><strong>D</strong>istill</em> means processing of resources with the method of <em>progressive summarizing</em>.</li>
<li>
<em><strong>E</strong>xpress</em> means the application or publication of content.</li>
</ol>
<p>Forte does give some tips on <strong>Capture</strong>. However, I do not consider them essential to understanding BASB. Therefore, I will not go into them in detail.</p>
<p><strong>Organize</strong> is the step where we empty the inbox and incorporate the resources into the <em>PARA</em> system. In doing so, we use the hierarchical nature of PARA: We first check if the resource can be used for something urgent and then work our way to less urgent:<sup id="fnref27"><a href="#fn27">27</a></sup></p>
<figure class="post-figure "><a href="/posts/building-a-second-brain-and-zettelkasten/2023-06-17_basb-file.png"><img alt="" src="/posts/building-a-second-brain-and-zettelkasten/2023-06-17_basb-file.png" class="post-figure__image"></a><figcaption class="post-figure__caption"></figcaption></figure>
<ol>
<li>Go through all active projects first. Is the resource useful for the project? If yes, file it under this project.</li>
<li>
<em>If not:</em> Is the resource useful for an area of responsibility? If yes, file it under this area of responsibility</li>
<li>
<em>If not:</em> Is the resource useful as part of a resource container? If yes, file it under the respective resource container.</li>
<li>
<em>If not:</em> Archive the resource.</li>
</ol>
<p><strong>Distill</strong> describes the way the resource is processed. Here, Forte recommends the <em>progressive summary</em>:<sup id="fnref28"><a href="#fn28">28</a></sup></p>
<ol>
<li>Acquisition is counted as the first step of processing. That is: the resource is filed. In Forte, this is already achieved at <em>capture</em>. However, I think it is better to assign this step to <em>Organise</em>. Only when we have filed the resource in the PARA system can we speak of a first edit.</li>
<li>Read the resource and mark in bold the passages that catch our eye.</li>
<li>Highlight what seems to be extra important from what is already marked in bold.</li>
<li>The last step would be the <em>executive summary</em>. This means that you list the most important key points of the resource at the beginning of the document.</li>
</ol>
<p>This is where the difference from the Zettelkasten Method becomes particularly obvious. At no point in CODE do you move beyond the resource <em>inside the system</em>. Only at <em>Express</em>, the next step of CODE, do we leave behind the resource as the unit of information.</p>
<p>With BASB, we get stuck with <em>managing</em> resources because we don’t move beyond the resource. Yet, the method of resource editing is quite easily interchangeable. Even if we process the resource to the point of extracting out each individual thought, as is the case with, let’s say, the Zettelkasten Method, we could still fit the individual thoughts into the PARA system as well. So, progressive summarization is not at all an essential ingredient for BASB to work.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Don’t worry about analyzing, interpreting, or categorizing each point to decide wether to highlight it. That is way too taxing and will break the flow of your concentration. Instead, rely on your intuition to tell you when a passage is interesting, counterintuitive, or relevant to your favorite problems or current project.<sup id="fnref29"><a href="#fn29">29</a></sup></p>
</blockquote>
<p>But the <em>progressive summary</em> is in the spirit of a way of working: The <em>progressive summary</em> could almost be seen as a technique for not letting knowledge work distract you from a project-oriented way of working. We will see more about this in the comparison of BASB and the ZKM. Progressive summarization does <em>not</em> involve thorough extracting and processing of ideas.</p>
<p><strong>Express</strong> means that Forte encourages us to actually use our system for something. Forte gives some tips in this section such as breaking up larger projects into small steps that are easy to work through.<sup id="fnref30"><a href="#fn30">30</a></sup> But this step is already outside the actual system of processing and management because most likely you will start writing in your dedicated writing app or implement behavioral changes in your life and not in your second brain.</p>
<p>The first three aspects <em>Capture</em>, <em>Organise</em> and <em>Distill</em> concern the input to the system <em>PARA</em>. <em>Express</em> states <em>that</em> we should use the system to its fullest effect. With PARA and CODE, we covered the system and the workflow. Now, let’s continue with the first of the key habits.</p>
<h2 id="the-key-habits">The Key Habits</h2>
<p>System-relevant habits are actions that are necessary for the effectiveness of the system, and therefore must be done regularly. As with all project and task management systems, there are two types of habits.</p>
<ol>
<li>
<strong>Habits of good use of the system.</strong> Through these habits, one derives maximum benefit from the system. In BASB, these are the project checklists.</li>
<li>
<strong>Habits of maintenance of the system.</strong> By these habits one repairs the current damages and signs of wear. In BASB, these are the reviews.</li>
</ol>
<h3 id="the-project-checklists">The Project Checklists</h3>
<p>There are two checklists: one at the beginning of the project and the other at the end of the project. The checklist at the beginning of the project is for using the system to its fullest extent for the current project. The checklist at the end of the project is for using the completed project to improve the system.<sup id="fnref31"><a href="#fn31">31</a></sup> So, these two checklists are designed as positive feedback loop:</p>
<figure class="post-figure "><a href="/posts/building-a-second-brain-and-zettelkasten/projects-para_en.png"><img alt="" src="/posts/building-a-second-brain-and-zettelkasten/projects-para_en.png" class="post-figure__image"></a><figcaption class="post-figure__caption"></figcaption></figure>
<h4 id="checklist-project-start">Checklist: Project Start</h4>
<ol>
<li>
<strong>Collect:</strong> Gather your thoughts about the project. What do you already know about it? What don’t you know? What is your goal? What people can you tap into? What are possible resources?<sup id="fnref32"><a href="#fn32">32</a></sup>
</li>
<li>
<strong>Review:</strong> Search the folders of your second brain for useful information.<sup id="fnref33"><a href="#fn33">33</a></sup>
</li>
<li>
<strong>Search:</strong> Use the global search to back up the second step. Sometimes, useful information turns up in surprising places.<sup id="fnref34"><a href="#fn34">34</a></sup>
</li>
<li>
<strong>Move:</strong> Move all relevant notes to the project folder.<sup id="fnref35"><a href="#fn35">35</a></sup>
</li>
<li>
<strong>Create:</strong> Create an outline from everything you have collected in the project folder.<sup id="fnref36"><a href="#fn36">36</a></sup> Important: You are only planning the project. You’re not working on it directly yet.<sup id="fnref37"><a href="#fn37">37</a></sup>
</li>
</ol>
<h4 id="checklist-end-of-project">Checklist: End of project</h4>
<ol>
<li>
<strong>Mark:</strong> Mark the project as complete in your task management and still process any loose ends.<sup id="fnref38"><a href="#fn38">38</a></sup>
</li>
<li>
<strong>Cross out:</strong> Mark the goal associated with the project as achieved and move the goal to a “Achieved” list. You can use this list of achieved goals as motivation.<sup id="fnref39"><a href="#fn39">39</a></sup>
</li>
<li>
<strong>Review:</strong> Review the project folder for content that you can use for other projects.</li>
<li>
<strong>Move:</strong> Move the project folder from “Projects” (<strong>P</strong>ARA) to the archive (PAR<strong>A</strong>). <sup id="fnref40"><a href="#fn40">40</a></sup>
</li>
<li>
<strong>If project is becoming inactive:</strong> If you cancel or postpone the project, make sure you can start where you left off. Create a note, with all the necessary information, how you would continue and also with the reasons why you stopped.<sup id="fnref41"><a href="#fn41">41</a></sup>
</li>
</ol>
<h3 id="review">Review</h3>
<p>All systems get cluttered and deteriorate if they are not maintained. Forte explicitly follows the tradition of David Allen’s GTD here.<sup id="fnref42"><a href="#fn42">42</a></sup> I consider these checklists to be fairly self-explanatory.</p>
<h4 id="weekly-review">Weekly Review</h4>
<ol>
<li>Empty the email inbox.<sup id="fnref43"><a href="#fn43">43</a></sup>
</li>
<li>View the calendar.<sup id="fnref44"><a href="#fn44">44</a></sup>
</li>
<li>Clean up the desk of your computer.<sup id="fnref45"><a href="#fn45">45</a></sup>
</li>
<li>Empty the inbox of your note-taking software.<sup id="fnref46"><a href="#fn46">46</a></sup>
There is no editing involved! This is just about putting the material into the PARA system.</li>
<li>Choose the assignments for the week.<sup id="fnref6"><a href="#fn6">6</a></sup>
</li>
</ol>
<h4 id="monthly-review">Monthly Review</h4>
<ol>
<li>View and update your quarterly goals.<sup id="fnref47"><a href="#fn47">47</a></sup>
</li>
<li>View and update your project list.<sup id="fnref48"><a href="#fn48">48</a></sup>
</li>
<li>View your areas of responsibility.<sup id="fnref49"><a href="#fn49">49</a></sup>
</li>
<li>View your “someday/maybes.”<sup id="fnref50"><a href="#fn50">50</a></sup>
</li>
<li>Update how important and urgent the tasks are.<sup id="fnref51"><a href="#fn51">51</a></sup>
</li>
</ol>
<p>So we have all three aspects <em>system</em>, <em>workflow</em> and <em>habits</em> together.</p>
<h2 id="summary-of-basb">Summary of BASB</h2>
<ul>
<li>BASB is a hybrid of (1) information management and (2) project management system. It is based on GTD. The important changes are the adaptations for collecting content for projects.</li>
<li>The system <em>PARA</em> is a four-folder system ordered on a hierarchy of relevance to action.</li>
<li>The workflow <em>CODE</em> mainly concerns the input to the system. However, use of the system for publishing is encouraged.</li>
<li>Using the project checklists is the core habit for productive use of the system. The system is maintained on a regular basis. This is what the weekly and monthly reviews are for.</li>
</ul>
<p>Now that we have an overview of <em>Building a Second Brain</em>, we will compare this system to the Zettelkasten Method.</p>
<p><a href="" name="basb-zkm-compare"></a></p>
<h2 id="building-a-second-brain-and-the-zettelkasten-method-in-comparison">Building a Second Brain and the Zettelkasten Method in comparison</h2>
<p>Simplified, BASB is a source material feeder system for project-oriented self-organization. It is especially suitable for people whose projects are particularly dependent on source material. Oddly enough, the processing of knowledge seems almost to be considered a necessary evil, to be automated and simplified as much as possible. Thus, Forte writes in the processing step <em>Distill</em>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Don’t worry about analyzing, interpreting, or categorizing each point to decide whether to highlight it. That is way too taxing and will break the flow of your concentration. Instead, rely on your intuition to tell you when a passage is interesting, counterintuitive, or relevant to your favorite problems or current project.<sup id="fnref52"><a href="#fn52">52</a></sup></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Analysis, interpretation, and classification of resources and the thoughts they contain are essential to the processing of knowledge itself. It could not be clearer: The processing of knowledge, knowledge work, is explicitly <em>not</em> part of BASB. Knowledge work needs to be done, regardless, if you want to actually produce value. So, you will perform the actual knowledge processing outside the BASB system.</p>
<p>The Zettelkasten Method, on the other hand, is a method for processing knowledge. The analysis of single thoughts and their relations to each other is clearly a centerpiece. Project work, on the other hand, is in the periphery. In a way, the ZKM is agnostic to the use of the processed knowledge. We could spend a lifetime working with a Zettelkasten without publishing a single line of text.</p>
<p>Let’s go through the three aspects in order to elaborate on this:</p>
<h3 id="para-vs-zettelkasten">PARA vs Zettelkasten</h3>
<p><strong>The system</strong> PARA is a filing system arranged by time relevance to action. Projects come before areas of responsibility because they have a short to medium time horizon, while areas of responsibility have an unlimited time horizon. Resources and Archives come last because they are usually neither a priority nor urgent.</p>
<p>The Zettelkasten Method is based on a hierarchy-free network. There are individual notes and their links. The structure notes can be used to create a hierarchy, but they are rather a just <em>one representation possibility</em> for a set of notes. One can create other structure notes with alternative hierarchies or even <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/use-case-investing-zettelkasten-method/">some with a non-hierarchical representation</a>. In the Zettelkasten, one’s thoughts find an equal coexistence.</p>
<h4 id="basb-is-a-cat-zkm-is-a-dog">BASB is a cat, ZKM is a dog</h4>
<p>Let’s say you want to breed pets. They are to be companion animals that keep people company. Both dogs and cats have been companions to us humans for thousands of years. But the way they form a relationship with us humans is completely different. This first decision, whether I breed dogs or cats, is a fundamental one. Certainly over many years of breeding I can make cats more obedient, loyal and stable in temperament. I can also make dogs more ignorant and moody after many generations.<sup id="fnref53"><a href="#fn53">53</a></sup> But fundamentally, dogs and cats have two completely different basic ways of relating to humans.</p>
<p>That’s the difference between BASB and ZKM. BASB speaks the language of action. ZKM speaks the language of knowledge. The basic categories of BASB are <em>importance</em> and <em>urgency</em>. These are categories of action. The basic categories of ZKM are atomic thought and its relation to other thoughts. BASB chooses as its filing categories PARA, a folder system that is a hierarchy of urgency. ZKM is a <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/lattice-of-thoughts/">heterarchy of thoughts</a> that can float freely in the ether like in the Platonic world of ideas.</p>
<p>Forte places himself in the tradition of David Allen’s <em>Getting Things Done</em>.<sup id="fnref54"><a href="#fn54">54</a></sup></p>
<p>Completed projects are considered the blood supply of the second brain:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I’ve learned that <strong>completed creative projects are the blood flow of your Second Brain</strong>. They keep the whole system nourished, fresh and primed for action. It doesn’t matter how organized, aesthetically pleasing, or impressive your notetaking [sic!] system is. It is only the steady completion of tangible wins that can infuse you with a sense of determination, momentum, and accomplishment.<sup id="fnref55"><a href="#fn55">55</a></sup> (Emphasis mine)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>And last but not least: <em>Progressive summarizing</em>, Forte’s proposed method of processing resources, is just a method of highlighting a text. At no point does it leave behind the resource. Thus, not only is it not processing resources into knowledge, it is merely preparing resources so that they are easier to skim.</p>
<p>PARA brings in an element of restlessness.</p>
<h4 id="the-restlessness-of-para">The restlessness of PARA</h4>
<p>PARA is not based on an assumed correctness of filing (for example, on a sophisticated metaphysics of categories). It is a production system that puts information where it is most likely to be needed. Because this is constantly changing, the whole system is subject to constant upheaval and reordering:<sup id="fnref56"><a href="#fn56">56</a></sup></p>
<blockquote>
<p>PARA isn’t a filing system; it’s a production system. It’s no use trying to find the “perfect place” where a note or file belongs. There isn’t one. The whole system is constantly shifting and changing in sync with your constantly changing life.<sup id="fnref57"><a href="#fn57">57</a></sup></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Resources and notes have no fixed location, but are always moved to where they seem to make the most sense. If one relates the three active folders (projects, areas of responsibility, resources) to each other, one could say that the internal purpose of the areas of responsibility is to supply the project folder with projects. The metaphor of blood supply that Forte chooses to describe the role of completed projects is perfect: “The blood supply to the brain is of absolute importance. <a href="https://www.msdmanuals.com/professional/neurologic-disorders/stroke/ischemic-stroke">Without blood flow, neurons die within minutes.</a> If the project folder is not supplied with projects, the second brain dies. The central task of the user is to complete the projects and thus return the blood. Otherwise, your brain will suffer from a stroke.</p>
<p>I see a side effect of this as a problem. This dynamic brings a certain restlessness into the system. Nothing has its fixed place. For individual, small projects, this is not a problem. However, anything that is complex and exists over a long period of time needs stability and constancy. We need <em>familiar</em> places. This familiarity comes from going to these places and always being assured in the same way, "Everything is fine. Nothing changed. You are still welcome!”</p>
<p>My research on psychological entropy is a good example of what BASB is inappropriate for:</p>
<p>It took me a few weeks to build up the sections of my Zettelkasten that cover the topic of psychological entropy. In the language of BASB, this was a research project. While I did not have a firm deadline, I had two clear goals. First, I wanted to achieve “Feynmanian clarity.”<sup id="fnref58"><a href="#fn58">58</a></sup> That is, I wanted to understand the phenomenon to the point where I could explain it to someone without stuttering. Second, I wanted to build the structures so that I could smoothly incorporate new knowledge in the future. I wanted to create a place that seemed like an old acquaintance. The first would still have been compatible with BASB, but the second goal was not.</p>
<p>Not only do I have many such research projects. They also span disciplines and years. When I do a <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/practical-integration-deep-work/">research day</a>, I may well combine the results of 5 or 6 such research projects. This means that within hours I have to access knowledge that I have built up over a span of 10–15 years. If the knowledge were spread over folders in my second brain and I was forced to re-collect such amounts of knowledge, my work would not be possible. I would be too slow. If I have an idea, it must be realizable <em>at this moment</em>. I can only do that with my Zettelkasten, but not with the PARA system.</p>
<p>Forte recommends relying on system-wide search.<sup id="fnref59"><a href="#fn59">59</a></sup> But my experience with the Zettelkasten Method has shown me that as the size of the Zettelkasten increases, the search function becomes less reliable and more cumbersome to use. I’m already at the point where the search function has lost much of its usefulness. My Zettelkasten is simply too complex for the search to provide reliable access.</p>
<p>This problem is by no means only relevant for people like me. It results from the relationship between knowledge and the user. The problem described above always arises when one works at the limits of one’s own cognitive capacities. It is only a matter of time before one reaches this limit when using a system for a lifetime. For some, this point arrives after a few years and for others after 10 years. But one thing is certain: It will arrive.</p>
<p>This does not mean that BASB is useless! BASB provides a system for information and project management. It provides tools to meet requirements upstream of resource processing. BASB is something like a combination of forestry system and lumberyard. The Zettelkasten, on the other hand, deals with the actual processing of knowledge. The Zettelkasten Method, on the other hand, a carpentry.</p>
<p><em>BASB is a hybrid of (1) information management system and (2) project management system. The Zettelkasten Method is a system of creating an integrated thinking environment and working with it.</em></p>
<p>Once you understand this difference, there is nothing to stop you from using both methods in combination!</p>
<h3 id="code-vs-zettelkasten">CODE vs Zettelkasten</h3>
<p><strong>The workflow</strong> CODE is a method of filing edited resources. At no point do you move beyond the resource <em>inside</em> the system. One could argue for it happening at the <em>express</em> step. But this is technically outside the system.</p>
<p>In contrast, the core of ZKM is precisely this processing of resources into individual ideas by extracting them from the resource and connect them to other ideas. Preparing the resource for later use is indeed a feeder method, and publishing content with the help of the Zettelkasten contributes to using and integrating the Zettelkasten. But both of them nevertheless belong to the periphery of the Zettelkasten.</p>
<p>Thus, one could superimpose both methods and clarify this difference:</p>
<figure class="post-figure "><a href="/posts/building-a-second-brain-and-zettelkasten/2023-06-20_value-creation-code.png"><img alt="" src="/posts/building-a-second-brain-and-zettelkasten/2023-06-20_value-creation-code.png" class="post-figure__image"></a><figcaption class="post-figure__caption"></figcaption></figure>
<p>They focus on different sections of the overall <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/how-to-create-value-in-zettelkasten/">value chain of processing knowledge.</a></p>
<h3 id="habits-of-basb-vs-zkm">Habits of BASB vs ZKM</h3>
<p><strong>Habits</strong> of BASB are the typical habits of an administrative system. It must be used in a certain way, and it must be maintained regularly.</p>
<p>The Zettelkasten Method is frugal as far as that goes. Rather, there are mere habit recommendations, such as setting up research days. But the Zettelkasten Method is rather another way of doing what you are already doing anyway. Therefore, there are two basic recommendations:</p>
<ol>
<li>Usually, you should not do anything in addition, but do what you are already doing with the Zettelkasten. Once you have learned the basic handling of your Zettelkasten, there should be no extra work.</li>
<li>Working with the Zettelkasten benefits greatly from incorporating <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Deep-Work-Focused-Success-Distracted/dp/1455586692?crid=15RWBJGP1URFO&keywords=deep+work&qid=1685354797&sprefix=deep+wro%2Caps%2C231&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=saschafast-20&linkId=8eeb79de0c3148856b325beb7e4aa3a7&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl">Newport’s deep work strategies</a> into your daily routine. While these strategies are general recommendations to everyone, they fit the Zettelkasten Method especially well.</li>
</ol>
<p>BASB and the ZKM are two completely different approaches to working. But their differences don’t come from the fact that they solve the same problem differently, but that they address different parts of the knowledge-based value chain. This makes them not only easily compatible. In fact, I think it is advisable to combine them. That way, you get the best of the worlds of productivity-focused self-organization and deep understanding-focused integrated thinking environments.</p>
<h3 id="basb-and-zkm">BASB <em>and</em> ZKM</h3>
<p>Let’s look at the above graph again:</p>
<figure class="post-figure "><a href="/posts/building-a-second-brain-and-zettelkasten/2023-06-20_value-creation-code.png"><img alt="" src="/posts/building-a-second-brain-and-zettelkasten/2023-06-20_value-creation-code.png" class="post-figure__image"></a><figcaption class="post-figure__caption"></figcaption></figure>
<p>From this graph, we can see that BASB manages exactly what is outside the Zettelkasten. BASB is not about creating a second brain in the direct sense. Rather, it is about handing off to the system all that does not belong in the brain. Again, BASB is in the tradition of GTD and accomplishes the same thing.</p>
<p>The <strong>system and workflow</strong> of BASB and the ZKM are easily compatible. We use BASB for organizing resources and excerpts. Our Zettelkasten serves as our integrated thinking environment. Here we process the collected resources and excerpts into atomic thoughts and link them together.</p>
<p>From the PARA system, the Zettelkasten is responsible for both resources and the archive. Projects and areas of responsibility are divided: Content belongs in the Zettelkasten, tasks in the task organisation.</p>
<p>The <strong>project habits</strong> can be easily transferred to ZKM.</p>
<p>The routine at the start of the project would look like this:</p>
<ol>
<li>Create a structure note for your project in the Zettelkasten. This is the place where you collect everything. The difference is that you just create links to needed notes instead of moving the actual files. This applies to notes anyway, but also to excerpts and resources in the form of PDFs, books, etc.</li>
<li>
<strong>Collect:</strong> Collect everything you know about the project on the structure note.</li>
<li>
<strong>Review:</strong> Search your notebook for existing knowledge and refer to it from your project structure sheet.</li>
<li>
<strong>Search:</strong> Systematically search all other places. (Like collections of unread PDFs, link lists, etc.)</li>
<li>
<strong>Move:</strong> Moving to a project folder is unnecessary. All notes stay where they are.</li>
</ol>
<p>The result is a note that contains all information about the project. It refers to all notes that are relevant for the project. However, it also references resources and excerpts that are outside the Zettelkasten. So, you process everything until you have one structure note that just links to notes and comments on them and their relationships.</p>
<p>The routine at the end of the project, would look like this:</p>
<ul>
<li>
<em>Mark and Cross Out</em> are part of task management and have nothing to do with the Zettelkasten.</li>
<li>
<em>Review and Move</em> are already partially done, in extreme cases even completely: After all, you have developed all thoughts in the Zettelkasten. They are already in the Zettelkasten and completely integrated into your base network. For every note you write, you can check directly when you create it whether the note is usable for another project. When you finish the project, there’s one thing you can check: if something came up while you were writing the manuscript that you want to feed back into the Zettelkasten. That’s what I call “processing back.”</li>
<li>
<em>If project becomes inactive</em> is superfluous. Everything is in the Zettelkasten anyway.</li>
</ul>
<p>BASB’s <strong>maintenance habit <em>review</em></strong> has nothing to do with processing knowledge, but with project and task management. We use the habits to clean up the PARA system. The Zettelkasten remains unaffected.</p>
<p>My personal lessons from reading <em>Building a Second Brain</em> are as follows:</p>
<h2 id="how-i-use-basb-myself">How I use BASB myself</h2>
<ol>
<li>
<strong>The inbox is coming back.</strong> I have reintroduced inboxes. Originally, I eliminated all my inboxes and immediately put everything into the right place. I actually dislike inboxes, but have accepted them as a necessary evil. I found that I did stay in the workflow more easily when I experimented with using an inbox again after reading BASB. However, I now have to work on my resentment of emptying the inbox regularly.</li>
<li>
<strong>Reviews are coming back.</strong> Because I have an inbox again, I have to do reviews again – at least to empty my inbox. In my task management, the task is “Clean up the workspace” and consists of 4 subtasks: (1) throw the browser tab addresses into the inbox, (2) empty my task management inbox (I use <a href="https://culturedcode.com/things/">Things</a>), (3) clean up my desk, and last but not least (4) clean up my study.</li>
<li>
<strong>An old routine is coming back. (“Verzettelungsroutine”)</strong> Originally, I had <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/write-book-without-even-trying-so-hard/">my own version of Feynman’s 12 Favorite Problems</a>. I had a collection of notes on various topics and projects that I basically checked for possible linking opportunities when I created a new note. After a long hiatus, this is coming back.</li>
<li>
<strong>I have darlings.</strong> I use PARA as a basic principle for organizing resources and tasks. I manage resources and short notes with <a href="https://www.taskpaper.com/">TaskPaper</a>. Originally, I had a purely thematic ordering. I have now abandoned this in favor of a variation of the PARA system. I just call them my darlings because they are not just problems but, as in the case of a short story collection, creative projects.</li>
<li>
<strong>I have switched from TaskPaper to Things.</strong> <a href="https://culturedcode.com/things/">Things</a> is faster, less complex, and provides ready-made task management functions. I am not a professional task manager. Having once lost two weeks to Emacs, I don’t want to make such a mistake again. Things is inspired by GTD. It’s a great fit. The only thing I’m missing is the complexity that TaskPaper allows. That’s important for some of my long-term research interests, where there are complex dependencies that I map by deep indentation. But there’s already a solution in sight: TaskPaper will take over my long-term research.</li>
<li>
<strong>I value effectiveness more.</strong> I have changed my work style to more effectiveness (publishing) and less efficiency (basic work, <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/write-book-without-even-trying-so-hard/">indirect work</a>).</li>
</ol>
<p>However, I do not follow one recommendation: <a href="https://fortelabs.com/blog/para/">Forte recommends using the PARA structure across all programs</a>. Forte reasons, personal knowledge management systems should follow the same patterns as the task and project management system because they have the same job: They are productivity tools.</p>
<p>My Zettelkasten follows a completely different logic than my task and project management system. Even my research file, where I collect promising resources, article ideas, and the like, does not strictly follow the PARA system, but rather an ARA system. I have divided the projects I have assigned to the areas of responsibility by size within the areas of responsibility. Small items are not only easier to accomplish, but are often part of larger research and writing projects. So, within the areas of responsibility, I have divided the projects according to their size and thus achievability.</p>
<p>Strictly speaking, I do not follow PARA, but an overarching principle. I understand PARA as an incarnation of this overarching principle: <strong>the iceberg of urgency.</strong></p>
<h3 id="para-as-an-iceberg">PARA as an iceberg</h3>
<p>In my view, PARA is a version of a general principle of task hierarchy:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>Important projects are urgent.</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Models such as the <a href="https://asana.com/de/resources/eisenhower-matrix">Eisenhower Matrix</a> suggest that the importance and urgency of tasks and projects are two independent properties. While this is true in the short term, it is not true in the long term. For example, it is urgent that I clean up my workspace today so that I have a clean start to next week. But cleaning up is not important compared to finishing this article. Tidying up is urgent because the mess is screaming at me right now, but it’s not important. I could go on working in the mess for years. Completing this article, on the other hand, is an important milestone for the Zettelkasten Project. Whether I finish it a week earlier or later, on the other hand, makes little difference.</p>
<p>In the long run, over years and decades, important projects are always urgent. It may not be urgent that I publish this article next week. But while I could put off cleaning up for life, publishing this article can’t wait more than a month.</p>
<p>The principle <em>Important projects are urgent!</em> is a second-order principle that arises from the application of the Eisenhower matrix: It can be used not only as an inventory of the general situation, but also as a guiding principle for how we should shape our lives. We should shape it in such a way that we do as few unimportant things as possible. This increases the meaning and significance of our lives. We should treat the important but not urgent projects as if they were urgent. This makes us productive.</p>
<p>This results in a unifying hierarchy that combines importance and urgency.</p>
<p>PARA follows exactly this principle. The areas of responsibility are what is important but not urgent. Yet they continually produce projects that we treat as urgent. Indeed, projects have a specific goal and usually deadlines. PARA is a way to continually transform important but not urgent into important <em>and</em> urgent. I think this is one reason why BASB works as a productivity tool.</p>
<p>PARA has a kind of iceberg dynamic. Only the smallest part, the projects, float above the surface. The rest remains hidden below the water’s surface. But below its surface, water freezes onto the iceberg and makes it larger. As a result, the iceberg gains more buoyancy and more of it protrudes above the water. The areas of responsibility and resources give the overall system a greater buoyancy. In a sense, they push projects above the surface of the water into our consciousness. And if you want to stretch the metaphor a bit, the ice above the water can be mined and drunk as precious fresh water.</p>
<figure class="post-figure "><a href="/posts/building-a-second-brain-and-zettelkasten/2023-06-20_iceberg-v2.png"><img alt="" src="/posts/building-a-second-brain-and-zettelkasten/2023-06-20_iceberg-v2.png" class="post-figure__image"></a><figcaption class="post-figure__caption"></figcaption></figure>
<p>My above criticism of unrest is put into perspective at this point. Unrest is a necessary side effect of urgency. This systemic restlessness is balanced by the ongoing focus on projects. While working with BASB’s second brain, we fixate on the projects at hand while ignoring the rest of the system’s restlessness. We can ignore the restlessness because it is hidden from us. Most of the iceberg remains under the water. The folders for areas of responsibility, resources and archive remain closed.</p>
<p>My Zettelkasten provides the necessary peace and quiet for knowledge work. It gives me a firm foundation. The restlessness of PARA does not affect my Zettelkasten, only my resource management. For my overall system, the purpose of my PARA is to provide resource collections, sorted into projects. PARA replaces my old system here, sorted by topic, and directs my research toward specific projects. This dynamic helps me through two possible directions:</p>
<ol>
<li>When I assign a resource, I go through a hierarchy of actionability. That is, the resource is filed where it is most likely to benefit a project.</li>
<li>The more resources I assign to larger and therefore more difficult to implement projects, or even general areas of responsibility, the more likely I am to structure the project into subprojects. This leads to a larger project being divided into smaller and thus more actionable sub-projects, or even to projects emerging in areas of responsibility.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="closing-words">Closing words</h2>
<p><em><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Building-Second-Brain-Organize-Potential/dp/B09MGFGV3J?crid=IA3Z9SDKUV28&keywords=building+a+second+brain&qid=1687596629&sprefix=building+a+second+brai%2Caps%2C168&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=saschafast-20&linkId=8b8f5270bcd49bc8c3342dc2799d917d&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl">Building a Second Brain</a></em><sup id="fnref60"><a href="#fn60">60</a></sup> and the Zettelkasten Method concern completely different sections of the knowledge-based value chain, starting with the world’s resources and culminating in publications and their practical implementation.</p>
<p>BASB concerns the management and rough preparation of resources for later use and then proposes to proceed from prepared resources directly to publication and implementation. This means that the actual knowledge work must take place in the manuscript.</p>
<p>The <em>Zettelkasten Method</em>, on the other hand, is primarily concerned with the actual knowledge work and suggests that resources be processed thoroughly and deeply so that ideas and their connections to each other are revealed in Zettelkasten. This shifts the knowledge work into the Zettelkasten.</p>
<p>The two methods are easy to combine because of their little overlap.</p>
<p>For me, the reading <em>Building a Second Brain</em> had a similar effect to reading <em><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Deep-Work-Focused-Success-Distracted/dp/0349411905?__mk_de_DE=%C3%85M%C3%85%C5%BD%C3%95%C3%91&crid=1ZUAOKBQIBA6X&keywords=Deep+Work&qid=1677838786&sprefix=deep+work%2Caps%2C106&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=saschafast-20&linkId=53c2ba428ae4f7023c1a13f9067d085b&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl">Deep Work</a></em> <sup id="fnref60"><a href="#fn60">60</a></sup> by Cal Newport. Both books prompted me to improve my system. I have been working with BASB as part of my overall workflow for a few months now and am very pleased. I can give a clear recommendation.</p>
<div class="footnotes">
<hr>
<ol>
<li id="fn1">
<p>David Allen (2015): Getting Things Done. The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, Elcograf: Piatkus. p. 14. <a href="#fnref1">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn2">
<p>Forte 2022, 212 <a href="#fnref2">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn3">
<p>Forte 2022, 140 <a href="#fnref3">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn4">
<p>David Allen (2015): Getting Things Done. The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, Elcograf: Piatkus. p. 16. <a href="#fnref4">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn5">
<p>Jacob B. Hirsh, Raymond A. Mar, and Jordan B. Peterson (2012): Psychological entropy: a framework for understanding uncertainty-related anxiety., Psychological review, 2012, Vol. 119 2, pp 304-20. <a href="#fnref5">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn6">
<p>Forte 2022, 86ff, 103/104 <a href="#fnref6">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn7">
<p>Forte 2022, 108 <a href="#fnref7">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn8">
<p>Credits for this term go to Alex Kahl. <a href="#fnref8">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn9">
<p>Jacob B. Hirsh, Raymond A. Mar, and Jordan B. Peterson (2012): Psychological entropy: a framework for understanding uncertainty-related anxiety., Psychological review, 2012, Vol. 119 2. <a href="#fnref9">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn10">
<p>Forte 2022, 90 <a href="#fnref10">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn11">
<p>Forte 2022, 91 <a href="#fnref11">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn12">
<p>Forte 2022, 91 <a href="#fnref12">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn13">
<p>Forte 2022, 94 <a href="#fnref13">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn14">
<p>Forte 2022, 90 <a href="#fnref14">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn15">
<p>Forte 2022, 94 <a href="#fnref15">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn16">
<p>Forte 2022, 94 <a href="#fnref16">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn17">
<p>Forte 2022, 94 <a href="#fnref17">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn18">
<p>Forte 2022, 94 <a href="#fnref18">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn19">
<p>Forte 2022, 94 <a href="#fnref19">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn20">
<p>Forte 2022, 90 <a href="#fnref20">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn21">
<p>Forte 2022, 95 <a href="#fnref21">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn22">
<p>Forte 2022, 86 ff., 102, 103/104 <a href="#fnref22">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn23">
<p>Forte 2022, 102 <a href="#fnref23">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn24">
<p>Forte 2022, 102 <a href="#fnref24">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn25">
<p>Forte 2022, 102 <a href="#fnref25">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn26">
<p>Forte 2022, 102 <a href="#fnref26">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn27">
<p>Forte 2022, 102 <a href="#fnref27">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn28">
<p>Forte 2022, 120 <a href="#fnref28">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn29">
<p>Forte 2022, 140 <a href="#fnref29">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn30">
<p>Forte 2022, 151ff <a href="#fnref30">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn31">
<p>Forte 2022, 201 <a href="#fnref31">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn32">
<p>Forte 2022, 203/204 <a href="#fnref32">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn33">
<p>Forte 2022, 204 <a href="#fnref33">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn34">
<p>Forte 2022, 204 <a href="#fnref34">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn35">
<p>Forte 2022, 204 <a href="#fnref35">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn36">
<p>Forte 2022, 205 <a href="#fnref36">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn37">
<p>Forte 2022, 206 <a href="#fnref37">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn38">
<p>Forte 2022, 208 <a href="#fnref38">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn39">
<p>Forte 2022, 208/209 <a href="#fnref39">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn40">
<p>Forte 2022, 209 <a href="#fnref40">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn41">
<p>Forte 2022, 210 <a href="#fnref41">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn42">
<p>Forte 2022, 212 <a href="#fnref42">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn43">
<p>Forte 2022, 213 <a href="#fnref43">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn44">
<p>Forte 2022, 213 <a href="#fnref44">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn45">
<p>Forte 2022, 213 <a href="#fnref45">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn46">
<p>Forte 2022, 214 <a href="#fnref46">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn47">
<p>Forte 2022, 215 <a href="#fnref47">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn48">
<p>Forte 2022, 216 <a href="#fnref48">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn49">
<p>Forte 2022, 216 <a href="#fnref49">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn50">
<p>Forte 2022, 216/217 <a href="#fnref50">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn51">
<p>Forte 2022, 217 <a href="#fnref51">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn52">
<p>Forte 2022, 140 <a href="#fnref52">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn53">
<p>You can guess if I’m more of a dog person or a cat person. :) <a href="#fnref53">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn54">
<p>Forte 2022, 212 <a href="#fnref54">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn55">
<p>Forte 2022, 108 <a href="#fnref55">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn56">
<p>Forte 2022, 104 <a href="#fnref56">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn57">
<p>Forte 2022, 104 <a href="#fnref57">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn58">
<p>Feynmanian Clarity is reached when you can explain a concept fluently. To me, it is the stop criterion for the <a href="https://todoist.com/de/inspiration/feynman-technique">Feynman Technique</a>. <a href="#fnref58">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn59">
<p>Forte 2022, 158ff <a href="#fnref59">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn60">
<p>Affiliate link. <a href="#fnref60">↩</a></p>
</li>
</ol>
</div>
This article is structured in two parts. First, I summarize the <i>Building a Second Brain</i> (BASB) method by Tiago Forte. Then, I will compare it to the Zettelkasten Method (ZKM). I will first discuss the differences, because they can help to understand BASB and the ZKM more deeply. Then I will explain how to reconcile BASB and the ZKM. Spoiler: they can be combined perfectly. I have made some changes in my own way of working. I will include these as examples at the end.tag:zettelkasten.de,2023-05-17:/posts/images-in-the-archive/The Archive: Introducing Image Import for Your Plain Text Notes2023-05-17T17:10:39Z2023-05-17T17:10:39Z<p>We’re excited to announce that <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/the-archive">The Archive</a> now supports image import, making it easier than ever to add visuals to your notes.</p>
<p>Check out <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEIUXEhz4VE">this video</a> to see our new image management features in action:</p>
<figure class="post-figure youtube"><div class="video-container"><iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/HEIUXEhz4VE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div></figure>
<p>With these updates, you can now:</p>
<ul>
<li>Drag and drop image files</li>
<li>Add screenshots</li>
<li>Copy images from the web</li>
<li>Paste pieces of images from graphics programs directly into your notes</li>
</ul>
<p>The Archive is designed to smartly manage your images, so you can easily reuse them in multiple notes without hassle. And with simple tools for copying links to managed image files and renaming images within your notes, you can streamline your workflow and make adding images a breeze.</p>
<p>Ready to try out our new image import features? Download the latest version of The Archive now at <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/the-archive">https://zettelkasten.de/the-archive</a>.</p>
<p>We can’t wait to see how these new tools help you elevate your note-taking game!</p>
tag:zettelkasten.de,2023-05-03:/posts/athletic-training-zettelkasten-value/How to Improve Your Zettelkasten by Learning from Athletic Training2023-05-03T16:05:18Z2023-05-03T16:05:18Z<p><strong>The benefits of your Zettelkasten highly depend on the longevity of each note.</strong> Since the Zettelkasten as life-long companion and comrade in the battle for and against knowledge is a long-term endeavor, it is crucial that you create notes and structures that will last a long time. The minimum goal should be that they last a lifetime, so they are optimally designed for yourself. Ideally, they last forever, so future generations can benefit from your work as well.</p>
<p>One of the major benefits of the Zettelkasten is that you can transcend time to a degree. You can connect your current ideas with thoughts that you have had or read about 20 years ago.</p>
<p>Luhmann himself wrote:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Das Problem des Lesens wissenschaftlicher Texte scheint darin zu liegen, daß man hier nicht ein Kurzzeitgedächtnis, sondern ein Langzeitgedächtnis braucht, um Bezugspunkte für die Unterscheidung des Wesentlichen vom Unwesentlichen und des Neuen vom bloß Wiederholten zu gewinnen. <sup id="fnref1"><a href="#fn1">1</a></sup></p>
</blockquote>
<!--(separator of blockquotes)-->
<blockquote>
<p>The challenge of reading scientific literature is that you need a good long-term memory to distinguish the important from the unimportant and the new from the repeated.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The presupposition for transcending time is that you write notes and make connections that are understandable for the rest of your life at minimum, and optimally for other people as well if you want to share your ideas. <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/how-to-write-notes-you-can-understand/">So I wrote an essay on how to achieve this in 2015</a>. However, I didn’t have the coaching experience that I have today. When @Carriolan asked a question, I came up with a better explanation:</p>
<h2 id="practice-general-and-specific-skills-like-an-athlete-does">Practice General and Specific Skills Like an Athlete Does</h2>
<figure class="post-figure "><a href="/posts/athletic-training-zettelkasten-value/dog-jump.jpg"><img alt="" src="/posts/athletic-training-zettelkasten-value/dog-jump.jpg" class="post-figure__image"></a><figcaption class="post-figure__caption">Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/romuald_ga%C5%82%C4%99cki-829083/">Romuald Gałęcki</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com/">Pixabay</a></figcaption></figure>
<blockquote>
<p>@Carriolan said:
[T]he body of a Zettel should be structured / segmented, so that new ideas may be refactored to either existing notes or new notes without the necessity of rewriting the original note. […]</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This is a correct summary of my position. But how do you achieve this? The short answer is:</p>
<p><strong>How to achieve this is not part of the Zettelkasten Method itself. Rather, it is a byproduct of having a coherent model of the type of content you produce and adhering to it (updating is necessary).</strong></p>
<p>In the essay of 2015, I came up with an example of how I structure notes that are about hormones: The structure is guided by a metamodel. The metamodel is the Stock-Flow-Model I took from Donella Meadows’ awesome book <em>Thinking in Systems</em>. If I had no access to the metamodel, no experience in learning and thinking about hormones and signaling within the body (I even expect to make some mistakes leaving the coarse realm of hormones and diving more into the fine realm of intracellular signaling) and if I had little or no experience in learning something pretty unfamiliar, I wouldn’t have been able to come up with a note structure that is robust against time (and therefore new information).</p>
<p>Being able to produce robust note structures and connections is based on your personal skill in coming up with robust models and/or metamodels that are useful to the domain of the knowledge at hand.</p>
<p>So there are two components that together make up the skill of writing notes that stand the test of time (and therefore new information):</p>
<ol>
<li>Your access to robust models for the domain at hand.</li>
<li>Your skill and knowledge of the Zettelkasten Method.</li>
</ol>
<p>In some way, it is easier to learn the Zettelkasten Method as a student writing a seminar paper than being an expert with established but mostly intuitive and idiosyncratic workflows.</p>
<p>A student’s major obstacle is that they have to learn both the domain-specific skills and the Zettelkasten Method. From my experience, though, it is easier to build something from the ground up than being an expert who is unconscious of his own skills. It is easier to deal with the known unknown than with the unknown known.</p>
<p>Additionally, a major learning resistance of experts against the Zettelkasten Method stems from the necessity to change something that feels trust-worthy. This is a perfectly reasonable resistance since the risk of wasting time and effort on something from which you <em>potentially</em> benefit is real. Why should you risk missing deadlines, putting time and effort into re-learning what already seems to be working fine or even exceptionally well?<sup id="fnref2"><a href="#fn2">2</a></sup></p>
<p>If you put the Zettelkasten Method as a highly general tool for knowledge work on one side, and specialised techniques of problem-solving and thinking on the other, you can compare this dichotomy to athletic training.</p>
<p>In athletic training, this dichotomy is captured by the model of training specificity: If you want to box or perform as a linebacker in football, you need to train this specific action if you want to get the most bang for your buck. That means that you imitate what you are doing in competition as closely as possible (while at the same time being as safe as possible. Don’t go all out on each other in training!). On the other side of the spectrum, there are general training modes like running or cycling for endurance, weight lifting for strength and more. It seems to be optimal to do both, specific and general training. But why?</p>
<p>One of the major reasons is that you can build a higher pyramid if you make the base of the pyramid wider. The base of the athletic pyramid is in part composed of the optimal amount of muscle. If you are an athlete, your sport is not the optimal way to build muscle, for example. Weight training is way better. So by adding weight lifting to your routine, you can build your base. With bigger glutes and legs, most of the time you will be able to sprint more explosively, and with a thicker neck you reduce your risk of injury.</p>
<figure class="post-figure "><a href="/posts/athletic-training-zettelkasten-value/2023-02-18_pyramide-grafik.png"><img alt="" src="/posts/athletic-training-zettelkasten-value/2023-02-18_pyramide-grafik.png" class="post-figure__image"></a><figcaption class="post-figure__caption">Training for general physical fitness vs training for Specific Physical Preparedness</figcaption></figure>
<p>You can think of the Zettelkasten Method as the base of your pyramid as a thinker and/or writer. To become a better thinker and/or writer, you need to push yourself in the specific domains you’d like to improve. It might be a shock to you but the Zettelkasten Method won’t improve your ability to analyse a genome, or to create a more appealing exposition of your fantasy world. However, it allows you to transcend time when you access the ideas you thought about during your lifetime. It offers possible connections between ideas. It offers the opportunity to improve your understanding of an idea through reformulative writing.</p>
<h2 id="what-is-the-verdict-then">What is the verdict then?</h2>
<p>Understand the mechanisms that make a note robust. Like an athlete who needs to connect the benefits of general and specific training to optimise his abilities and success, you need to optimise general aspects of your work, like deliberately designing good notes for your Zettelkasten, and specific aspects of your domain, to optimise your Zettelkasten for your own needs.</p>
<p>That includes deliberately investing time and effort to become conscious of what you are doing intuitively. Sometimes, it even requires trust that you will need to make short-term sacrifices for the long-term benefit. But using the present to make a gift to your future self is the only rational way forward. So, you have no (good) choice anyhow.</p>
<hr>
<p><strong>Christian’s Comment:</strong> I noticed a lot of friction in my daily practice after a couple of years with my Zettelkasten: whenever I was building up more and more content on a topic, eventually I found that the sheer mass of it made the department in my Zettelkasten hard to use. Investing time into the Zettelkasten Method, not just the contents of the Zettelkasten, improved things: I tried different types of overviews, and by comparing my stuff with Sascha’s, who has totally different problem domains, began to adopt other tools he came up with – what we would eventually call “structure notes” here on the blog. These improvements don’t just happen. In the words of Stephen Covey: I needed to sharpen my saw.</p>
<div class="footnotes">
<hr>
<ol>
<li id="fn1">
<p>Niklas Luhmann (2008): Lesen Lernen, in: Schriften zu Kunst und Literatur, Suhrkamp. <a href="#fnref1">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn2">
<p>Tim Ludwig, a client of mine, brought up this point. If you are a physicist in the academic realm, you cannot risk to fall behind the Darwinian publish or perish fight for survival. I credit him to be aware of the need to lower the time and effort invested to start a Zettelkasten. (This includes recommendations of how to plan a week, fitting the Zettelkasten Work in such a manner that even ending up not using the Zettelkasten is an acceptable outcome.) <a href="#fnref2">↩</a></p>
</li>
</ol>
</div>
tag:zettelkasten.de,2023-04-18:/posts/why-single-note-matters/Why the Single Note Matters2023-04-18T07:30:18Z2023-04-18T07:30:18Z<p>A while ago, I offered free feedback on individual notes to seven people. I did this to showcase the importance of putting effort into individual notes.</p>
<p><em>The ability to write a good single note is one of the main pillars of the Zettelkasten Method.</em> In fact, it is a skill that is universally needed and independent of the Zettelkasten Method.</p>
<figure class="post-figure "><a href="/posts/why-single-note-matters/2023-03-24_schmied2.png"><img alt="close up macro shot of a blacksmith pulling (a single+ white+ paper card)++ out of a huge forge fire, epic fire lighting, (unharmed paper)1.2, cinematic, very dark background, dimly lit, overblown, cinematic, (two tone lighting)+, paper detail [hands, humans, body, eye contact, holding tools, poorly drawn, blurry, flowers, human, man, woman, wrong anatomy, missing limbs, ugly, missing fingers, (deformed, distorted, disfigured)1.3, poorly drawn, bad anatomy, wrong anatomy, extra limb, missing limb, floating limbs, (mutated hands and fingers:1.4), disconnected limbs, mutation, mutated, ugly, disgusting, blurry, amputation, cropped head, missing limbs, multiple people, multiple sheets of paper, curled, cropped paper]" src="/posts/why-single-note-matters/2023-03-24_schmied2.png" class="post-figure__image"></a><figcaption class="post-figure__caption">Image generated with Stable Diffusion of a smithy for Zettel</figcaption></figure>
<h2 id="most-people-miss-the-opportunity-to-explore-inwards">Most People Miss the Opportunity to Explore Inwards</h2>
<p>If you adhere to the <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/create-zettel-from-reading-notes/">principle of atomicity</a>, you aim to map one idea with one note in your Zettelkasten. To achieve this, you need to go in two directions:</p>
<p><strong>Outwards.</strong> That means that you try to draw a boundary between the idea of the note and other ideas. If you complete this task correctly, you have isolated the idea successfully.</p>
<p><strong>Inwards.</strong> That means that you explore the idea itself. Luhmann wrote that one of the advantages of his system is the “free <em>internal</em> branching”.<sup id="fnref1"><a href="#fn1">1</a></sup></p>
<p>The digital Zettelkasten, freed from physical limitations, offers a unique feature: You can flesh out ideas, look at them from different directions, apply different ways of analysis, and use theoretically infinite methods to explore the idea <em>on a single note</em>. As a result, the note grows in size, but then you can refactor it. You refactor the note, move the grown components as new ideas into new notes and make the parent note about the relationship between the new notes.</p>
<p>This is one of the major ways how the organic, bottom-up style of linking <em>within</em> the Zettelkasten happens. It is the byproduct of learning deeply and externalize your thoughts while you are learning. If you don’t get organic, bottom-up style linking, chances are that you don’t put much effort into learning about the idea at hand.</p>
<h2 id="learning-the-method-depends-on-mastering-the-material">Learning the Method Depends on Mastering the Material</h2>
<p>I not only comment on the actual technicalities of the Zettelkasten Method like tagging conventions when I give feedback on notes, I also include feedback on how learning works, and the actual content of the note. The reason is that it is not possible to divorce the content of the note from the method since the development of the note is identical to the development of one’s thought. I <em>have</em> to be aware of both layers, and you should, too.</p>
<p>Surprisingly frequently, people shoot themselves in the foot when they are not diligent when it comes to the content. <em>How can you decide on a good title when you don’t have a good grasp of the content?</em></p>
<p>There is a two-step compression of the content built into the Zettelkasten Method: The one-sentence-summary compresses the summary to one sentence (or two). The title is a further compression of the content into a few words. Working on the one-sentence summary and the title is an act of learning itself. You cannot get any understanding of the Method without real content. See this video for further explanations: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owAryJtC2n0">How to write good titles for your Zettelkasten</a></p>
<figure class="post-figure "><a href="/posts/why-single-note-matters/2020-11-20-zettel-titel-zusammenfassung_en.png"><img alt="" src="/posts/why-single-note-matters/2020-11-20-zettel-titel-zusammenfassung_en.png" class="post-figure__image"></a><figcaption class="post-figure__caption">Compression of content in a note</figcaption></figure>
<p>So I often encourage people to develop the content of the note when I give feedback on notes. You cannot take a note just for the sake of taking a note. You need to express your respect for the content.</p>
<p>If a person decides to put effort into the development of a note, my feedback aimed at note-taking results in a learning experience that goes beyond the method. It is not only that I enjoy witnessing the process of somebody developing an idea and deepening his or her understanding. The more you grow your Zettelkasten, the more it can provide you with that feedback. My feedback functions as a temporary surrogate for the learner’s general knowledge development skill.</p>
<h2 id="the-verdict">The Verdict</h2>
<p>Take each note seriously and develop the skill of unfolding a single thought on an external medium like paper or a screen. Doing this, your Zettelkasten becomes a training device for your mind. Often people miss out on this step during the pursuit of efficiency, or just fall into the trap that their knowledge system only can <em>manage</em> their knowledge instead of being a true companion.</p>
<p>See these forum threads for both the notes and my feedback:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/2227/thinking-in-built-spaces">Thinking in Built Spaces</a></li>
<li><a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/2259/connection-discovery-through-the-stream-of-thought">Connection Discovery Through the Stream of Throught</a></li>
<li><a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/2245/trajectory-of-acquisition">Trajectory of Acquisition</a></li>
<li><a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/2241/the-ratio-of-our-intellects">The Ratio of Our Intellects</a></li>
<li><a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/2240/align-usefulness-and-relevancy-to-move-forward">Align Usefulness and Relevancy to Move Forward</a></li>
<li><a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/2230/on-believing-and-either-deceiving-ourselves-or-seeing-truth">On Believing and Either Deceiving Ourselves or Seeing Truth</a></li>
<li><a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/2242/the-wizard-s-mistake">The Wizard’s Mistake</a></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<p><strong>Christian’s Comment:</strong> Why the single note matters for a programmer Zettelkasten can be summarized with the quip “garbage in, garbage out”: You can’t expect to reap amazing insights when you don’t take care and invest into every single one of your Zettel.</p>
<div class="footnotes">
<hr>
<ol>
<li id="fn1">
<p>Niklas Luhmann (1993): Kommunikation mit Zettelkästen, in: Universität als Milieu, Bielefeld: Haux. <a href="#fnref1">↩</a></p>
</li>
</ol>
</div>
tag:zettelkasten.de,2023-04-05:/communications-with-zettelkastens/Improved Translation of “Communications with Zettelkastens”2023-04-05T11:01:14Z2023-04-05T11:01:14Z<p><strong>Disclaimer:</strong> The original article by Luhmann is charged with his unique concepts that he developed for his social systems theory and a laconic German that is typical to the north of Germany. This is a strange challenge for any translator since you want to be faithful to the original, but at the same time there is a need similar to transposition in music: Transposition means that you lift <em>everything</em> up a pitch. I’d like to show you a translation of a paragraph that highlights the issue of translation itself:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>French is a fine park, Italian a big, bright, colorful wood. But German is almost a primeval forest, so dense and mysterious, so without a passage and yet with a thousand paths. You can’t get lost in a park, and not so easily and dangerously in the bright Italian wood; but in the German jungle, within four, five minutes, you can go missing. Because the path seems so difficult, many try to march through as straight as possible, which violates the nature of this language. It surely wants a main direction but invites deviating from to the left and to the right by its hundred paths and pathlets, and shortly back to it.<sup id="fnref1"><a href="#fn1">1</a></sup> (My translation)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Take the German word “selbstbewusst”. It has the same origin as the English “self-conscious”. But the meaning is the opposite. In German, it is connoted with having a strong self-esteem. In English, it is connoted with having low self-esteem. Think back to the metaphor of music: A note does not have a mood. The mood is in the relationship to other notes. But it feels as if the note itself has mood.</p>
<p>There are nine pending explanations of specific terms Luhmann used (e.g., “communicative relationing of relations”). Luhmann seemed to have fallen into the habit of talking in terms that can only be properly understood if you are familiar with his work. The late Wittgenstein would be either happy or sad, depending on whether he talked to Luhmann or about Luhmann. So if a section seems rather opaque or even bizarre to you, ask in the forum, and perhaps it will trigger a pending explanation. But don’t count on fast reaction times since I am taking a break from Luhmann because of a Luhmannian overdose.</p>
<hr>
<h2>Niklas Luhmann: Communication with Zettelkastens. An experiential report.</h2>
<h3>I.</h3>
<p>This text is an empirical work in the domain of social science. It concerns me and someone else: My Zettelkasten. It is clear that in this case the normal methods of empirical social science fail. It is nevertheless empirical because it concerns a real research object. And it is research because you can, I hope at least, generalise from it; even though one of the participants, no: both participants, apply the generalisation to themselves.</p>
<p>We need problems, concepts and, when possible, theories to conduct research that can be generalised to other cases. We (me and my Zettelkasten) obviously tend to think of systems theory. But as the framework for this presentation we choose communication theory, because nobody will be surprised that we think of ourselves as systems. But communication, or even successful communication? One of us listening to the other? That needs an explanation.</p>
<p>Zettelkastens can be recommended as communication partners because of the technical-economic problem of doing science. Without writing, you cannot think; at least not in a sophisticated and scientific way. You have to highlight differences somehow and record distinctions either explicitly or embedded in concepts; only the hereby secured consistency of the schema that produces information guarantees the coherence of the subsequent information processing. If you have to write anyway, it is pragmatic to exploit this activity by creating a system of notes that can act as a competent communication partner.</p>
<p>It is an obligatory condition for communication that both partners can surprise each other. Only in that way can information be created in the respective other. Information is an event that happens inside the system. Information is created when a message, an entry [of a note], is compared with other possibilities. Therefore, information is only created in systems that possess a comparison schema (even when this schema is merely: “this or something else”). For communication to be possible, it is not required that both communication partners have the same comparison schema; the level of surprise even increases when this is not the case, and when you consider it to be a coincidence that a message is meaningful or even useful against a background of other possibilities. Put differently: the variety in the communicating system increases if it can happen that both partners communicate successfully (meaning: useful for one communication partner) in spite of their different comparison schemas. This requires randomness to be built into the system. “Randomness” means: It is not guaranteed that the comparison schemata match or that the information that is transmitted by the communication<sup id="fnref2"><a href="#fn2">2</a></sup> are accurate, but that information is created through the interaction of both partners.</p>
<p>There are two ways for a communication system to maintain its integrity over long periods of time: you need to decide for either highly technical specialisation, or for a setup that incorporates coincidence and <em>ad hoc</em> generated information. Translated to note collections: you can choose a setup categorized by topics, or an open one. We chose the latter and, after 26 successful years with only occasionally difficult teamwork, we can report that this way is successful – or at least possible.</p>
<p>Naturally, a setup of a communicating system that is meant to be enduring, open, and not topically restricted (it is restricted by itself) needs to adhere to certain structural requirements. Given the still high trust in human capabilities we may trust us humans to meet those requirements. But what about the Zettelkasten? How should the Zettelkasten be designed to make it capable of communication?<sup id="fnref3"><a href="#fn3">3</a></sup></p>
<p>It is not possible to answer this question by deducting the best choice from reviewing all the possibilities. We remain on experiential ground and just provide a theory-infused description.</p>
<h3>II.</h3>
<p>The equipment for the Zettelkasten consists of wooden boxes with drawers that open to the front, and DIN A6 paper slips. You should only write on the front side of the paper slips, so it is possible to read the note during searches without the need to take it out. It is true that this doubles the space needed (not entirely, since not all paper slips would have been written on the back anyway) which could be problematic because after decades of using the Zettelkasten it might become impossible to access it from your place at the desk. To mitigate this issue, it is recommended to use normal (thin) paper instead of (thick) index cards.</p>
<p>However, the external form just has an effect on convenience and not the power of the Zettelkasten. The inner workings, the arrangement of the notes, the mind of the Zettelkasten depend on a decision not to order notes by topics and subtopics, and instead choose an order with fixed placement. A content-based system (like a book’s table of contents) would mean that you would have to adhere to a single structure forever (decades in advance!). If you assume that this communication system and oneself can evolve, this will necessarily result in unsolvable problems where to place a note. The fixed-place orderdering doesn’t require topical ordering. It is enough to assign a number to each note, place it so that it’s easy to see (top left for us), and never change it, and thus never change the note’s place. This structural decision is exactly that reduction of complexity of possible arrangements that unlocks the creation of high complexity within the Zettelkasten and thus creates its ability to communicate in the first place.</p>
<p>The fixed-place numbering, abstracted from any content ordering, has several advantages that together enable a higher kind of order. Those advantages are:</p>
<p>(1) <em>Free internal branching.</em> You don’t need to add notes at the end, but you can connect them anywhere, even to single words within a text. A note with the number 57/12 can be continued with 57/13, but it could also be complemented from a word or a thought with 57/12a, which in turn could be continued with 57/12b etc.; to which in turn 57/12a1 could be attached. In the note itself, I use red letters or numbers to mark the place of connection. There can be multiple possible connections on each note. This enables internal growth of the system without systematic pre-programming and without depending on sequential linearity. The downside is that the original running text may often be interrupted by hundreds of in-between notes; yet, you can easily recover the original context if you are methodological with the numbering.</p>
<p>(2) <em>Opportunity to connect.</em> Because all notes have a fixed number, you can create as many references on each note as you want. Central concepts could be laden with a lot of references that indicate in which other contexts related information can be found. References allow solving the “multiple storage problem” without significant investment of labor or paper. With this technique it is not important<sup id="fnref4"><a href="#fn4">4</a></sup> where you place a new note. When there are multiple options you can solve the problem by placing the note wherever you want and create references to capture other possible contexts. Often, the situation in which you decide to take a note suggests numerous connections to already existing notes, especially when the Zettelkasten is large. It is important, then, to capture those connections both radially and with cross-references to attractors. This step of the process also enriches the content of what you take note of.</p>
<p>(3) <em>Register.</em> Considering that there is no topical order, you have to put a search mechanism in place because you cannot rely on your numerical memory. (Alternating numbers and letters helps the memory and may be an optical aid when searching notes, but is of course not enough). It is therefore necessary to maintain a keyword index. Also for this, the numbering of the note is essential. You can connect a parallel tool with your literature management system. Bibliographical notes that you extract from literature should be captured inside the Zettelkasten. Books, articles, etc. that you actually have read should each get individual notes that belong in a separate section and that contain the bibliographical information. This allows you in the longer run to distinguish what source you have actually read and what source you have just collected for later use. The bibliographical notes also allow you to add references to the notes that are based on these sources, or that were inspired by them. This will prove useful because your own memory – others will have a similar experience to mine – works in part with keywords and in part with author names.</p>
<p>The result of working with this technique for a long time is a kind of second memory, an alter ego with which you can always communicate. It has, similar to our own memory, no pre-planned comprehensive order, no hierarchy, and surely no linear structure like a book. And by that very fact, it is alive independently of its author. The entire note collection can only be described as a mess, but at least it is a mess with a non-arbitrary internal structure.<sup id="fnref5"><a href="#fn5">5</a></sup> Something will seep away. Some notes you will never see again. On the other hand, there are preferred hubs, cluster formations, and parts with which you work more often than with others. There will be large projected idea complexes that are never realised; and there are minor ideas that enrich themselves and accumulate; starting at a subsidiary part of the text,<sup id="fnref6"><a href="#fn6">6</a></sup> and tending to dominate the system. To summarise: this technique ensures that the order – which is just <em>pro forma</em> – does not become a mental straightjacket, but adapts itself to the thought development.</p>
<p>Knowledge theory has given up the assumption of “privileged concepts” that function as axiomatic foundations to control the logical value of other concepts or propositions.<sup id="fnref7"><a href="#fn7">7</a></sup> Similarly, you must give up the assumption that there are privileged places, notes of special and knowledge-ensuring quality. Each note is just an element that gets its value from being a part of a network of references and cross-references in the system. A note that is not connected to this network will get lost in the Zettelkasten, and will be forgotten by the Zettelkasten. Its rediscovery depends on chance, and also on it coincidentally being meaningful at the moment of finding it back.</p>
<h3>III.</h3>
<p>If you want to raise a communication partner, it is beneficial to equip it with independence from the start. A Zettelkasten that is constructed based on our instructions can achieve high independence. There may be other ways to achieve this goal. The described reduction to a fixed-placement (but merely formal) order, and the corresponding combination of order and disorder, is at least one of them.</p>
<p>Naturally, independence presupposes a minimal amount of intrinsic complexity. The Zettelkasten needs a couple of years to reach critical mass. Until then, it is merely a container from which you get what you put in. This changes with increasing size and complexity. The number of entry points and ways to query increases. It becomes a universal instrument. You can store nearly everything, and not merely ad hoc and in isolation, but with the possibility of internal connections. It becomes a sensitive system that internally reacts to many ideas, as long as you can note them down. You could ask, for example, why museums are empty while exhibitions of <em>Monet</em>, <em>Picasso</em>, <em>Medici</em> are overcrowded; the Zettelkasten accepts this question through the connection of “preference for what is limited in time”. Certainly, as this example tries to show, the internally available connections are selective. They lie in the realm of the non-obvious, because the system boundary between the note taker and the Zettelkasten has to be crossed. A new entry can also isolate itself – for example through a new keyword <em>Picasso</em> for the Picasso exhibition. However, if you try to communicate with your Zettelkasten you have to look for internal connection opportunities that result in something unexpected (i.e., information). You can try to generalise the experiences from Paris, Florence, New York via general concepts like “art” or “exhibition” or “crowding (interactionistic)” or “crowd” or “freedom” or “culture” and see whether the Zettelkasten reacts. It is usually most productive to search for problem statements that relate heterogeneous concepts to each other.</p>
<p>In any case, the communication is enriched if you succeed to activate the internal network of connections upon note entry and retrieval. Human memory also does not operate as the result of item-by-item accesses, but uses internal relationing and is only productive in the sphere of reduction of its own complexity.<sup id="fnref8"><a href="#fn8">8</a></sup> In this way – at this point in space and time and caused by the search impulse – more information becomes available than expected during the search query; and particularly more information than has ever been stored in the form of notes. The Zettelkasten provides combinatorial possibilities that were never planned, never pre-meditated, or never designed in this way. This innovation mechanism is on the one hand based on the search query’s ability to provoke relational possibilities that were never laid out; on the other hand, on meeting internal selection horizons and comparison opportunities that are not identical to its own search schema.</p>
<p>Compared to this structure that offers actualizable connection possibilities, the relevance of the actual content of the note subsides. Much of it quickly becomes useless or is unusable for a concrete occasion. That is true for both collected quotes, which are only worth collecting when they are exceptionally concise, and for your own thoughts. Scientific publications thus don’t emerge, at least from my experience, by copying the note content that was intended for publishing. The communication with the Zettelkasten becomes productive only on more abstract way, namely on the sphere of communicative relationing of relations. And it becomes productive only in the moment of evaluation, meaning time-bound and highly incidentally.</p>
<h3>IV.</h3>
<p>You might ask whether the results of such a communication, too, are just incidental products. However, that would be too quick a conjecture. In science, the role of randomness is controversial. But if you think in evolutionary models, randomness has a prominent role.<sup id="fnref9"><a href="#fn9">9</a></sup> Without it, nothing progresses anyhow. Without variation on given ideas, there are no possibilities of scrutiny and selection of innovations. Therefore, the actual challenge becomes generating incidents with sufficiently high chances of selection. We know from analyses of mutation processes in the realm of organic evolution that mutations are complex and finely regulated processes, and only have the stability that is necessary for selective success if they are subjected to pre-selection. They are incidents in the sense that they are not coordinated with the factors that select; but they are nevertheless conditioned by complex regulations themselves.</p>
<p>The allegory shouldn’t be overused; but you wouldn’t go wrong by assuming that in the social domain, and especially in scientific research, order also emerges from the combination of order and disorder.<sup id="fnref10"><a href="#fn10">10</a></sup> his specification of emergence does not negate scrutinization, it rather enables it. Contrary to the old distinction of emergence and validity, nowadays, we assume that it is both impossible and methodologically unsound to isolate these aspects; that is because the generation of random stimuli needs organisation, if only to match the requirements of speed, frequency and success rate posed in a dynamic society.</p>
<p>On this abstract level of communication that is related to the philosophy of science as well as towards empirical research, the Zettelkasten is surely just one of many possibilities. Incidents during reading play a role, and even misunderstandings caused by interdisciplinary thought processes. Last but not least, the traditional “unity of research and education” is a source of friction that generates incidents. We can confirm that communication with Zettelkastens, compared to other options, is a viable solution and has many advantages regarding information density, speed, and mutual amenability.</p>
<hr>
<h2>Comments on the Translation</h2>
<ul>
<li>The original is: Niklas Luhmann (1981): <em>Kommunikation mit Zettelkästen.</em> Ein Erfahrungsbericht, Opladen: Westdeutscher Verlag.</li>
<li>Manfred Kühn created the first translation. Many thanks for your service!</li>
<li>My priority is accessibility: If I had to make the decision between Luhmann’s specific writing style and understandability, I chose the latter.</li>
<li>German is in itself a technical and literal language. A telling example is the German word for “Nipple”: “Brustwarze” is directly translated to “breast wart”. So, keep that in mind if you want to express your love in German. Another example would be “Menschenauflauf” which is directly translated to “human casserole” but means “confluence” or even just “crowd”.</li>
<li>Luhmann had a very technical style of writing that sometimes is connected to his way of thinking and sometimes just an artifact of his unique style of speaking and writing. Luhmann spoke in a “ready to print”-way<sup id="fnref11"><a href="#fn11">11</a></sup>, which is often just the ability to avoid messing up complicated speech. I tried to distinguish both causes of his technical style and sometimes chose an easier to understand formulation if necessary.</li>
<li>In German, the indefinite pronoun “man” (as in: “Man kann das.”, literally: “One can do this.”) is used commonly, especially in more “introvert” context (dialects, people etc.). I sometimes opted to use “you” instead to enhance the readability since I feel that using ‘one’ felt awkward in English.</li>
<li>I decided to translate the German “Zettelkasten” as “Zettelkasten” since I consider this an established term.</li>
<li>I chose “Zettelkastens” as plural since the “ä” in “Zettelkästen” feels too foreign and too disrespectful towards the English language to inject.</li>
<li>“Zettel” is an ambiguous term. I decided to translate it into “paper slip” when Luhmann seems to refer to actual physical piece and “note” when he refers to the individual note in his Zettelkasten.</li>
<li>“Zufall” (~“chance”) can be translated as “randomness” or “coincidence”. I tried to choose the term that reflects the underlying tone of the sentences. Sometimes it is not just about the randomness in itself but the slightly positively connoted “coincidence”. I like to imagine that Bob Ross lends his voice to point to the “happy accidents” that happen while working with Zettelkastens.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Special Thanks</h2>
<p>Thank you, <a href="https://pqnelson.github.io/">Alex Nelson</a>, for your helpful comments!</p>
<div class="footnotes">
<hr>
<ol>
<li id="fn1">
<p>Ludwig Reiners (1967 (Erstausgabe: 1943)): Stilkunst. Ein Lehrbuch deutscher Prosa, München: C.H.Beck. p. 21 <a href="#fnref1">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn2">
<p>The German is as clunky as the English translation. Look up the explanation on Luhmann’s concept of information for the reason. <a href="#fnref2">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn3">
<p>The original says: “kommunikative Kompetenz” which translates directly to “communicative competence” or “communication skills”. The main point is <em>that</em> the Zettelkasten can communicate. <a href="#fnref3">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn4">
<p>The original says: “Bei dieser Technik ist es weniger wichtig, wo eine neue Notiz eingeordnet wird.” Direct translation: “With this technique it is <em>less important</em> where you place a new note.” In German, there is often a paradox phrasing in which you soften the firmness of your statement but actually mean to make a firm statement. It is neither humbleness nor a conscious softening of the statement. It’s rather a layer of typical German politeness which is perfected in Swiss German. <a href="#fnref4">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn5">
<p>[Original footnote:] A fitting comparison would be a garbage can that also served as a model for organisations. Cf. *Michael D. Cohen / James G. March / Johan P. Olsen, * A Garbage Can Model of Organizational Choice, Administrative Science Quarterly 17 (1972), pp. 1–25. <a href="#fnref5">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn6">
<p>Luhmann seems to speak about his Zettelkasten as if it was one big text. <a href="#fnref6">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn7">
<p>[Original footnote:] Cf. <em>Richard Rorty</em>, Der Spiegel der Natur: Eine Kritik der Philosophie, dt. Übers. Frankfurt 1981, p.185 ff. [Comment by Sascha: <em>Richard Rorty</em>, Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature, 1979] <a href="#fnref7">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn8">
<p>[Original footnote:] Cf. <em>W. Ross Ashby</em>, The Place of the Brain in the Natural World, Biosystems 1 (1967), pp. 95–104, especially and also with regard to the inadequacy of computer technology in this respect in particular. <a href="#fnref8">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn9">
<p>[Original footnote:] Cf. e.g. <em>Donald W. Campbell</em>, Variation and Selective Retention in Socio-Cultural Evolution, General Systems 14 (1969), pp. 60–85; id., Evolutionary Epistemology, in: <em>Paul Arthur Schilpp</em> (Ed.), The Philosophy of Karl Popper, La Salle/Ill. 1974, Vol. 1, pp 412–463. <a href="#fnref9">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn10">
<p>[Original footnote:] A view that has become almost fashionable today. Cf. e.g. <em>Henri Atlan</em>, Du bruit comme principe d'auto-organisation, Communications 18 (1972), pp. 21-36; <em>Anthony Wilden</em>, L'écriture et le bruit dans la morphogenèse du système ouvert. Communications 18 (1972), pp. 48-71. My Zettelkasten returns under the number 21/13d26g104,1 the references: self-reference, noise, morphogenesis/self-organization, system/environment, evolution (variation), difference. <a href="#fnref10">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn11">
<p>Niklas Luhmann (2009): <em>Einführung in die Systemtheorie</em>, Heidelberg: Carl-Auer Verlag, p. 7. <a href="#fnref11">↩</a></p>
</li>
</ol>
</div>
tag:zettelkasten.de,2023-03-02:/posts/little-machines/Little Machines in Your Zettelkasten2023-03-02T07:35:03Z2023-03-02T07:35:03Z<p>A basic description of a Zettelkasten could be that it is just a hypertext of your notes. But this definition falls short of the intended goal to create a tool that assists your thinking.</p>
<p>Technically, an interconnected quote collection could be a tool to assist your thinking and it would meet the above definition of a Zettelkasten: It is a hypertext of your notes (which consists of just quotes in this example). But it violates the spirit of what a Zettelkasten is. An interconnected quote collection does not express the full potential of the Zettelkasten Method since your past self could have created vastly more value for your current self. It is up to you how much you want to invest in your future self.</p>
<figure class="post-figure "><a href="/posts/little-machines/clockwork.jpg"><img alt="" src="/posts/little-machines/clockwork.jpg" class="post-figure__image"></a><figcaption class="post-figure__caption">Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/wir_sind_klein-6630807/">Wilfried Pohnke</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com/">Pixabay</a></figcaption></figure>
<p>When I engage with my Zettelkasten, I find interconnected quote collections, excerpts, half-finished manuscripts, atomic notes, vast networks that explore ideas in depth and much more.</p>
<p>In the article <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/use-case-investing-zettelkasten-method/">Use Case: Investing with the Zettelkasten Method</a>, I demonstrated that a Structure Note does not follow the form of a table of contents. It could be just an ordinary table. My goal was to break up some dogmatic thinking. Structure Notes seem to be imagined as if a table of contents (TOC) is the only <em>structure</em> that governs the Structure Notes. But <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/use-case-investing-zettelkasten-method/">any structure</a> that has parts and connections between items of knowledge can be used to give form to a Structure Note. A TOC is just the most common way to give some hierarchical structure to content. But a Structure Note can make use of a TOC form, a normal table, a mind map, a flow diagram, a straight list, or even a picture.</p>
<p>Choosing a good form as Structure Note is just another tool in the toolbox. Everything I discussed up to this point is about means to achieve a goal. So what is the goal, you might ask. But this is a question I cannot answer.</p>
<p>Sometimes, there are common goals. If you are a fiction writer, a template for a character sheet can be shared between writers (and should be adapted individually) since the goal is pretty straight-forward: Create a virtual representation (paper-based or digital) of a fictional, semi-fictional, or real person.</p>
<p>But even in that case there is a vast variety of approaches to creating characters. Some writers like to be very meticulous with each trait of their characters. They write complete fictional biographies and study their characters like a forensic psychologist would. Other like a more informal approach and would feel their creativity is suppressed by formality like that. So the tools need to be highly individualised. Sometimes. Sometimes, the writer should change and adapt to the better tool. Some writers become better by rejecting their natural inclinations.</p>
<p>I am a perfect example for that: If you read my <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Five_personality_traits">Big Five</a> personality trait profile, you’d be surprised that I really like to write fiction and engage in imaginative and creative processes. I am quite orderly (71st percentile) which can hinder creativity because it requires a degree of chaos and disorder. I am very industrious (88th percentile) which makes me rather prone to methodological approaches. I am very high in intellect (96th percentile) but low in openness (32nd percentile) which indicates a mind that engages naturally with natural sciences and less with prose. That is reflected in the way I create fiction. To some artists it can be even off-putting, because when I talk about how I write fairy tales, it sounds too much like engineering to them.</p>
<p>That’s why I purposefully engage in more chaotic and less orderly methods to counter-balance my natural tendencies and enrich my writing. I force myself to be less of a blacksmith who forges mythologems together, and more of a painter who lets loose in the moment.</p>
<p>Why is this relevant for the Zettelkasten Method, you might ask? I created tools in my Zettelkasten as punching bags to train myself to be able to navigate more chaotically (“creatively”). One of the tools I created is a collection of semi-fictional characters which connects my engineering-type approach to writing to my tiny amount of chaotic creativity: When I see an interesting person, I write a character description in free form, using metaphorical language. I try to engage more with a feeling way of observing than with my usual analytical way. I collect these character descriptions in a dedicated Structure Note called “casuistic of character descriptions”. I keep one character description per note. But I connect them with other notes.</p>
<p>For example: I once was backstage in an opera (a friend of mine plays the clarinet in a big orchestra) and observed the conductor. He had a condition of a name I cannot remember. But during a piece he really let himself loose and used conducting as a form of self-therapy. So I gave in to the urge of just writing freely about the experience.</p>
<p>Later on, I connected this character description in prose with my systematic work the metaphors I used. I connected it to the metaphor of satanic possession, the metaphor of a war chariot, and my notes on how to use descriptions of gesture to illustrate different character traits.</p>
<p>With this setup, this little exercise resulted in several <em>tools</em>:</p>
<ol>
<li>A note that contains the short character description turned from being just that into a detailed example of various techniques in character description and metaphors.</li>
<li>A note that is part of a toolbox. The toolbox itself is a tool for giving options (Inception-esque, I know).</li>
<li>By thinking about the different parts, I generated metaphors as tools to draw on in later writing.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="examples-of-tools-in-my-zettelkasten">Examples of Tools in My Zettelkasten</h2>
<ul>
<li>A collection of mythologems that serve as a toolbox to create meaning for my fiction writing.</li>
<li>A <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/use-case-investing-zettelkasten-method/">tool to automate decision for investing in stock</a>.</li>
<li>A <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/zettelkasten-fiction-writing-part-3-tools-analysing-story">complex character sheet</a> that helps me to design characters <em>and</em> to incorporate the new ideas I generate while I am free-writing fiction.</li>
<li>A helper to plan my personal training and to design workout programs.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="understanding-the-difference-between-knowledge-management-and-the-zettelkasten-method">Understanding the Difference Between Knowledge <em>Management</em> and the Zettelkasten Method</h2>
<p>To really drive home this key difference, let me reiterate:</p>
<p>There is a superficial layer in dealing with knowledge and your tools to engage with it: Any time you think about connecting notes, placing tags and similar stuff, you are engaging with the superficial layer of knowledge. This layer is superficial because it is not even about the specific traits that distinguish information from knowledge, or even data. The same issues would pop up if you would try to create a sophisticated storage for quotes or pictures. This indicates a level or generality of those issues that can be explained by their superficial nature. Not that those issues aren’t important, but they should be solved quickly. Perhaps you could compare it to the very basic actions you take in your life to function. When you get up in the morning, you brush your teeth, take a shower, eat breakfast (or deliberately skip it to practice intermittent fasting), do some exercise etc. not as the pinnacle of your daily achievement, but as the foundation to be a functioning human being. The same is true for knowledge work. You don’t connect notes as the pinnacle achievement in dealing with knowledge (or at least should not, because it is an insult to your potential). You should go way deeper.</p>
<p>To make sure that you go as deep as you can, you should try to actually create something. Create (knowledge) tools you want to use. If you process a book, an article or whatever, ask yourself what tools you (or perhaps your clients) need. Then you marry the two concepts, <em>Depth of Processing</em> and <em>Value Creation</em>, properly. The depth is the necessary condition to create something valuable. You notice if you hit the threshold of proper depth of processing when you have created something of value.</p>
<p>From my experience, this is one of the most obvious, yet most difficult to explain and hard to learn principles of the Zettelkasten Method. Think of the “old” (hopefully considered to be outdated as soon as possible) methods of knowledge management or note-taking. They follow a system for years, then find themselves with these big piles information or knowledge. It should not be a surprise that by merely creating piles, one does not create much value. Some value, of course. But in the real world nobody would consider this step in chain of value production as enough.</p>
<hr>
<p><strong>Christian’s Comment:</strong> It’s a real struggle to find tools that just work, to adapt tools to one’s needs, and to counter-balance natural inclinations. I struggle against entombing myself in rigid structures, and I need to invite some chaos and life. It’s never pleasant in the process, but always a relief in hindsight. For example, this starts when I leave my comfort zone as a programmer and try a totally foreign programming language paradigm to solve the annual <em>Advent of Code</em> puzzles and thus, as Covey put it, “sharpen the saw”.</p>
tag:zettelkasten.de,2023-01-15:/posts/feynmans-darlings-become-brilliant/Feynman's Darlings -- Or: How Anyone Can Become Brilliant2023-01-15T18:48:26Z2023-01-15T18:48:26Z<p><strong>You can become brilliant. You just have to be smart and work hard.</strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p>You asked me if an ordinary person by studying hard would get be able to imagine these things like I imagine. Of course! I was an ordinary person who studied hard. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAX27XRHMH8">Source</a></p>
</blockquote>
<p>There is a good reason why Feynman is a legend that hardly anyone writes about: <strong>Feynman was a genius with a banal IQ of 125.</strong><sup id="fnref1"><a href="#fn1">1</a></sup> His brain, the hardware of his thinking, apparently did not have the makings of genius.</p>
<p>Feynman’s genius was not given, he worked hard for it. Feynman is a legend because he not only gives us ordinary people the hope of rising far above ourselves. He even gave us tools to make us more brilliant. Feynman emphasized hard work. But you have to acknowledge his cleverness.</p>
<figure class="post-figure "><a href="/posts/feynmans-darlings-become-brilliant/feynman.jpg"><img alt="" src="/posts/feynmans-darlings-become-brilliant/feynman.jpg" class="post-figure__image"></a><figcaption class="post-figure__caption">Source: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Richard_Feynman_1959.png">Wikimedia Commons</a>: 1959, The Big T (yearbook of California Institute of Technology)</figcaption></figure>
<p>What do I mean by cleverness? Cleverness is the wise use of the mind. The following anecdote beautifully illustrates the difference between intelligence and cleverness:</p>
<p>In the race to the moon, the U.S. and the Soviets discovered that their ballpoint pens did not write without gravity. The U.S. developed a $10 million ballpoint pen that could do it. The Soviets took pencils.<sup id="fnref2"><a href="#fn2">2</a></sup></p>
<p>Feynman didn’t just have a method of understanding, the now so-called <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/how-to-engage-both-sides-of-the-brain/#feynman-technique">Feynman Technique</a>. He had a clever system for increasing the probability of having brilliant ideas: The 12 favorite problems. Nassim Taleb would love this technique: It uses antifragility as a mechanism.</p>
<h2 id="what-is-the-method-of-the-12-favorite-problems">What is the method of the 12 favorite problems?</h2>
<p>This technique is another demonstration of Feynman’s genius. It is simple and efficient:</p>
<ol>
<li>Maintain a collection of 12 favorite problems.</li>
<li>Whenever you learn something new, check if it helps you with one of your 12 favorite problems.</li>
</ol>
<blockquote>
<p>Richard Feynman was fond of giving the following advice on how to be a genius. You have to keep a dozen of your favorite problems constantly present in your mind, although by and large they will lie in a dormant state. Every time you hear or read a new trick or a new result, test it against each of your twelve problems to see whether it helps. Every once in a while there will be a hit, and people will say, “How did he do it? He must be a genius!”<sup id="fnref3"><a href="#fn3">3</a></sup></p>
</blockquote>
<p>That’s all!</p>
<p>Part of the genius is in the simplicity of this technique. The other part of the genius is in the use of antifragility.</p>
<h2 id="how-antifragility-allows-for-genius">How antifragility allows for genius</h2>
<p>Antifragility is a term coined by Nassim Taleb. He even dedicated his magnum opus<sup id="fnref4"><a href="#fn4">4</a></sup> <a href="https://amzn.to/3hpnIHW">Antifragility</a><sup id="fnref5"><a href="#fn5">5</a></sup> to it. Antifragility is best understood in the context of three possible relations to randomness and ultimately time:</p>
<p>There are things for which randomness and time are negative risks. For example, a vase can only lose when confronted with randomness. Playing children are never good for it. The longer the vase exists, the more likely it is that it will be destroyed. It is <em>fragile</em>.</p>
<p>But the opposite of fragility is not robustness in the sense of mere resistance or indifference to randomness and time. The warning label on a package “fragile” is the instruction: don’t throw it down, don’t shake it. Ultimately, it is “touch as little as possible.” But the opposite is not “Do what you want!”. It would be the instruction to throw the package <em>intentionally</em>, to shake it and to handle it as much as possible. Only that is the opposite of fragility.<sup id="fnref6"><a href="#fn6">6</a></sup> So the three terms come to state:</p>
<ol>
<li>Fragile is everything that loses from chance and time.</li>
<li>Robust is everything that doesn’t care about chance and time.</li>
<li>Antifragile is everything that benefits from chance and time.</li>
</ol>
<p>Limiting the possible costs while keeping the possible upsides is one way to make a system antifragile. You protect the system against catastrophic events, but let it fully benefit from <a href="https://de-m-wikipedia-org.translate.goog/wiki/Anastrophe_(Soziologie)?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=de&_x_tr_pto=wapp">anastrophes</a>.</p>
<p>This is the mechanics behind Feynman’s 12 favorite problems: everything we learn becomes an opportunity to be an important step toward solving problems important to us. If we learn something new, we can test that new thing for its usefulness to our 12 favorite problems. Each time we go through the list, it costs us very little time and energy (low cost). But each time we have the chance to take a giant leap toward the solution (anastrophic consequences).</p>
<p>Without the 12 Favorite Problems, these opportunities would likely slip through our fingers. In a sense, this system guarantees our chances of seizing these opportunities.</p>
<p>In short, having 12 favorite problems is a <em>clever</em> system to increase the probability of having brilliant ideas.</p>
<h2 id="how-to-find-your-12-favorite-problems">How to find your 12 favorite problems</h2>
<ol>
<li>Make a list of the areas of your life. These will serve as your backbone for your later thinking.</li>
<li>Use an outline or mind map as a creative technique. You can use any creative technique. Now it is only a matter of producing for the time being. Collect all problems and possible projects that seem interesting to you in some way. Sort everything into groups. Try to find patterns.</li>
<li>Throw out everything that does not inspire you.</li>
</ol>
<p>This method is only a suggestion! All good methods follow these two meta-rules:</p>
<ol>
<li>Collect first without judging.</li>
<li>Then sift out the gold pieces.</li>
</ol>
<h3 id="additional-tips-and-tricks">Additional tips and tricks</h3>
<p><strong>12 is not a magic number!</strong> It doesn’t matter how many favorites you have. Yet, there should be no completely inactive favorites.</p>
<p><strong>Not all favorites are problems!</strong> I don’t phrase everything as a problem. For example, I am writing a collection of short stories set in a prison valley. It is also part of my list of favorites. I think Feynman has 12 favorite <em>problems</em> because as a physicist, you mainly solve problems. But as a writer, you don’t only solve problems, you write texts. There are different types of opportunities, not just problems.</p>
<p><strong>Particularly relevant favorites are your life goals!</strong> Need help finding your favorites? Make a list of all your life goals. Which of your collected problems and projects are especially relevant to your life goals? The more important a life goal is to you, the more the problems and projects related to it inspire you.</p>
<p><strong>You don’t know what your areas of life are? No problem!</strong> Here is a list of possible responsibilities in your life:</p>
<ul>
<li>Personal
<ul>
<li>Physical health, robustness and fitness</li>
<li>Mental health, robustness and fitness</li>
<li>Spiritual health, robustness and fitness</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Occupation and career</li>
<li>Material prosperity</li>
<li>Home and homeland</li>
<li>Spirituality and faith</li>
<li>Social life
<ul>
<li>Partnership</li>
<li>Family and friends</li>
<li>Friends</li>
<li>Enemies</li>
<li>Community</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>As a knowledge worker, you have it easy!</strong> The field of “job and career” can produce a large number of darlings. After all, your profession is to deal with problems or knowledge-based projects.</p>
<h2 id="how-to-build-the-darlings-into-your-workflow">How to build the darlings into your workflow.</h2>
<p>Richard Feynman kept the problems in his head. I see this as a possible source of error. After all, one can also forget important things. I know that only too well from my own experience. Thus, it is better to build the favorites into your own workflow.</p>
<p>Of course, I build them into my workflow with the Zettelkasten:</p>
<ol>
<li>When I create a new note, I write and link it as usual.</li>
<li>Then I call up a saved search in <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/the-archive/">The Archive</a> via shortcut.</li>
<li>I then go through the notes of my favorites and see if the fresh note is usable for one of my favorites. In doing so, I make an effort to find a connection. This effort trains my divergent thinking.</li>
<li>Afterward, I try to understand the nature of the connection from the fresh piece of paper. In this way, I train my convergent thinking.</li>
</ol>
<p>My favorites right now (2022-12-31) are the following:</p>
<ul>
<li>FAM Valeria</li>
<li>FAM Pregnancy and infants for fathers</li>
<li>ZKM The Nootropic Day</li>
<li>ZKM Getting Things Created</li>
<li>ZKM Thinking Tools</li>
<li>ZKM Mindmapping Software</li>
<li>MEI Arm wrestling training</li>
<li>MEI Monk mode</li>
<li>MEI ME-Improved for soccer players</li>
<li>MEI WODs</li>
<li>MEI Exercise Catalog</li>
<li>D&P Party Program BAAP</li>
<li>ME Learn to draw</li>
<li>ICH World crafting</li>
<li>ICH Enligunon - The prison valley</li>
<li>ME Living with the dog</li>
</ul>
<p>(The title prefixes are for scanability, FAM = family; ZKM = Zettelkasten Method; MEI = ME-Improved; D&P = philosophy; ICH = hobbies)</p>
<p>As you can see, my favorites are not only problems. They also include projects and topics. I am not a physicist who mainly deals with solutions to problems. I am a popular scientist, trainer and hobby writer.</p>
<p>Another place where you can use the 12 favorites is your task management. Check if something helps you with your favorites when you empty your inbox.</p>
<h2 id="summary">Summary</h2>
<ul>
<li>Feynman was smart. He was so clever that he was able to overcome his mind with his cleverness in understanding how to think.</li>
<li>Feynman’s favorites are a technique to increase the number of brilliant ideas.</li>
<li>It accomplishes this by increasing the number of chances for high success with a low investment of time and effort. (Antifragility)</li>
<li>Build your own list of favorites to benefit from this technique.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>And remember the optimistic message Feynman gives us: any of us can be brilliant.</strong></p>
<hr>
<p><strong>Christian’s comment:</strong> When I create a new note, I don’t immediately know where it might fit. I have to be careful to check various projects or contexts mechanically to see if the new note fits them. Otherwise, I forget these projects completely for a while. These are missed opportunities that I am regularly annoyed about. So: I have to create more chances with a small, mechanical check.</p>
<div class="footnotes">
<hr>
<ol>
<li id="fn1">
<p>https://www.cicero.de/kultur/iq-tests-intelligenz-der-mythos-hochbegabung/60823 <a href="#fnref1">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn2">
<p>Unfortunately, the anecdote is not accurate. <a href="https://www.thespacereview.com/article/613/1">https://www.thespacereview.com/article/613/1</a> <a href="#fnref2">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn3">
<p>Gian-Carlo Rota (1997): Ten Lessons I Wish I Had Been Taught, Notices of the American Mathematical Society 1, 1997, Vol. 44, pp. 22-25. <a href="#fnref3">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn4">
<p>Nassim Nicholas Taleb (2012): Antifragile. Things that Gain from Disorder, St. Ives: Penguin Books. P.13, P.14 <a href="#fnref4">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn5">
<p>Affiliate Link. I get a small commission from Amazon if you buy something from Amazon through the link. <a href="#fnref5">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn6">
<p>Nassim Nicholas Taleb (2012): Antifragile. Things that Gain from Disorder, St. Ives: Penguin Books. S.31/32. <a href="#fnref6">↩</a></p>
</li>
</ol>
</div>
tag:zettelkasten.de,2022-12-16:/the-archive/macros/The Archive 3rd Party Macros2022-12-16T07:04:00Z2023-08-02T13:34:52Z<h1 id="the-archive-3rd-party-macros">The Archive 3rd Party Macros</h1>
<p><a href="/the-archive/" class="back--link"><img src="/the-archive/img/appicon-sm.png" class="back--image"><span class="back--text">Back to the Project Page</span></a></p>
<p>This page lists all known macros for Keyboard Maestro, Alfred, and other third-party launchers that can enhance your workflows with The Archive.</p>
<p>{{toc}}</p>
<aside class="note">
<p><b>How to Contribute:</b></p>
<ol>
<li>Create a discussion with your macro <a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/categories/the-archive">in the “The Archive” category</a> of our forum as a place to discuss the macro.</li>
<li>Submit the macro to the <a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/213/the-archive-keyboard-maestro-alfred-macros/p1">overview discussion</a> with a link, and a short description.</li>
<li>We then put it here :)</li>
</ol>
<p>Alternatively, <a href="mailto:hi@christiantietze.de" class="">email your macros to Christian</a>!</p>
</aside>
<h2 id="bundles">Bundles</h2>
<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/comment/6715/#Comment_6715">Alfred workflow</a> by @pryley: bundle of many different actions to work with your Zettelkasten from anywhere</li>
<li><a href="https://github.com/seanakabry/zk-tools">@seanakabry’s KM macro collection</a></li>
</ul>
<h2 id="writing-and-linking">Writing and linking</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/comment/2444/#Comment_2444" title="Automatic completion when adding a link or a tag to zettel.">Link & tag auto-completion bundle by @Will</a></li>
<li>Insert link to notes with auto-completion/type-ahead search
<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/comment/2516/#Comment_2516" title="Quick insertion of links to other Zettels with type-ahead search (using Keyboard Maestro)">Variant by @Will</a>, inserting the ID</li>
<li>
<a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/176/quick-insertion-of-links-to-other-zettels-with-type-ahead-search-using-keyboard-maestro">Variant by @kaidoh</a>, inserting the full note title</li>
<li>
<a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/comment/10245/#Comment_10245">Variant by @Vinho</a>, periodically updating a KM variable</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/179/quick-insertion-of-tags-with-type-ahead-search-using-keyboard-maestro">Tag auto-completion/type-ahead search</a></li>
<li><a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/comment/13329/#Comment_13329">Extract new note from selected text by @sfast</a></li>
<li><a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/comment/2297/#Comment_2297" title="Inset Note Link with 80 spacing">Table of Contents link: Inset link with spacing to right-align links</a></li>
<li>
<a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/comment/7530/#Comment_7530" title="Note Linking Trifecta">Copy note links in 3 different formats</a> by @Will
<ul>
<li>For an alternative to one of these formats: <a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/comment/2132/#Comment_2132">Convert The Archive’s copied links from <code>[[YYMMDDHHMM Title]]</code> to <code>[[YYMMDDHHMM]] Title</code></a> also by @Will</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="creating-notes">Creating Notes</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/902/km-macro-create-new-zettel-from-selection">Create new note from selecton</a></li>
<li>
<a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/675/alfred-workflow-for-creating-new-zettels-including-metadata">Create & update Zettel and its metadata</a> (Alfred workflow)</li>
<li>
<a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/comment/6811/#Comment_6811">Create Zettel</a> (Keyboard Maestro)</li>
<li><a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/comment/10154/#Comment_10154">Insert note header/template</a></li>
</ul>
<h2 id="getting-stuff-into-the-archive">Getting Stuff into The Archive</h2>
<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/comment/13212/#Comment_13212">Paste without newlines</a>, e.g. to copy from PDFs.</li>
<li>
<a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/2122/3-quick-ways-to-create-a-markdown-link-from-mail-safari-and-finder">Copy link to mail, media, or website into The Archive</a> by @Will</li>
<li>
<a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/comment/11202/#Comment_11202">Take screenshot and save into The Archive</a>: saves the picture in your media folder and prepares the Markdown to insert an image in your clipboard.
<ul>
<li>Good news: The Archive since v1.7 supports image pasting from the clipboard directly!</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="maintenance-search-and-replace">Maintenance, Search and Replace</h2>
<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/1230/km-macro-rename-note-and-update-wikilinks-to-it/">Rename note and update all links</a> by @seanakabry.</li>
<li>
<a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/638/keyboard-maestro-macro-replacing-text-string-in-all-zettel-titles">Global find and replace <strong>for titles</strong></a> in all notes, by @Vinho.</li>
<li>
<a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/641/keyboard-maestro-macro-replacing-text-string-in-all-zettels">Global find and replace <strong>for whole note contents</strong></a> by @Vinho.</li>
<li>
<a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/comment/2504/#Comment_2504" title="Script to print all tags from .txt files (run from archive directory)">Print all tags from .txt files (run from archive directory)</a> by Will, a.k.a. <em>Create a “Tag Cloud” note</em>.</li>
<li>
<a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/comment/7440/#Comment_7440">Create note that adds details to tag</a> by @Will.
<ul>
<li>Another approach in The Archive could be to create a note with the tag as the filename. When you search for the tag <code>#zettelkasten</code>, the file <code>#zettelkasten.txt</code> will be presented to you automatically as a sort of hub note.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
<a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/786/zettelkasten-statistics">Generate a statistics dashboard</a> by @Will.</li>
<li>
<a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/670/visualising-links-between-zettels-with-keyboard-maestro-and-graphviz">Visualize network of selected notes via graphviz</a> by @Vinho.</li>
<li>
<a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/630/feature-request-outliner-view-of-a-zettel-and-its-children">Create nested list from connections of selected notes</a> by @Vinho.</li>
<li>
<a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/comment/4413/#Comment_4413">Create & update note backlink back-matter</a> by @piotr. Uses Andy Matuschak’s “note janitor” script <a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/670/visualising-links-between-zettels-with-keyboard-maestro-and-graphviz">we wrote about before</a>.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="visualization">Visualization</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/786/zettelkasten-statistics">Generate a statistics dashboard</a></li>
<li><a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/670/visualising-links-between-zettels-with-keyboard-maestro-and-graphviz">Visualize network of selected notes via graphviz</a></li>
<li><a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/630/feature-request-outliner-view-of-a-zettel-and-its-children">Create nested list from connections of selected notes</a></li>
<li><a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/comment/4413/#Comment_4413">Create & update note backlink back-matter</a></li>
</ul>
<p>Reference management:</p>
<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/comment/2533/#Comment_2533">Insert BibDesk citekey, choose from list</a> by @cdguit.</li>
<li>
<a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/417/using-evernote-as-a-pdf-and-article-archive" title="Quick insertion of links to Evernote notes.">Insert links to Evernote notes</a> by @Will, a.k.a. <em>Using Evernote as a PDF and article archive</em>.</li>
</ul>
<p>Media:</p>
<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/559/quickly-copy-files-images-to-media-folder-and-create-formatted-media-links-using-keyboard-maestro">Move image to /media and put syntax in clipboard</a>: Select files in Finder and copy to the media directory and create in the system clipboard a formatted link for pasting, e.g. <code>![](media/001.jpg)</code>.</li>
</ul>
<p>Linking and getting to notes:</p>
<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/774/keyboard-maestro-macro-search-uid-in-thearchive-from-any-application/">Search for note by ID at cursor position from any application</a> by @Mediapathic.
<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/comment/14923/#Comment_14923">Sascha’s variant</a> skips the clipboard and emulates keystrokes on behalf of the user.</li>
<li>
<a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/1235/km-macro-open-a-file-outside-the-zettelkasten-identified-by-a-uid/">Open note that matches selection from other apps</a> by @seanakabry (like external wiki linking)</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
<a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/comment/7530/#Comment_7530" title="Note Linking Trivecta">Copy note links in format</a> by @Will does:
<ul>
<li>Insert Inline Note Link (UID only) <code>[[202008011415]]</code>
</li>
<li>Insert Title 1st Note Link - <code>Zettelkasting Dashboard [[202008011415]]</code>
</li>
<li>Insert UID 1st Note Link - <code>[[202008011415]] Zettelkasting Dashboard</code>
<ul>
<li>Also: <a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/297/convert-the-archives-copied-links-from-yymmddhhmm-title-to-yymmddhhmm-title#latest" title="Convert The Archive's copied links from [[YYMMDDHHMM Title]] to [[YYMMDDHHMM]] Title">Convert The Archive’s copied links from <code>[[YYMMDDHHMM Title]]</code> to <code>[[YYMMDDHHMM]] Title</code></a>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="miscellaneous">Miscellaneous</h2>
<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/855/poor-mans-roam-style-contextual-backlinks-keyboard-maestro">Poor Man’s Roam</a>: “Creates a new note with all paragraphs containing search term”</li>
<li><a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/191/quick-insertion-of-urls-to-notes-with-type-ahead-search-using-keyboard-maestro">Insert URLs to notes <em>from other apps</em> with auto-completion/type-ahead search</a></li>
<li>
<a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/1235/km-macro-open-a-file-outside-the-zettelkasten-identified-by-a-uid/">Open note that matches selection from other apps</a> (like external wiki linking)</li>
</ul>
This page lists all macros for 3rd party apps like Keyboard Maestro, Alfred, and other launchers that can enhance your workflows with The Archive.tag:zettelkasten.de,2022-12-06:/posts/ghost-in-the-box/Philosophy of Zettelkasten: What is the Ghost in the Box?2022-12-06T18:51:27Z2022-12-06T18:51:27Z<figure class="post-figure "><a href="/img/blog/20221206203712_ghost.jpg"><img alt="" src="/img/blog/20221206203712_ghost.jpg" class="post-figure__image"></a><figcaption class="post-figure__caption">Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/kellepics-4893063/">Stefan Keller</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com/">Pixabay</a></figcaption></figure>
<p>This essay is an explorative one. I’ll invite you to tag along and nerd this stuff out with me.</p>
<p>I translated the following note of Luhmann about Zettelkastens. (See a translation of all notes <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/luhmanns-zettel-translated">here</a>.)</p>
<blockquote>
<p>(<strong>9/8,3</strong>) Geist im Kasten? Zuschauer kommen. Sie bekommen alles zu sehen, und nichts als das – wie beim Pornofilm. Und entsprechend ist die Enttäuschung.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>to</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Ghost in the box? Spectators visit. They get to see everything, and nothing but that - like in a porn movie. And the disappointment is correspondingly high.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>There are some possible translations of “Geist” which can mean both “mind” and “ghost”. In a way, both translations are possible and plausible. The visitors of Luhmann’s Zettelkasten expected to see the an emerging living being and instead saw just boxes full of paper slips.</p>
<p>What do the visitors see when they see everything and are disappointed? Perhaps they feel a disappointment similar to that of scientists who opened the scull of people to look at the human mind but “see it all”: just flabby gray tissue.</p>
<p>To this day, this seems to be the feeling of some of us who start our own Zettelkasten. The mind we aimed to create turns into a ghost, becomes ethereal and evasive and seems to hide in plain sight. We dive into our Zettelkastens in search for what we believe we created and just seem to find notes. A feeling rises from this Frankensteinian fantasy of creating something living that can turn both turn into obsession and disappointment.</p>
<h2 id="ghost-in-the-shell">Ghost in The Shell</h2>
<p>There is great anime movie titled “Ghost in the Shell”. It is quite a philosophical movie that asks the question: If your consciousness can be moved from your body and brain to a machine, are you still considered to be a human or will you become a computer program? One possible answer could be: If we can move from body to body, and we are still considered human we should be considered to be ghosts that take possession of bodies.</p>
<p>So, the question “What is a Zettelkasten?” is quite similar to the question “Who are we?”. If we break down the question even more: What is the difference between the question “Who are we?” and “What are we?”? This is not a play of words but actually a hint for two versions of thinking about something that is not reducible to its physical manifestation.</p>
<ul>
<li>The question of <em>What</em> is a question that refers to the object of interest as something non-living, as something that can be dissected and understood by dissection.</li>
<li>The question of <em>who</em> is a question that refers to the object of interest as something living, as something that needs to be observed as a whole to be understood.</li>
</ul>
<p>Imagine that you import all your analog notes into a digital system (preferably using <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/the-archive/">The Archive</a>, of course). Do you still have the same Zettelkasten? It (or he or she?) will behave and respond differently. If you follow a connection in the analog version of your Zettelkasten, you’ll have to physically pull out the target note (or at least push the other notes aside when you don’t pull the note out). Sometimes it involves shuffling through the paper cards (or slips of paper if you follow Luhmann tightly). When you follow a connection in the digital version of your Zettelkasten, it might be just a click that takes almost no time.</p>
<p>Would you be the same person if you could improve your recall time manyfold? Would you be the same person if you’d become much smarter than you are?</p>
<p>We are now entering the paradox of the Ship of Theseus. Imagine a ship leaving the harbour with a certain set of parts. During the journey, parts break down and are replaced by new ones. When the ship returns home, all parts are replaced by new ones. Is the ship still the same? And if not: at which moment does the ship become another one?</p>
<p>The correct answer to the paradox of the Ship of Theseus is given by Rick: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/MIVlMQnb3l8">Don’t think about it.</a></p>
<p>A plausible answer (not <em>the</em> answer!) regarding the Zettelkasten can be found in the concept of embodiment. How something is embodied is part of its identity. Your Zettelkasten becomes something else when you turn your analog one into a digital one. It’s metamorphosis. A crossing of boundaries that can be pointed at – unlike the moment of change in the Ship of Theseus (you keep <em>not</em> thinking about it, do you?) happened.</p>
<p>Where did the question of the Ghost in the Box lead us? What is the Zettelkasten? One possible answer might be: The ghost that is able to hide in plain sight and just can be seen from the corner of the eye.</p>
<p><a href="https://github.com/Zettelkasten-Method/zettelkasten.de/pull/36#issue-1430505674">arcturus140 suggested on GitHub:</a></p>
<blockquote>
<p>Changing ghost into mind. The mind refers to the mental frame, while ghost is the soul of a dead person.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Perhaps the note wasn’t about the mental frame but about the soul of a person? Isn’t it plausible that the Zettelkasten as a communication partner is a person and the visiting spectators are in search of what makes the Zettelkasten alive? Perhaps the spectators were possessed by the Frankensteinian fantasy that it is possible to create something living, and thus thought that Luhmann was not only able to create a mind but to even create a soul? Isn’t the soul the thing that makes something alive?</p>
<p>Perhaps Luhmann wasn’t able to create a soul but just a ghost that haunted his box. And ghosts don’t reveal themselves to some random spectators but evades the naive eye of the uninitiated. This describes my personal experience when I show my own Zettelkasten to other people. They don’t see what I am seeing. Even some Zettelkasten user’s themselves seem to miss the ghost that peeks back at them. It is not a coincidence that those who don’t get <em>it</em> (or he or she?) seem also to not get how the Zettelkasten “surprises” you and are generally not interested in the concept of being presented with something that was not intended in the first place.</p>
<p>I feel that this is exactly happening to my Zettelkasten. My Zettelkasten has no soul and is not alive. Yet it is not dead in a strict sense either. Something that resembles a living being is lurking digitally as a ghost in the shell. And perhaps it is not yet the time to answer the question what this ghost is and perhaps not even the time to answer the question if there is a ghost in the box. I am perfectly fine to accept that I didn’t answer it, and that I won’t ever create something that has a mind, but just the shadow of a mind, a ghost if you like.</p>
<p>After all, in the subtitle of the second edition of my book about the Zettelkasten Method I refer to the Zettelkasten as a “thinking machine”, which has two possible meanings: (1) A machine that thinks and (2) a machine that supports thinking. I like to leave some ambiguity until the ghost of my Zettelkasten reveals itself to other people, so I have evidence that it is not just in my head.</p>
<h2 id="in-the-spirit-of-luhmann">In the <em>spirit</em> of Luhmann?</h2>
<p>It also could be the case that the phrase is a hint at the phrase <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_in_the_machine">Ghost in the Machine</a> by Gilbert Ryle. It also could be a hint to Hegel. <code>/u/atomicnotes</code> on Reddit wrote:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I’m not sure what year Luhmann wrote this, but it seems to relate to Friedrich Kittler’s critique of Hegel: “Hegel’s absolute spirit is a concealed Zettelkasten” (see Krajewski’s Paper Machines, ch 4).</p>
<p>This kind of Geist should usually probably be translated as ‘spirit’, as in “Phenomenology of Spirit”. Note that Arthur Koestler’s The Ghost in the Machine (1967) seems to have been translated into German so as to avoid this connection: Das Gespenst in der Maschine (1968). i.e. ghost, or spectre.</p>
<p>But the problem for an English-speaking general audience is that we know almost nothing about Hegel and his massive legacy, and philosophical debates about Geist are largely absent from English language philosophy.</p>
<p>So to give a tiny flavour of what might be implied by all this, I think ‘Ghost in the shell’ is Ok, though anachronistic. ‘Ghost in the machine’ is less anachronistic, but these days less well known.</p>
<p>As far as seeing everything and being disappointed goes: contrast the German Geisteswissenshaft with the English Humanities. The German implies something that the English has dispensed with.</p>
<p>See also, Klausmeyer, Bryan. “From the Spirit of Slip Boxes: Materiality and Media Technology in Jean Paul’s Leben des Quintus Fixlein.” The Germanic Review: Literature, Culture, Theory 93, no. 3 (2018): 277-297.</p>
<p>(<a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Zettelkasten/comments/yk0gzx/comment/iuw4xog/?context=3">Source</a>)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I really like the reasoning of <code>/u/atomicnotes</code>. If you’d ask yourself how Luhmann would translate this word, the answer seems to be “spirit” more likely than “ghost”.</p>
<p>So, how should the translation be conducted? In the <em>spirit</em> of Luhmann or with Luhmann’s hypothetical intention in mind? In the end, it doesn’t matter if you are interested in building your own Zettelkasten. The question is only as interesting as its ability to make you think deeply.</p>
<h2 id="parting-words">Parting words</h2>
<p>So, what do we take with us and our Zettelkastens? To me, this is a perfect example of think-writing in a way that doesn’t aim to direct practical application. It was an opportunity to <em>use</em> an un-understood and un-unfolded thought to connect several other thoughts. This resulted in some connections between my notes on <em>Ghost in The Shell</em>, Frankenstein, Luhmann’s Zettelkasten and the Ship of Theseus. It was an opportunity to deepen my understanding about what mind is. My Zettelkasten got more complex, not just for the sake of it, but for my future self to use a smarter thinking machine. It has become a thinking machine that offers more associations, presents more comparisons, reflects a deeper understanding of an issue, so I start further ahead when I think about this topic again. I expect my future texts to be improved by a more firmly grounded layer of meaning, no matter if I will write fiction or non-fiction.</p>
<p>We, me being the pleasantly haunted one, became more deep.</p>
This essay is an explorative one. I'll invite you to tag along and nerd this stuff out with me. I translated the following note of Luhmann about Zettelkastens: "Ghost in the box? Spectators visit. They get to see everything, and nothing but that - like in a porn movie. And the disappointment is correspondingly high."tag:zettelkasten.de,2022-11-02:/posts/the-archive-macos-ventura/The Archive is Ready for macOS 13 Ventura2022-11-02T06:55:58Z2022-11-02T06:55:58Z<p><a href="https://zettelkasten.de/the-archive">The Archive</a> is ready for Apple’s latest version of macOS, available since the start of this week.</p>
<figure class="post-figure "><a href="/posts/the-archive-macos-ventura/ventura-screenshot.jpg"><img alt="" src="/posts/the-archive-macos-ventura/ventura-screenshot.jpg" class="post-figure__image"></a><figcaption class="post-figure__caption"></figcaption></figure>
<p>We recommend you wait with upgrading to macOS 13 Ventura until 13.1 comes out, if you haven’t already, because the initial <code>.0</code> releases often ship with annoyances or bugs that get sorted out in minor updates a couple of weeks later.</p>
<p>And to everyone on Ventura, enjoy The Archive as usual!</p>
<p><strong><a href="https://zettelkasten.de/the-archive">Get The Archive for macOS</a></strong></p>
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tag:zettelkasten.de,2022-10-31:/posts/luhmanns-zettel-translated/English Translation of All Notes on Zettelkasten by Luhmann2022-10-31T07:45:02Z2022-11-02T07:11:45Z<p>I thought it would be nice if there was a common knowledge base on what Luhmann himself wrote on Zettelkasten. So here is a translation of all 18 notes of <a href="https://niklas-luhmann-archiv.de/bestand/zettelkasten/zettel/ZK_2_NB_9-8_V">the section 9/8 of his second Zettelkasten.</a> I tried to find a middle ground between a translation that is faithful to his style, the nature of the German language, and the least ambigious English I can come up with.</p>
<p>If there is some dispute about a particular translation, I will highlight the dispute within the translation and will link to the post in the forums. <a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/categories/project%3A-luhmann-s-zettelkasten">Participate in the forums!</a></p>
<figure class="post-figure "><a href="/img/blog/luhmann.png"><img alt="" src="/img/blog/luhmann.png" class="post-figure__image"></a><figcaption class="post-figure__caption"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4529831">Luhmann.png</a> by <a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Sonntag&amp;action=edit&amp;redlink=1" class="new">Wikipedia User ‘Sonntag’</a> (<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0" title="Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>)</figcaption></figure>
<hr>
<blockquote>
<p>(<b>9/8</b><a name="9_8"></a>) Zettelkasten als kybernetisches System. Kombination von Unordnung und Ordnung, von Klumpenbildung und unvorhersehbarer, im ad hoc Zugriff realisierter Kombination. Vorbedingung: Verzicht auf festgelegte Ordnung. Die vorgeschaltete Differenzierung: Suchhilfen vs. Inhalt; Register, Fragestellungen, Einfälle vs. Vorhandenes überformt und macht z.T. entbehrlich, das, was an innerer Ordnung vorausgesetzt werden muss.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Zettelkasten as a cybernetic system. Combination of disorder and order, of lump formation, and unexpected, in ad hoc access realised combination. Prerequisite: Abandonment of fixed order. The upstream differentiation: Search aids vs content; index, questions, [spontaneous] ideas vs what already exists, reshapes and makes in part obsolete the inner order that must be assumed.</p>
<hr>
<blockquote>
<p>(<b>9/8a</b><a name="9_8a"></a>) Das Produktivitätsproblem muss in bezug auf eine Relation gestellt werden, nämlich in bezug auf die Relation von Zettelkasten und Benutzer.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The productivity problem has to be based on a relation, namely on the relation of Zettelkasten and user.</p>
<hr>
<blockquote>
<p>(<b>9/8a1</b><a name="9_8a1"></a>) Der Zettelkasten ist unaufhörlich gewachsen, und ich habe versucht, so gut ich konnte und soweit meine Fähigkeiten reichen, davon zu profitieren.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The Zettelkasten has grown incessantly, and I have tried, to the best of my ability, to profit from it.<sup id="fnref1"><a href="#fn1">1</a></sup></p>
<hr>
<blockquote>
<p>(<b>9/8a2</b><a name="9_8a2"></a>) Zettelkasten als Klärgrube – nicht nur abgeklärte Notizen hineintun. Aufschieben des Prüfens und Entscheidens – auch eine Tempofrage.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Zettelkasten as a septic tank – don’t put just treated notes in. Suspending of examination and decision making – also a question of speed.</p>
<hr>
<blockquote>
<p>(<b>9/8b</b><a name="9_8b"></a>) Zur allg. Struktur von Gedächtnissen vgl. <a href="https://niklas-luhmann-archiv.de/bestand/literatur/item/ashby_1967_brain">Ashby 1967, S. 103</a>. Es ist danach wichtig, dass man nicht auf eine Unmenge von Punkt-für-Punkt Zugriffe angewiesen ist, sondern auf Relationen zwischen Notizen, also auf Verweisungen zurückgreifen kann, die mehr auf einmal verfügbar machen, als man bei einem Suchimpuls oder auch bei einer Gedankenfixierung im Sinn hat.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>On the general organisation of memory see Ashby 1967, p103. It is therefore important that one is not dependent on a myriad of point-by-point accesses, but to be able to rely on relations between notes, i.e. on references that make more available at once than one has in mind when following a search impulse or fixating on a thought</p>
<hr>
<blockquote>
<p>(<b>9/8b1</b><a name="9_8b1"></a>) Wegen des vorstehenden Gesichtspunktes ist es wichtig, dass die Ordnung im Zettelkasten nicht nur unter Begriffen oder komplexen Einzelthemen aggregiert wird; obwohl das natürlich auch notwendig ist. Aber die Verweisungen dürfen nicht nur die Leitgesichtspunkte aggregierenden Sammelbegriffe erfassen, sondern müssen das unter ihnen gesammelte Material selektiv wegziehen.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Because of the previous point it is important that the order in the Zettelkasten is not aggregated merely under terms or complex single topics; although this is of course also necessary. But the connections shouldn’t merely cover the leading points aggregating collective terms, but must selectively pull away the material collected under them.</p>
<hr>
<blockquote>
<p>(<b>9/8b2</b>) “Multiple storage” als Notwendigkeit der Speicherung von komplexen (komplex auszuwertenden) Informationen.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>“Multiple storage” as the necessity of storing complex (to be evaluated in a complex way) information.</p>
<hr>
<blockquote>
<p>(<b>9/8c</b><a name="9_8c"></a>) Zu überlegen wäre etwas zum Problem der Interdependenzunterbrechung.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Something to consider would be the problem of interdependence interruption.</p>
<hr>
<blockquote>
<p>(<b>9/8d</b><a name="9_8d"></a>) Rückwirkungen auf die Lektüre: man liest anders, wenn man auf die Möglichkeiten der Verzettelung achtet – nicht: Exzerpte!</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Feedback loop for reading: one reads differently if one is mindful of the possibilities of the Zettelkasten process - not: excerpts!</p>
<hr>
<blockquote>
<p>(<b>9/8e</b><a name="9_8e"></a>) Evtl. Rückgriff auf den Informationsbegriff, der Selektionshorizonte, Vergleichsschemata etc. voraussetzt, die nicht im Vorhinein festgelegt werden können. Daher wird der Zettelkasten produktiv insofern, als er Notiertes nichtmitnotierten Hintergründen aussetzt und dadurch Information entstehen lässt, die so nicht gespeichert war.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Possibly, recourse to the concept of information that presupposes selection horizons, comparison schemes, etc. which cannot be predetermined. Therefore, the Zettelkasten becomes productive as it exposes what is noted to what is not noted and thus allows the formation of information that was not stored in this way.</p>
<hr>
<blockquote>
<p>(<b>9/8f</b><a name="9_8f"></a>) Einheitlicher Effekt entsteht bei Kanalisierung in appropriate ways in das soziale System. Eindruck einer geistig muskulösen Gesamtpersönlichkeit.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>A unified effect is created when channeling in appropriate ways into the social system. Impression of a mentally muscular overall personality.</p>
<hr>
<blockquote>
<p>(<b>9/8g</b>) Hinter der Zettelkastentechnik steht die Erfahrung: Ohne zu schreiben kann man nicht denken – jedenfalls nicht in anspruchsvollen, selektiven Zugriff aufs Gedächtnis voraussehenden Zusammenhängen. Das heißt auch: ohne Differenzen einzukerben, kann man nicht denken.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The Zettelkasten Method is based on this experience: One cannot think without writing - at least not in demanding contexts that anticipate selective access to memory. This also means: without notching differences one cannot think.</p>
<hr>
<blockquote>
<p>(<b>9/8h</b><a name="9_8h"></a>) Bemerkungen über Registrierung des Wissens in der Royal Society bei Sprat 1667, S. 115f. Verzicht auf vorschnelle Systematisierung und Abschliessung, Zukunftsoffenheit: “Nor ought this neglect of consequence and order, to be only thought to proceed from their carelessness; but from mature and well grounded premeditation.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Comments on registration of knowledge in the Royal Society in Sprat 1667, p. 115f. Abandonment of hasty systematization and closure, openness to the future: “Nor ought this neglect of consequence and order, to be only thought to proceed from their carelessness; but from mature and well grounded premeditation.”</p>
<hr>
<blockquote>
<p>(<b>9/8i</b><a name="9_8i"></a>) Zettelkasten mit dem komplizierten Verdauungssystem eines Wiederkäuers. Alle arbiträren Einfälle, alle Zufälle der Lektüren, können eingebracht werden. Es entscheidet dann die interne Anschlussfähigkeit.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Zettelkasten with the complicated digestive system of a ruminant. All arbitrary ideas, all coincidences of readings, can be brought in. The internal connectivity then decides.</p>
<hr>
<blockquote>
<p>(<b>9/8j</b><a name="9_8j"></a>) Im Zettelkasten ist ein Zettel, der das Argument enthält, das die Behauptungen auf allen anderen Zetteln widerlegt. Aber dieser Zettel verschwindet, sobald man den Zettelkasten aufzieht. D.h. er nimmt eine andere Nummer an, verstellt sich und ist dann nicht zu finden. Ein Joker.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>There is a note in the Zettelkasten that contains the argument that refutes the claims on every other note. But this note disappears as soon as one opens the Zettelkasten. I.e. it appropriates a different number, changes position (or: disguises itself) and is then not to be found. A joker.</p>
<hr>
<blockquote>
<p>(<b>9/8,1</b><a name="9_8,1"></a>) Thema: Kommunikation mit dem Zettelkasten: Wie kommt man zu einem adaequaten Partner, Junior-Partner? – wichtig, nachdem das Arbeiten mit Personal immer schwieriger und immer teurer wird. Zettels Wirklichkeit</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Topic: Communication with the Zettelkasten: How to get an adequate partner, junior partner? – important after working with staff becomes more and more difficult and expensive. Zettel’s reality</p>
<hr>
<blockquote>
<p>(<b>9/8,2</b><a name="9_8,2"></a>) Personal ist schon lange knapp und teuer, jetzt wird es zusätzlich ungebärdig und unleitbar. Die Mikroprozessoren sind angekündigt, aber noch nicht wirklich verfügbar. Das eigene Gedächtnis mangelhaft und entlastungsbedürftig. Überlegungen zu einem Versuch, sich ein Zweitgedächtnis zu schaffen.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Personnel has been scarce and expensive for a long time, now it additionally becomes unruly and unmanageable. Microprocessors have been announced, but are not really available yet. One’s own memory is deficient and in need of relief. Considerations on an attempt to create a second memory.</p>
<hr>
<blockquote>
<p>(<b>9/8,3</b><a name="9_8,3"></a>) Geist im Kasten? Zuschauer kommen. Sie bekommen alles zu sehen, und nichts als das – wie beim Pornofilm. Und entsprechend ist die Enttäuschung.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Ghost in the box? Spectators visit. They get to see everything, and nothing but that - like in a porn movie. And the disappointment is correspondingly high.</p>
<p>– For a detailed exploration, check out: <a href="/posts/ghost-in-the-box/">“Philosophy of Zettelkasten: What is the Ghost in the Box?”</a></p>
<hr>
<h2 id="quest-for-questions">Quest for Questions</h2>
<p>If you have any questions on why I decided to translate the notes in a particular way please ask me in the forum comments below.</p>
<p><a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/categories/project%3A-luhmann-s-zettelkasten">Use the Luhmann’s Zettelkasten forum category</a> to discuss all things Luhmann, including his Zettel, in more detail.</p>
<div class="footnotes">
<hr>
<ol>
<li id="fn1">
<p>Translation improved by Bob Doto. <a href="#fnref1">↩</a></p>
</li>
</ol>
</div>
tag:zettelkasten.de,2022-10-15:/posts/creative-technique-within-zettelkasten-framework/How To Use Creative Techniques Within the Zettelkasten Framework2022-10-15T10:55:11Z2022-11-15T15:48:21Z<p>One of the greatest difficulties in understanding the Zettelkasten Method is to separate its specific characteristics from actual knowledge work. Or, how I like to phrase it: “Link knowledge, not notes.” Working with our Zettelkasten is the physical (or digital) manifestation of our thinking. It provides a framework that allows us to think through writing and to create an increasingly complex thinking machine that can help us think deeper than being on our own. The Zettelkasten Method provides a framework for our thinking, but does not prescribe what and how we think.</p>
<figure class="post-figure "><a href="/img/blog/20221015120700_dog-sunglass.jpg"><img alt="" src="/img/blog/20221015120700_dog-sunglass.jpg" class="post-figure__image"></a><figcaption class="post-figure__caption">Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/5991595-5991595/">Irina Logvinenko</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com/">Pixabay</a></figcaption></figure>
<p>With the following, I not only want to present the wonderful idea of Lei-Fing Tseng, but by placing the idea in the framework of the Zettelkasten Method, I want to shed some light on the problem described above.</p>
<p>I saw Fei-Ling Tseng’s idea of the <a href="https://feeei.substack.com/i/48707291/the-compass-of-zettelkasten-thinking">Compass of Zettelkasten Thinking</a> in a <a href="https://youtu.be/5O46Rqh5zHE?t=297">video by Vicky Zhao</a>. It is about a method of exploring the context of an idea:<sup id="fnref1"><a href="#fn1">1</a></sup></p>
<blockquote>
<ol>
<li> take one idea (X) and put it in the centre</li>
<li> imagine the four compass directions. each direction helps give definition to the idea in different ways.
<ul>
<li> <strong>NORTH: “Where does X come from?”</strong> what are its origin? what group/category does X belong to? what exists an order of magnitude higher? zoom out. what gave birth to X? what causes X</li>
<li> <strong>WEST: “What is similar to X?”</strong> what other disciplines could X already exist in? what other disciplines could benefit from X? what are other ways to say/do X?</li>
<li> <strong>SOUTH: “Where can X lead to?”</strong> what does X contribute to? what group/category could X be the headline of? what exists an order of magnitude lower? zoom in. what does X nurture?</li>
<li> <strong>EAST: “What competes with X?”</strong> what is the opposite of X? what is X missing? its disadvantage? what could supercharge X?</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li> The Zettelkasten structure created around the idea could look something like this:
<ul>
<li> NORTH
<ul>
<li> The Idea
<ul>
<li> SOUTH</li>
<li> EAST</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li> WEST</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ol>
<p><a href="https://feeei.substack.com/i/48707291/instructions">Source</a></p>
</blockquote>
<p>I think it’s a super clever idea, and I processed into my Zettelkasten right away. What I didn’t like was its designation. The <em>“Zettelkasten</em> Compass” has a too tight connection to the Zettelkasten Method. The compass is in fact a thinking tool that is applicable beyond the Zettelkasten Method. That’s why I’ve named it the <em>idea compass</em> in my own notebox and filed it in my toolbox of creative techniques. My reasons for my processing method are as follows:</p>
<p>The Zettelkasten Method is a framework <em>within</em> which we think, carry thought forward, merge thoughts, or separate their components. That we write notes, create new ones and link them in the process is merely the physical or digital manifestation of our thinking. Again: Link knowledge and not notes! The term “Zettelkasten Compass” implies too strong a limitation of this tool to the Zettelkasten Method. Therefore I have changed the label.</p>
<p>To clarify this, we can look at my knowledge flower that provides a similar idea. It is very similar to the idea compass as a thinking tool. The knowledge flower contains the thought at its core and five aspects of knowledge as one petal each:</p>
<figure class="post-figure "><a href="/posts/creative-technique-within-zettelkasten-framework/2022-09-29-knowledge-flower.png"><img alt="" src="/posts/creative-technique-within-zettelkasten-framework/2022-09-29-knowledge-flower.png" class="post-figure__image"></a><figcaption class="post-figure__caption"></figcaption></figure>
<p>The instructions can be written in the same form that Tseng used:</p>
<ol>
<li>Choose an idea and place it in the center.</li>
<li>Think of each leaf as an aspect of the thought that is needed to fully develop it. The thought blossoms like a flower.
<ul>
<li>
<strong>Truth:</strong> Are there arguments for its truth? Is there empirical evidence for its truth? Is it free of self-contradiction?</li>
<li>
<strong>Relevance:</strong> To whom is the thought important? To whom is it not?</li>
<li>
<strong>Usefulness:</strong> What problem can be solved by the thought? Can it become a tool?</li>
<li>
<strong>Beauty:</strong> How does the thought promote harmony and elegance?</li>
<li>
<strong>Simplicity</strong> How can you make the thought simpler and easier to understand? Can the thought be used to simplify something else?</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ol>
<p>(The resulting structure in your Zettelkasten, however, depends on the individual thought).</p>
<p>Part of the similarity between the two tools comes from their common nature: both are closed creative techniques.</p>
<ol>
<li>
<strong>Closed creative techniques</strong> are usually questions or sets of questions that provide a direction of exploration from a known starting point.</li>
<li>
<strong>Open creative techniques</strong>, on the other hand, are ways of exploration. An example of an open-ended creative technique would be to write a journal entry for a book character to get to know him or her better, or Mind-Mapping.</li>
</ol>
<p>Another example of such a (closed) creative technique is the <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/zettelkasten-fiction-writing-part-3-tools-analysing-story/">mini-character sheet based on my functional model of characters</a>. This tool is also a set of questions that provides a direction for exploration.</p>
<h2 id="concluding">Concluding</h2>
<p>Tseng’s thinking tool idea is excellent for exploring a thought. But it is not a tool specific to the Zettelkasten Method. It is more: a tool that you can apply to any thought. My recommendation is definitely to include this tool of Tseng in your own toolbox (you do have a toolbox, don’t you…?).</p>
<p>The difficulty of the Zettelkasten Method is not to be found in its complicatedness, but in translating techniques and methods into the Zettelkasten Framework. Tseng has done an excellent job of that here. With a slight change of the name and the correct classification of this thinking tool in relation to the Zettelkasten Method, it is (hopefully) 2% better.</p>
<p>Her article <a href="https://feeei.substack.com/p/the-essence-of-the-zettelkasten-method#%C2%A7the-compass-of-zettelkasten-thinking">The essence of the Zettelkasten method, demystified</a> is a recommended read!</p>
<p><strong>Update (2022-11-15):</strong> Vicky Zhao and Fei-Ling Tseng did a presentation and used the term “Idea Compass” in May which predates my article, so all credit goes to them. Check out their presentation if you want to see a presentation about this creative technique: <a href="https://www.linkingyourthinking.com/lytcon/vicky-and-fei-compass-of-zettelkasten-thinking">Vicky Zhao & Fei-Ling Tseng: The Compass of Zettelkasten Thinking: Associative Thinking Made Easy</a></p>
<hr>
<p><strong>Christian’s Comment:</strong> I haven’t applied the flower in my notes a lot. Sometimes, when I struggle with classifying an idea, piece of knowledge, or thought, Sascha makes a sensible recommendation to use the flower to bring order to the chaos. By zooming in on each of the flower’s 5 aspects, it sometimes helps to figure out what is merely decorum that I don’t want to capture. Looking at the aspect of “beauty” often feels very weird in my day-to-day note-taking, but there definitely are beautiful code snippets, and there’s beauty to be found in software architecture, so reminding myself to keep an eye open for this aspect in my technical job is surprisingly helpful.</p>
<div class="footnotes">
<hr>
<ol>
<li id="fn1">
<p>https://feeei.substack.com/p/the-essence-of-the-zettelkasten-method?r=bfn9h <a href="#fnref1">↩</a></p>
</li>
</ol>
</div>
tag:zettelkasten.de,2022-09-19:/posts/every-step-value-creation/Every Step in the Process Must be Knowledge-Based Value Creation2022-09-19T08:14:47Z2022-09-19T08:14:47Z<blockquote>
<p>The Zettelkasten Method is so labor-intensive. I don’t have time to <em>also</em> maintain a Zettelkasten.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This, or something like it, is a regular concern when people engage with the Zettelkasten Method. And with good reason, because on the forums and Reddit you can see that care and maintenance seems to be a big part of the Zettelkasten Method.</p>
<ul>
<li>Instead of just tagging the notes with keywords and <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/search-alone-is-not-enough/">relying on full-text search</a> later, you now have to search the Zettelkasten for opportunities to link to them, and then set link manually.</li>
<li>You no longer collect citations, but instead have to write everything in your own words.</li>
<li>You have structure notes, maps of contents, and indexes to maintain.</li>
</ul>
<p>It seems that Zettelkasten means a lot of <em>additional work</em>. For us busy, constantly stressed modern people, this is understandably off-putting.</p>
<figure class="post-figure "><a href="/posts/every-step-value-creation/20220917091911_monkey.jpg"><img alt="" src="/posts/every-step-value-creation/20220917091911_monkey.jpg" class="post-figure__image"></a><figcaption class="post-figure__caption">Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/ha11ok-1785462/">ha11ok</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com/">Pixabay</a></figcaption></figure>
<h2 id="everything-created-is-knowledge-based-value-if-done-right">Everything Created is Knowledge-Based Value If Done Right</h2>
<p>The problem described above is not a problem of the Zettelkasten Method in itself, but a problem of its implementation.</p>
<p>A good implementation of the Zettelkasten Method is lean. This means that you are fully focused on knowledge-based value creation. Your Zettelkasten is created on the side, and then continuously provides more and more added value as it grows. After all, this is the promise of the Zettelkasten Method: You create a thinking machine that multiplies the output of your work.</p>
<p>Let’s transform the three labor intensive steps from above into steps of knowledge-based value creation.</p>
<ul>
<li>Linking should be done in such a way that knowledge is created. For this very reason, it is necessary to create a precise link descriptions (I call those “link contexts”). These descriptions themselves are new knowledge and not merely something you do for your Zettelkasten to work properly.</li>
<li>Writing in your own words must not be paraphrasing in the sense of parroting. It is a matter of really making the thought your own. To ensure this, you should test yourself by interpreting the idea at hand and applying it to something. (This reflects <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/layers-of-evidence/">the structural layers of phenomen, interpretation, and synthesis</a>.) <em>This test is also knowledge creation. It is not a step that just serves to maintain the Zettelkasten.</em>
</li>
<li>Incorporating new notes into <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/introduction/#structure-notes">structure notes</a> is not merely about making the note retrievable. Incorporation of the individual note is about relating it to a higher, more general structure. This improves the utility of the structure note by making it a better entry point, tool box, overview or whatever you are using it for.</li>
</ul>
<p>These transformations are not merely a play of words. You <em>could</em> link, write in your own words, and maintain indexes as an acts of knowledge <em>management</em>. Then you’ll grow frustrated because you just increased your workload with no actual knowledge-based value creation. So, my advice to you is to be diligent in each action you take. Instead of <em>managing</em> knowledge you’ll <em>create</em> knowledge. This is not only both more efficient and effective. It is also <em>way more</em> rewarding psychologically.</p>
<h2 id="application">Application</h2>
<p>Look at the following diagram:</p>
<figure class="post-figure "><a href="/posts/every-step-value-creation/value-creation-extended.png"><img alt="" src="/posts/every-step-value-creation/value-creation-extended.png" class="post-figure__image"></a><figcaption class="post-figure__caption">Flow diagram of the Zettelkasten Method for the 2nd edition of the book</figcaption></figure>
<p>There is no step in the process that is not adding value in the sense of creating knowledge. That’s by design.</p>
<p>The ratio of (1) work that goes into knowledge-based value creation to (2) work that goes into maintaining the Zettelkasten and its surrounding tools is one of my metrics to assess the quality of an implementation of the Method.</p>
<figure class="post-figure "><a href="/posts/every-step-value-creation/2022-09-06_quality-ratio.png"><img alt="" src="/posts/every-step-value-creation/2022-09-06_quality-ratio.png" class="post-figure__image"></a><figcaption class="post-figure__caption">The ratio of time spent on value creation to time spent on the tools is an indicator of quality</figcaption></figure>
<p>So my advice to you is:</p>
<p><strong>Review your work steps and ask yourself the following question: whatever you do to maintain your notes, can you do it in a way that leads to direct knowledge-based value creation?</strong></p>
<hr>
<p><strong>Christian’s Comment:</strong> I can only barely remember the friction of adopting structure notes more systematically some years ago. Going through the motions when they are not already habitual can be a drudge. But when it clicked, it became a natural process: “Of course I want to take note and give an overview of all I know about <em>X</em>, so I create a structure note for it!” (What else would I do? Obfuscate the trails or make finding things harder? Ha!) Shifting the focus from the note to the idea or the knowledge makes the representation stand out less. I’m thinking: “How can I bring these ideas together?”, not “How can I make this graph of notes more orderly?”</p>
"The Zettelkasten Method is so labor-intensive. I don't have time to <i>also</i> maintain a Zettelkasten." -- This, or something like it, is a regular concern when people engage with the Zettelkasten Method. And with good reason, because on the forums and Reddit you can see that care and maintenance seems to be a big part of the Zettelkasten Method. That's a problem of the implementation.tag:zettelkasten.de,2022-08-27:/posts/how-to-create-value-in-zettelkasten/How Value is Created in a Zettelkasten (and Any System of Knowledge Work)2022-08-27T08:57:20Z2022-08-27T08:57:20Z<figure class="post-figure "><a href="/img/blog/20220827100832_dog-catch.jpg"><img alt="" src="/img/blog/20220827100832_dog-catch.jpg" class="post-figure__image"></a><figcaption class="post-figure__caption">Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/ray_shrewsberry-7673058/">Ray Shrewsberry</a> on <a href="https://pixabay.com/">Pixabay</a></figcaption></figure>
<p>The first question we need to ask ourselves is: <em>What is value?</em></p>
<p>I propose a simple answer to this question: Valuable is what is useful to us.</p>
<p>Let’s look into knowledge on nutrition as an example: Knowing how to eat healthy is not very useful to a lot of people because this knowledge is not put into practice. Most of the time this knowledge is not what is needed. Eating healthy is rather about building habits. Then again, knowledge on healthy nutrition becomes useful when those healthy habits are built.</p>
<p>So the value of knowledge on nutrition depends on our ability to put it into practice. But imagine those healthy habits have already been built. How should we process the knowledge to create something valuable to us?</p>
<p>The first option is a collection of receipes. Whenever we cook we can browse the collection to find inspiration. And when we plan the meals for the week, we can use this collection to create a list for grocery shopping.</p>
<p>The second option would entail more depth of processing. What about dividing the receipes into High Carb/Low Fat and Low Carb/High Fat categories? Then you’d have two distinct lists. But at the same time your collection of receipes could serve more purposes. You could use your collection to plan meals according to your training and your rest days: On you training days you plan higher carb meals. On your off days you go for Low Carb. (This is actually beneficial!) The collection of receipes is now a more powerful tool for meal planing and grocery shoping.</p>
<p>The third option would create a tool to chose the appropriate receipe to use based on the available groceries in your storage. Just assign a tag for each ingredient used in the receipe. If a receipe needs bananas, you’d assign the tag <code>#banana</code>, and if needs beef, you’d assign <code>#beef</code>. Now you can filter your receipes by your available groceries to chose one that you could actually prepare.</p>
<p>This is how you create tools instead of merely collecting knowledge. If you aim to create knowledge tools within your Zettelkasten you will increase the value production of your Zettelkasten quite a bit!</p>
<h2 id="what-are-you-creating-when-you-process-knowledge">What Are You Creating When You Process Knowledge?</h2>
<p><strong>Reading.</strong> Nothing is being produced. Your brain is marginally changed. Reading makes very little difference. You don’t read a book on nutrition to become a lean, mean sex machine. Building habits like daily cooking and buying groceries based on a prepared list will make the difference. Information is abundant these days and rarely the bottleneck.</p>
<p><strong>Collecting quotes.</strong> At least you produce a note collection. This can be in various forms. You can collect all quotes in just one file or dedicate a file to each quote. This changes the operability of you quote collection but in the end you will have just created a quote collection. The question is what do you want in the future? Which value should be created for you by yourself? Quote collections are not completely devoid of value. I could imagine myself using a quote collection as a creativity tool for fictional writing for example. Another value would be brevity: then you at least invest the labor of selecting important or useful parts from texts. If you trust in your judgement, you’d spare your future self to go to the original text.</p>
<p><strong>Creating excerpts.</strong> Excerpts could be seen as a commented quote and idea collection of a specific text. The ideal of an excerpt is that you never need to touch the original text again. We learned how to write excerpts at University in history classes: The goal was to have a collection of exerpts as a tool to write our own material. So what value do you create if you write an exerpt? You condense the information of a long text into a short text, hopefully with very little loss of information. If something is lost, it should be relatively unimportant. By creating a lot of exerpts you will get <em>dense</em> information at hand that is tied to the structure of the individual texts you read. You can take this processing a step further and enrich your excerpt with ideas of knowledge development tasks. You can interlace the content with questions and research tasks.</p>
<p><strong>Creating Atomic Notes.</strong> If you create <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/create-zettel-from-reading-notes/">atomic notes</a>, you isolate each thought and idea. The value you create derives from the boundaries you are now able to draw. You can point to an individual idea and say: This is <em>X</em>. You wouldn’t be able to do this with either of the processing steps mentioned above: If you merely read, you have nothing to point at. It is all in your head. If you create a quote collection, you always need to process the quote to be able to point to what you think the actual idea and thought is. With a quote collection you can just point to one incarnation of the idea. If you have an excerpt collection, you need to pre-filter this collection to find the idea. And even then you could have chosen a different incarnation of the idea if two or more authors have written about this idea. But by creating atomic notes that cover one idea per note you now have created <em>your</em> incarnation of the idea which is hopefully the best you can get.<sup id="fnref1"><a href="#fn1">1</a></sup> True knowledge work starts from here. You divorced yourself from the thoughts of other people and there line of thinking and developed something that is truly your own.</p>
<p><strong>Creating Connection.</strong> This is often misunderstood: <em>Value is not created by connecting notes, but by connecting ideas.</em> Connecting notes is the boring technical aspect of this processing step. The <em>How</em> of connecting notes is a result of your understanding of how pieces of knowledge can connect. If you haven’t put in the labor of transforming information into knowledge, your Zettelasten (or whatever system you are using) contains just information you cannot connect. You can place a link from one note to another. But the result is connected information. Many people feel the issue. They feel that something is off, that they don’t know where to put a link, or they do place links but experience little value is being added. The value added by creating connections is that you develop relationships between the units you chose for your systems. Even for quote collections and excerpt collections, connections are valuable. One possible benefit is that you develop a broader understanding because you think about similarities and differences of the connected items.</p>
<p><strong>Creating Tools and Products.</strong> This is where the money is. This processing step could be called a meta step. Each step mentioned thus far can result in the creation of a tool: Memories, quote collections, excerpt collections, hypertextual versions of them (via connections), for example. But if you understand each step as tool in your toolbox to create more complex and powerful tools and products, you will reap vastly more benefits than by just acting as if all you do is taking notes. This how you can actually realise the full potential of the Zettelkasten Method. Or: This is how you can fall in love with your past self, and feel the love of your past self anytime you engage with your Zettelkasten.</p>
<p>To give you more inspiration, here are some tools and entities that are in my Zettelkasten and how I use them:</p>
<ul>
<li>A toolbox for story analysis. It is a structure note that orders the tools by story aspect (e.g. plot, character, etc.). When I analyse a story I chose the relevant tools from this tool box and use them as frames for analysation, for example. See a whole article on this toolbox: <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/zettelkasten-fiction-writing-part-3-tools-analysing-story/">Create a Toolbox to Analyse Stories that Live in Your Zettelkasten.</a>
</li>
<li>A list of creative techniques. It is a structure note (surprise…) that lists all kind of creative techniques ordered by kind, e.g. production techniques, collection techniques, techniques to invoke perceptional frame shifts, etc. When I am blunting my teeth on a problem I (sometimes even mindlessly) chose a creative technique, execute it and see where it leads.</li>
<li>A table of all my criteria to invest in stock, with thresholds. Whenever I learn something on how to invest in stock, I go to this table and ask myself: How can I transform what I learned into a criterion for stock selection? Then I modify my this table to improve my future investment choices. See a whole article on this tool: <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/use-case-investing-zettelkasten-method/">Use Case: Investing with the Zettelkasten Method</a>
</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="value-is-created-by-improving-your-future-position">Value Is Created by Improving Your Future Position</h2>
<p>A very short summary of the above would be:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Don’t create tasks but resources for your future self.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>To me, the best demonstration of this paradigm is my investment tool. I don’t mindlessly fill my Zettelkasten with learnings about investing, nor do I try to connect notes and hope for the best. Anything I learn about investing in stock is just as important as it improves my capability to make good choices (or rather: avoid bad choices). This ability is represented by my table I introduced in the article on investing with the Zettelkasten Method. So, by proxy, I improve my ability by improving this one table.</p>
<p>If you don’t have any clue why you are doing knowledge work, you’ll be subject to anxiety. This <a href="https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Psychological-entropy:-a-framework-for-anxiety.-Hirsh-Mar/6164ecc2ff2cb97ea0ab54da11c553cc6b9b9403">psychological entropy</a> is what you get when you allow yourself to be clueless. The Zettelkasten Method itself doesn’t give you any goal. It can’t, because it’s a tool. You don’t buy yourself a hammer and then ask what you can do with it.</p>
<p>So let me give you concrete steps to improve your way of knowledge work (including your use of the Zettelkasten):</p>
<ol>
<li>Identify the structures you want to build within your system. What would be a resource for your future self? Be deliberate and avoid all vagueness.</li>
<li>Ask yourself how your input sources can be used to improve those structures. Then use your inputs to improve those structures.</li>
<li>Repeat. You need practice. When I teach the Zettelkasten Method, it is a recurring pattern that highly intelligent people who are experts in their fields struggle with those steps within their own field. To even write a single proper note can be a struggle if you aren’t deliberate on what will be a resource to your future self.</li>
</ol>
<p>Bonus task: <a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/categories/critique-my-zettel">Present your individual note in the forums</a> to get feedback. There is way too much talk on theoretical aspects of the Zettelkasten Method compared to the actual practice.</p>
<hr>
<p><strong>Christian’s Comment:</strong> PSA: To create things of value is a bit of work :) Conversely, don’t be fooled by Zettel numbers; 10,000 notes hastily collected aren’t worth 100 carefully created pieces of knowledge. (Making up some numbers for dramatic effect here, obviously.) I’m as lazy as the next person, but laziness never paid off in my Zettelkasten. <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/collectors-fallacy/">Stopping at the reading and collecting phase</a> never produced notes with long-lasting value for. That’s part of the story why “everything buckets” from the 2000s didn’t survive the hype: the approach to merely collect doesn’t work for sense-making, and the buckets eventually clog up. Where they become less useful with intended use, a home-<em>grown</em> Zettelkasten gets better when you put in the work to create something useful and advance on the ladder from reading to collecting to connecting to “tool-making”.</p>
<div class="footnotes">
<hr>
<ol>
<li id="fn1">
<p>That is the reason why a collected quote can be more useful than your own words. Sometimes, another person did it just better than you could. But still, only the invested labor of re-writing it makes it truly your own. So a quote should be commented on and re-written before you add it to your Zettelkasten. Only then you have gained the necessary competency to deal with the knowledge. <a href="#fnref1">↩</a></p>
</li>
</ol>
</div>
tag:zettelkasten.de,2022-08-25:/posts/field-report-6-phd-student-3-years/Field Report #6: The Zettelkasten Method Works for PhD Students Very Well!2022-08-25T16:37:18Z2022-08-25T16:37:18Z<p><em>This is a guest post by <a href="http://jeannelking.com">Jeannel King</a> (@jeannelking on our forums), a follow up to <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/zettelkasten-in-class/">her Zettelkasten use in class from 2 years ago</a>. Enjoy!</em></p>
<hr>
<p><strong>Update now that I’m three years in to my PhD program and am about to start on my lit reviews and dissertation research…</strong></p>
<p><em>Holy Forking Shirtballs, am I glad I started my ZK back in 2020!!!</em></p>
<ul>
<li>I cannot tell you how often I’ve used it to write my course papers.</li>
<li>I cannot tell you how often I’ve had it open during class discussions to back up my points.</li>
<li>I cannot tell you how lazy I’ve gotten with some of my entries (copying and pasting text instead of reworking it into my own words), and how much I wish I had taken the time to translate those entries for myself. (<strong>Comment by Sascha:</strong> Yes! Laziness of your past self is something you will always loath. So be nice to your future self.)</li>
</ul>
<p>It is, hands down, one of the best things I have ever done as a PhD student and scholar/practitioner.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>I did end up migrating away from doing paper <em>and</em> digital Zettels, because who has the time to sustain that? Apparently, not me. I’ve been operating 100% digital for a long time now and have zero regrets. It’s so much easier to find what I’m looking for by using the search function in Archive. (<strong>Comment by Sascha:</strong> This is a recurring experience. My personal recommendation is to use paper to assist thinking and store everything digital.)</p></li>
<li><p>I also moved away from taking notes then reworking them into Zettels. Again, too much time. Now, I do much of my reading online (Kindle and other resources) and have The Archive open at the same time. As I read or think of things, I do my Zettels in the moment. (<strong>Comment by Sascha:</strong> Ha! Death to literature notes!)</p></li>
<li><p>I also have been including the author and year citations in my ZK titles, so that if I’m looking for items from that 2012 article by Joan Smith, I can do a search for (Smith, 2012) and they’ll all pop up. VERY handy! (<strong>Comment by Sascha:</strong> If you use <a href="https://fletcher.github.io/MultiMarkdown-6/syntax/citation.html">the MultiMarkdown syntax for citation</a>, the cite key is treated as a tag by The Archive. One click and you gather all notes referring to the source.)</p></li>
</ul>
<p>As I approach my literature review, I have – goodness – 890 Zettels in my system. All of them are related to my studies, although not all of them may be relevant to my research as its focus has refined over the years.</p>
<p>Hoping this update is helpful!<br>
Jeannel (three PhD years down, two to go!)</p>
<hr>
<p><strong>Sascha’s Comment:</strong> This invokes fond memories of my own moments of insight. Happy Zetteling!</p>
<p><strong>Christian’s Comment:</strong> The examples and little tips from practitioners are always a treat to read! I would’ve loved to have a working Zettelkasten during class to come up with interesting ideas in discussions :)</p>
tag:zettelkasten.de,2022-08-19:/posts/analog-vs-digital-zettelkasten/Analog vs. Digital Zettelkasten2022-08-19T09:07:57Z2022-08-19T09:07:57Z<p>Join <a href="https://scottscheper.com">Scott Scheper</a> and Sascha in this video as they discuss analog vs. digital Zettelkasten.</p>
<figure class="post-figure youtube"><div class="video-container"><iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/XgMh6iuFbT4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div></figure>
<p>Among other things, they talk about:</p>
<ul>
<li>Popular Zettelkasten videos and their odd focus on software demonstration.</li>
<li>The Disease of Modernity, Sascha’s book project</li>
<li><a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/layers-of-evidence/">Three Layers of Evidence</a></li>
<li>Practice vs theory</li>
</ul>
tag:zettelkasten.de,2022-08-06:/posts/strength-claim/How to Assess the Strength of Claims in Your Zettelkasten2022-08-06T08:17:54Z2022-08-06T08:17:54Z<p>We all are guilty of the following: We think we know something in spite of very weak evidence. Our Zettelkasten will reflect this behavior with no mercy. This <em>will</em> become a problem because the game of evidence is a game of trust. This trust game in the arena of creative knowledge work will be played between your present self and two other selves: Your past and your future self.</p>
<figure class="post-figure "><a href="/img/blog/20220806091950_work-horses.jpg"><img alt="" src="/img/blog/20220806091950_work-horses.jpg" class="post-figure__image"></a><figcaption class="post-figure__caption">Picture of work horses by <a href="https://pixabay.com/de/users/danielsfotowelt-5272019">Daniel Borker</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com/">Pixabay</a></figcaption></figure>
<p>When you browse your Zettelkasten, you will judge its trustworthiness by the behavior of your past self. Your trust will be high when you write your notes cleanly and transparently.</p>
<ol>
<li>
<em>Clean</em> means that you write in plain language and not in the gibberish that is sometimes – or, in the case of humanities, quite often – used to impress professors and colleagues. If you allow yourself to follow such a habit you will achieve one thing very reliably: You will disguise the information from your future self. Your present self will ask your past self: “Why the duck did you write such garbage?” Using big words is a method to disguise and pretend. Even if you try to fool others with big words, at least don’t do it yourself.</li>
<li>
<em>Transparent</em> means that you make very clear what you came up, and how you came up with it. Let’s imagine you have read something interesting in some magazine and want to process it. If you cite what’s in the magazine and add a footnote for it with a link to the article, then you are not transparent. You can’t trust the so-called journalist. It is <em>not</em> a modern phenomenon. Now it is just more obvious that journalism is not reliable.<sup id="fnref1"><a href="#fn1">1</a></sup> By relying on something non-reliable you will fall on your face. Either you trust your past self and make major gaffes, or you begin to distrust yourself which will deteriorate your creative knowledge work.</li>
</ol>
<p>So, what is the actual problem we have to deal with? It is the problem of trust. How can we trust in evidence and how can we trust ourselves? The trust in ourselves is a matter of real trustworthiness. You can’t really trick yourself. All you can do is to make yourself negligently naive and pay the price. We don’t want that.</p>
<p>The solution to that problem is to understand how evidence works and when to trust evidence, no matter if you provided the evidence yourself or want to evaluate others’ evidence. To deal with this problem I will give you two techniques that are part of a broader method I outline in one of my books, “The Low Information Diet”. They are practical applications that are based on the work of Nassim Taleb and philosophy of knowledge.</p>
<h2 id="technique-1-the-lindy-filter">Technique 1: The Lindy-Filter</h2>
<p>The Lindy-Effect is a term I picked up from Nassim Taleb. It basically says that the longer something exists, the longer it will continue to exist if it is a non-perishable entity. The reasoning is that something that proved itself in the test of time means it proved itself for the future. This is the reason why we can have access to timeless principles. The idea is very prevalent in books like <a href="https://amzn.to/3xpvVzF">Principles</a> by Ray Dalio and <a href="https://amzn.to/3tzj3pD">7 Habits of Highly Effective People</a> by Covey (Amazon affiliate links). Often these books are based on the personal lessons a very successful person has experienced <em>repeatedly</em> over his or her lifetime. But in addition they often refer to nature with advice like “Look to nature to learn how reality works”.<sup id="fnref2"><a href="#fn2">2</a></sup> If you refer to nature in the way it unfolds itself, you base your argument on aspects of reality that are billions of years old. If you refer to religion, you base your argument on aspects of a collective learning process that is at least many millennia old.</p>
<p>That leads to another aspect of the Lindy-Filter, in a way I came up with on my own: The Consilience of Knowledge. This is a term I learned from Edward O. Wilson, but I learned the principles beforehand from authors like Bruno Latour and the position of <a href="https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/justep-coherence/">coherentism</a>. The principle is very easy to understand: The more perspectives come together when proving something and/or failing to falsify it, the better. Imagine you read something about self-confidence in an obscure self-help book but then find similar statements in Buddhist texts. You dig a bit deeper and find the same statements in psychoanalyst and behaviorist books. And even more: You read something about confidence and “trust” in games theory that further supports the initial claim. Now you’ve got more than just multiple claims of the same sort. They are from very different methods and refer to different time spans. Buddhist texts are very old and quite time-tested. Some other texts are not that old but are more rigid – hopefully, based on scientific rigor.</p>
<p>You can see that accumulating evidence from different perspectives can add trust in a non-linear way. If you are only reading buddhist texts and base your claims just on these, you are a fundamentalist. If you add some psychoanalyst literature you can still be subjected to selective reading. After all, the psychoanalysts allow for much room of interpretation. But if your throw games theory into the mix you get something very rigorous. You will never have flawless evidence but at that stage your claims are very solid. The non-linearity comes from the probabilistic nature of the multiple layers. Let’s just assume that a claim has initially a chance of 0.5 (5 in 10) to be true or not. You find some evidence from one perspective and scale the probability up to 0.4 (40% chance of being wrong). Because one perspective is only improving this one chance, you couldn’t get very high in confidence. But if you apply another perspective you can multiply. The probability of some claim being true from two perspectives is 0.5 <em>times</em> 0.5: 0.25! (25% chance of being wrong). Adding another perspective and you get your confidence up since the probability is down to 0.125 (12,5% chance of being wrong). Five different perspectives and you have only a chance of 3.1% of being wrong. Gaining another perspective is the way to go. (The numbers are not accurate but for illustrative purposes)</p>
<p>Now, let’s bring those two aspects together: Time and multiple perspectives. For my work on the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_condition">human condition</a> I only accept claims that are valid from the following perspectives:</p>
<ol>
<li>Evolutionary biology and psychology. That means something needs to be true for more primitive lifeforms (e.g. lobsters), mammals, primates, hunter-gatherers, and has to have some continuity over all evolutionary stages.</li>
<li>Religion. That means that the claim has to be validated by at least one religious body of text. (I personally concentrate on Christianity and Buddhism.)</li>
<li>Classical texts. The claim has to be made in a classical text that stood the test of time (for example the stoic literature).</li>
<li>Empirical evidence. This should be self-explanatory.</li>
<li>Structural evidence. An example is games theory. Another would be an <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analytic_philosophy">analytical claim</a>.</li>
</ol>
<p><strong>Example: Self-worth.</strong></p>
<p>Claim: An authentic sense of self-worth is accompanied by low reactivity (neuroticism). It has a component of appropriateness. Too much a reactivity is evidence for pathological low self-worth. Too little reactivity is evidence for arrogance or narcissism (e.g. not willing to change your opinion when challenged is a typical sign).</p>
<ol>
<li>There is something I call the serotonin-status connection that underlies confident behavior. It can be verified in humans, primates and even back to crustaceans. High serotonin and status is accompanied with low reaction to stressors. The reactivity is an adaption to the actual risk of the situation. Being high in status is a lower-risk situation than being low in status (There is an exception for the alpha position btw).</li>
<li>Buddhist texts advice for a behavior that could be called “non-reactivity”. This is a trait of high self-worth. Low self-worth comes with neurotic behavior which can be characterized as too much of reactivity.</li>
<li>Stoic texts refer to the same thing as Buddhism: Non-reactivity.</li>
<li>Empirical evidence shows quite neatly that high sense of status comes along with non-reactivity.</li>
<li>In a setting of low risk of damage a confident behavior is more probable. An example for this is the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confidence_trick">confidence trick</a>: You create a situation with the illusion of a low-risk environment. Confident behavior is the result.</li>
</ol>
<p><strong>Application in my own archive:</strong> When I make a claim I have a copypasta prepared to pre-structure the note. I then paste it in the note I am making the claim to encourage my future self to supply this claim with a multi-layered justification as described above.</p>
<h2 id="technique-2-the-zkm-evidence-scale-zes">Technique 2: The ZKM Evidence Scale™ (ZES)</h2>
<p>If you have a note with a claim you can use the following scale:</p>
<p><strong>ZES-0</strong>. You only have anecdotal evidence. Some blogger wrote something. Some journalist wrote something. Everything that came out of press and media. Everything anyone told you. <em>Example:</em> Some guy told you a story on how he dealt with depression. Or some Op-Ed.</p>
<p><strong>ZES-1</strong>. You found it in secondary literature. That means that claims are not original but the text refers to external sources of evidence. <em>Examples:</em> Quoting Hari’s <em>Lost Connections</em> on the topic of depression. Or any review or meta-analysis (I deviate from the current axiom in science here).</p>
<p><strong>ZES-2</strong>. You found it in primary literature. That means the claims are from the original source. <em>Example:</em> A randomized clinical trial of alprazolam versus progressive muscle relaxation in cancer patients with anxiety and depressive symptoms by Holland et al.<sup id="fnref3"><a href="#fn3">3</a></sup></p>
<p><strong>ZES-3</strong>. You not only read secondary and primary sources. You checked the relevant cross-references as well. Here the combination of the diligent studying of primary literature and meta-analysis is highly valuable and the strengths of the meta-analysis is actually effective.</p>
<p>There is quite a resemblance to the <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/layers-of-evidence/">layers of evidence</a>. No coincidence. :) There is general structure of this “thing” named evidence. For some added mind-fuck: The concept of “evidence” in my Zettelkasten is subjected to both the Lindy-Filter and the ZES.</p>
<p><strong>Application in my own archive:</strong> I applied it for a while. But <em>for me</em> it is not necessary. I do this for years now and can assess the ZES without any special tag or other marks. But when I used it, it was a tag, e.g. <code>#ZES1</code>.</p>
<h2 id="conclusion">Conclusion</h2>
<p>In the end there are many ways to increase trust in your system of creative knowledge work. Part of the Zettelkasten Method are principles, techniques and recipes that build trust.</p>
<p>An important reason why systems of knowledge work fail is lack of trust. It is trust that ensures that you and your system will still be in love in the future. The two techniques above can be trust-building tools to ensure a long and happy future with your Zettelkasten.</p>
<hr>
<p><strong>Christian’s Comment:</strong> I remember how badly I wanted to have a clear definition of Sascha’s ZES™ rating back in the day. Were my notes any good?! – I have little to no clue when it comes to rating the quality of studies, for example. Being able to gauge the quality of my notes gives the subjective rating of “this note doesn’t feel very useful for the long term” an objective spin and turns the fuzzy feeling into a problem that is technical and solvable: get more points of view to support or, even better, refute the claim you so badly want to keep.</p>
<div class="footnotes">
<hr>
<ol>
<li id="fn1">
<p>This whole fake news thing is not a problem of present times, as the media tries to frame it (or something Trump came up with). Fake information is a big part of media since the beginning of media. For a first step into this topic start with <a href="https://amzn.to/3xJnCPx">Attention Merchants</a>* by Wu. <a href="#fnref1">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn2">
<p>Ray Dalio (2017): Principles: Life and Work, New York: Simon & Schuster. S. 138. <a href="#fnref2">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn3">
<p>J C Holland, G R Morrow, A Schmale, L Derogatis, M Stefanek, S Berenson, P J Carpenter, W Breitbart, and M Feldstein (1991): “A randomized clinical trial of alprazolam versus progressive muscle relaxation in cancer patients with anxiety and depressive symptoms”, J Clin Oncol 6, 1991, Vol. 9, S. 1004-11. <a href="#fnref3">↩</a></p>
</li>
</ol>
</div>
tag:zettelkasten.de,2022-04-18:/fiction/The Zettelkasten Method for Fiction Writing2022-04-18T19:41:40Z2023-08-03T07:25:21Z<p>{{TOC}}</p>
<!--R -->
<p>The Zettelkasten Method will support your goals relating to both consuming and producing fiction texts. The Zettelkasten Method is designed to <strong>create a thinking machine out of your notes you are already making that supports <em>all of your thinking</em>.</strong></p>
<!--N Für alles zu gebrauchen -->
<p>The Zettelkasten Method is commonly associated with non-fiction texts. However, the Zettelkasten Method is not tied to any goal within the realm of knowledge.</p>
<h2 id="zettelkasten-method-for-fiction-by-sascha-fast">Zettelkasten Method for Fiction by Sascha Fast</h2>
<figure class="post-figure "><a href="/fiction/reading-cat.jpg"><img alt="" src="/fiction/reading-cat.jpg" class="post-figure__image"></a><figcaption class="post-figure__caption">Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/bibbornem-217673/">Bibliotheek Bornem</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com/">Pixabay</a></figcaption></figure>
<!--N How to read -->
<p>This four-part series is designed to get you started. You can learn about specific techniques on analysing and writing fiction. Read this series as an inspiration what you <em>can</em> do, not what you <em>should</em> do.</p>
<p><strong>The first part, <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/zettelkasten-fiction-writing-part-1-knowledge/">“Knowledge is Knowledge”</a>, is based on the claim that you can treat fiction as non-fiction if you like.</strong> This approach is one way to get you going and to process fiction you read. It is somewhat controversial since I commit a literary sin: I divorce the quote from the source and process not with any obligation to the text. @dgbecher highlighted this issues with this approach with a very justified critique. So, you might read the text within the context of <a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/comment/14011/#Comment_14011">this</a> and <a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/comment/14635/#Comment_14635">this</a> comment.</p>
<p><strong>The second part, <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/zettelkasten-fiction-writing-part-2-elements-of-story/">“Collecting and Processing Building Blocks of Story”</a>, aims to provide you with a framework on how stories work.</strong> I provide you with a framework of building blocks of stories. I base this frame work on “story practicians” like Coyne<sup id="fnref1"><a href="#fn1">1</a></sup> or Truby.<sup id="fnref2"><a href="#fn2">2</a></sup> The second part makes use of the assumption that <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/reading-is-searching/">Reading is Searching</a> that I used for non-fiction text already.</p>
<p><strong>The third part, <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/zettelkasten-fiction-writing-part-3-tools-analysing-story/">“Create a toolbox to analyse stories that lives in your Zettelkasten”</a>, serves as a bridge between analysing stories and creating stories.</strong> Tools can be used to both assemble and disassemble stories. Working with those tools is both an opportunity to understand or create stories and sharpen the tools along with your skill to use it.</p>
<p><strong>The fourth part, <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/zettelkasten-fiction-writing-part-4-create-story/">“Creating Stories”</a>, is geared towards producing stories.</strong> There are many ways to skin this cat. I present some ways that you can use within the framework of the Zettelkasten Method. If you have a Zettelkasten, why not harness its power to support this endeavour of yours?</p>
<p>The Zettelkasten Method stays the same whether you apply it to writing fiction or non-fiction. The reason is that the Zettelkasten Method entails very general principles. The word “general” essentially means “non-changing”. This unchanging nature is the difference between “general” and “specific”.</p>
<p><strong>Note:</strong> I attended a couple of classes in literary studies at University. When I started to learn about stories I was struck by the difference of people who teach to write stories and and my experience in literary studies. Later, when I read authors like Jordan Peterson, Jonathan Pageau and Christopher Booker on how they analyse stories, I came to the conclusion that their approach to stories is much closer to the “story practicians” (Truby, Coyne and the like) than the “story theoreticians” (mostly academics). So, my approach to story is very blue-collar and non-academic.</p>
<h2 id="q-a">Q&A</h2>
<p>If you have an <em>interesting</em> question on how to use the Zettelkasten Method for Fiction you can <a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/2064/">drop it in the forum</a>. If the question is interesting enough and it fits into my time schedule I’ll write a blog post and add it to this section.</p>
<p><strong>Next to be published:</strong> Giving Objective and Subjective Context - Understanding Sympathy for Character.</p>
<p>Do you want to greatly improve your learning curve? I assist you in learning Zettelkasten Method for Fiction and <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/coaching/">offer 1-on-1 coaching</a>.</p>
<aside class="coaching__tldr">
<h2 class="skip-toc" id="zettelkasten-coaching-in-a-nutshell">Zettelkasten Coaching in a Nutshell</h2>
<ul>
<li>Learn from a decade of experience and dedication</li>
<li>Live 1-on-1 video chat</li>
<li>80 EUR (US$95) per hour</li>
</ul>
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<h2 id="the-zettelkasten-method-for-literary-studies">The Zettelkasten Method for Literary Studies</h2>
<p>The Zettelkasten Method provides a framework for <em>your personal thinking</em>. It aims to generate a thinking machine out of your notes that supports <em>all of your thinking</em>. Most of the material on this page is geared towards becoming a “story practician”. See the discussion between @sfast (me) and @dgbeecher starting from <a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/comment/14011/#Comment_14011">this post</a> to understand the difference. I am fully aware that the approach I present is not in line with, even heretical to, the conventional approaches in the field of literary studies.</p>
<p>However, when I finish outlining the general scope of the Zettelkasten Method, I will dedicate some time to specific applications like <em>The Zettelkasten Method for Historians</em> or <em>The Zettelkasten Method for Theologians</em>. <em>The Zettelkasten Method for Literary Studies</em> is sprouting in my Zettelkasten already. In the mid- to long-term, I will be able to ship this specific application of the Method.</p>
<h2 id="the-archive-for-fiction-writing">
<em>The Archive</em> for Fiction Writing</h2>
<p>A good environment for thinking and writing is <em>distraction-free</em>.</p>
<p>As a simple rule of thumb: The more it disappears from you perception the better it is. This is the reason why distraction free editors became so popular. <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/the-archive/"><em>The Archive</em></a> is designed in the spirit of being distraction-free. Our user feedback is quite consistent in this point: <em>The Archive</em> delivers a very calm and clean experience with minimal distractions.</p>
<p>While the Zettelkasten Method is software-agnostic, it can be implemented with any software and even without software and just index cards, applying it to Fiction Writing benefits a lot from a low distraction writing environment. App features shouldn’t feel intrusive to your thinking and writing.</p>
<p>So, consider <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/the-archive/"><em>The Archive</em></a> (macOS) as your distraction-free Zettelkasten and note-taking App to benefit from a low-distraction writing environment.</p>
<h2 id="sources-from-the-outside">Sources from the Outside</h2>
<p>Lionel Davoust explains in this <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgwnpEBFNUg">YouTube video</a> how he uses a digital Zettelkasten to write science fiction.</p>
<div class="footnotes">
<hr>
<ol>
<li id="fn1">
<p>Shawn Coyne (2015): The Story Grid. What Good Editors Know, USA: Black Irish Entertainment LLC. <a href="#fnref1">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn2">
<p>John Truby (2008): The Anatomy of Story, New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. <a href="#fnref2">↩</a></p>
</li>
</ol>
</div>
The Zettelkasten Method will support your goals relating to both consuming and producing fiction texts. It is designed to create a thinking machine out of your notes you are already making that supports all of your thinking.tag:zettelkasten.de,2022-04-08:/posts/playing-zettelkasten-rpg-through-arbitrary-constraints/Playing the Zettelkasten RPG Through Arbitrary Constraints2022-04-08T18:43:41Z2022-04-08T18:43:41Z<p><em>Today, learn about how to game your Zettelkasten like a roguelike RPG – in a guest post by Allen Wilson (<a href="https://www.fordham.edu/info/23985/our_current_graduate_students/12337/allen_wilson">University profile</a>; <a href="https://mobile.twitter.com/AGWilsonn">Twitter</a>) aka @pseudoevagrius on the forum. The metaphor alone is cool, but the 3800+ words strong post doesn’t end there and goes on to give practical advice on how to work under self-imposed constraints to make use of “short runs”.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>I was recently pinged by a mention of me from @Will with a <a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/2201/share-your-zk-plans-for-27-mar-2-apr-what-were-your-successes-from-last-week#latest">quote about making the zettelkasten “poetic not mimetic,”</a> and I wanted to elaborate a little bit more about what I mean by that.</p>
<p>I think this distinction adds to the conversation about whether or not the zettelkasten produces writing itself or is a writing partner. My method falls in the latter. But the true answer falls to user needs and user experience, I expect.</p>
<p>The zettelkasten is my conversation partner in the process of constructing a draft. I have elsewhere in the forum described the pitfall I personally stumbled upon in my zettelkasten process when I tried to force my zettelkasten to directly spit out academic articles simply from an assembly of notes. My reasoning was that if it can’t do this then what is the point of working with a zettelkasten in the first place?</p>
<p>This process led me to believe that perfecting a particular draft entailed perfecting that area of the zettelkasten first, leading me into a cycle of infinitely tinkering in my zettelkasten without every producing a draft. This practice was contrary to a lot of the good, practical advice in the zettelkasten.de blog, book, and forum; and I refer to it as my <a href="https://twitter.com/AGWilsonn/status/1395013804560457731">“zettelkasten narcissism”</a></p>
<p>Narcissus stares at his own reflection in the water, his beautiful imitation, and drowns.</p>
<p>In an ideal version of this system you would read and research, collect notes, systemize them in the zettelkasten, and assemble these systematized notes into an ordered outline (structure note), copy and paste them in order into a draft, print, and then a little editing here and there. Bing Bang Boom. You’ve got yourself a pizza. But drafting is a messy process with real world constraints and often different contextual purposes that differ than those represented in the zettelkasten (at least at the time of drafting. Over time your zettelkasten could develop to represent these constraints by learning from these drafts you write, but this thinking can lead back to the zettelkasten narcissism).</p>
<p>Often in the midst of drafting I would discover new problems that need to be researched and re-incorporated. New problems to include or to avoid. In the midst of these, the zettelkasten better served me not as a representation (mimesis) of the draft in progress but as a creative partner to think through these problems. It also conveniently provided me a place to put things as I developed them.</p>
<p>Trying to make the draft mimic the zettelkasten (at least in the way that I write) would extend my drafting process far past the deadline of my project and ultimately made drafting a frustrating endeavor in which minor changes required extensive collaborations or adjustments in the zettelkasten to a point where I never felt like I was making progress on either the draft or the zettelkasten.</p>
<p>I describe these roadblocks in order to give context to the utility I have found in negotiating the difference between drafting in the zettelkasten and drafting with the zettelkasten. Within this distinction lies the difference between a mimetic zettelkasten and “poetic”/poietic zettelkasten.</p>
<h2 id="playing-the-zettelkasten-rpg">Playing the Zettelkasten RPG</h2>
<figure class="post-figure "><a href="/posts/playing-zettelkasten-rpg-through-arbitrary-constraints/nethack.gif"><img alt="" src="/posts/playing-zettelkasten-rpg-through-arbitrary-constraints/nethack.gif" class="post-figure__image"></a><figcaption class="post-figure__caption">Screenshot from Nethack, a popular roguelike licensed under the <a href="http://www.nethack.org/common/license.html">Nethack GPL</a></figcaption></figure>
<p>Role playing games (RPGs) provide a useful metaphor for understanding the relationship between drafting and zettelkasten (I’ve been playing a lot of Elden Ring, surprised?). In an RPG you have a system that stores all the stats of your characters. The stats communicate your level and attributes and determine what you can do in the game. Usually the game is broken up into a cycle of “runs” where you:</p>
<ol>
<li>go out and do stuff</li>
<li>you encounter the limits of your abilities</li>
<li>you die</li>
<li>you resurrect and regroup, retaining the experience of the previous run (both out of game in the form of memories and in game in the form of retained stats)</li>
<li>you try again or try something else until you are at an appropriate level to take on the challenge again.</li>
</ol>
<p>In this RPG setup there’s a difference between the stat base of your character and the action of those stats in a run or a lifecycle. When you die on a run your stats don’t disappear. They don’t return to zero. You get to retry and the retrying process of die-rebirth-try-again is actually a part of how you improve the stats in the RPG system, but the goal of the game is not about your stats. You don’t win the game when you reach a certain level or stat attribute (at least not typically). Your stats just help you reach your goals in the game. There are, then, two memories in this system: your memory of running and dying and the game’s memory of your stats up to the point of dying. Your RPG stats do not typically rise and fall with each run. They only increase with the successes of a successful run.</p>
<p>Zettelkasten gives a similar system where the stats are stored in the zettelkasten (in the form of notes) and the runs are the drafts where we employ things gathered and learned in the zettelkasten for a specific run, a project. This project may end or this project might fail. A draft may end. You might need to start a new draft. These are all a function of succeeding-dying-trying-again in the drafting process.</p>
<p>In this drafting process you will employ things that you develop in your zettelkasten; but you may (and probably will) discover new things, whether they be insights that can be incorporated back into the zettelkasten or framing problems that you had not considered yet, such as categorical issues. You COULD stop there and re-process/redevelop your zettelkasten with each new insight or problem. Yes, you could do this forever. But why not focus on the run you’re on. It’s going to end one way or another, either through a successful draft or failed one. At that point, regroup, re-evaluate, rework with your zettelkasten in preparation for the next run.</p>
<p>The actual implementation of this, of course, can be a lot messier. At various stages in the middle of drafting, the zettelkasten might be updated or the draft might be updated from the zettelkasten. This metaphor just serves to help express one way of negotiating the difference between the two: the two processes or the two memories.</p>
<p>How do you level up? How do you define “progress” in the RPG that is your zettelkasten. That is up to you, but I suggest arbitrary constraints as a tool for articulating this dimension of your process.</p>
<h2 id="arbitrary-constraints">Arbitrary Constraints</h2>
<p>You can enact this metaphor in your zettelkasten by conceiving of arbitrary constraints for yourself. Arbitrary constraints are rules that you decide for yourself to limit what a given zettel/note does. The constraints could involve the length of the note, the placement of the note, the titling of the note, the content of the note, etc. To clarify, these constraints are not “goals.” They are limitations. “I go here but no further. I write no longer than this.”</p>
<p>The psychology behind this implementation of constraint is related to the idea of using timeboxes. Using the constraint of, say, a three minute time box is different than having a goal to write for 30 minutes. The three minute time box is a limitation. I can only write for three minutes, but this limitation has the psychological effect of making the process more easy to start and more digestible, often leading you to meet your goal of 30 minutes (psychologists, is the Zeignarik effect still a thing?). You require the limitations (just 3 min. at least 3 min.), but this limitation helps you strive toward your goal. It depends on your own needs psychological needs what you need your writing partner to facilitate for you and your own goals in using this at all costs and disciplines for writing. These arbitrary constraints can make a game of the process suited to your own play-style.</p>
<p>Arbitrary constraints help you visualize this progress in the “stats” of the zettelkasten. The benefits include:</p>
<ol>
<li> helping you define the purpose of a note (so you’re not redefining the wheel every time)</li>
<li> breaking down the ambiguous processes of synthesis to smaller actionable steps</li>
<li> limitations that give way to creativity (exploit limitations!)</li>
<li> psychological motivation of progress and forward momentum</li>
<li> unexpected benefits of randomness</li>
<li> creating a game to be played, learned, and exploited. After all, play is, in some sense, arriving at a genuine <a href="http://bogost.com/books/play-anything/">admiration of the absurd</a>
</li>
<li> Constraints can help you work with (and not against) your own cathexes by designating contexts for different behaviors</li>
</ol>
<p>What do I mean by #7? In my case, a constraint can limit the amount of choices that I have so I do not get paralyzed by indecision. For instance, as an example from drafting, there’s a lot of agency that we have in a digital word processor that we don’t have on a notebook page. In a notebook you can’t go into the middle of a sentence you’ve written and change up the words or take out a word and add a new word, fix the spelling, etc. You can write over words, sure; but you can’t change them. And eventually you’ll run out of space anyway. The notebook keeps you to a relatively strict linearity. The word process, however, is an infinite canvas and a time machine to boot with almost infinite possibilities (maybe infinite? Man I’m really not a mathematician, huh). At any point you can stop, go back, refine, rework, restart, duplicate… go read a forum post while you decide what to do next….</p>
<p>For this reason, a lot of people give the advice that you should not edit while you write. I think this is well-meaning but ultimately superficial. It doesn’t address the point that you do have the option to do that. You have to actively choose not to do it. So an insight we can derive from this comparison is that the reduction of choice (at least for me as a writer) can be beneficial. While these constraints are inherent to certain material processes, they are arbitrary in digital processes. We have to choose them. And our choice is what matters. They don’t have to be necessary (because in many ways they are not).</p>
<p>Another example of an arbitrary constraint for drafting. I constrain myself to limit an outline to a particular page number. I typically can get too invested in an outline and want to place every particular point exactly in the right place, leading to twenty-page outlines that are overwrought and well past the range of the project for which I am writing. By limiting my outline size I make the outline process a game of negotiating text between the outline and the draft. If I’ve reached, say, 4 pages of outline but am only half-way through the argument then I need to either simplify some points or start moving some of that text to the draft to make room for the rest of the argument. In this way the outline becomes a tool for working out the draft rather than only a representation of the draft that I tirelessly refine without ever writing the draft. I still want to perfect that outline because that is my comfort zone. When I’m working on the outline I’m not actually doing the hard work of “writing.” I’m just moving things around and taking notes, but by constraining the outline document I trick myself into drafting. The outline leaks into the draft. This is how I turn my outline cathexes into a tool for actually writing the draft. If anything the draft is an accident for the sake of the outline…. (Practically I have three docs that I move between: the mega dump outline file [a pile of things pseudo-organized that I’ve collected until it reached critical mass], the constrained outline [4 pages max], and the actual draft).</p>
<p>Arbitrary rules of constraint can give the zettelkasten a system of its own with its own rules that produce notes according to these rules. It becomes poietic (ποίησις). It does not just represent what I know (mimetic or μίμησις). And given these rules, it often causes me to go in unexpected directions. Often at the problem and series level of my constrained process (discussed below) I find a productive challenge in naming and understanding the manifestation of the problem only in terms of a constrained selection of three closely linked notes, rather than overdetermining it by larger and more familiar concepts elsewhere in the zettelkasten. Sure, at a later stage of synthesis these problems may then be incorporated into those other larger concepts, but I’m often surprised at what I find by sticking with the particular notes themselves and understanding them on their own terms rather than too quickly jumping to solve them with a more comfortable model. New concepts often emerge from this more disciplined practice.</p>
<p>As a note, I think these arbitrary constraints become more important later on in the process of building my zettelkasten. The basic procedures outlined on the site and discussed in these forums should serve for multiple years before you reach a critical mass.</p>
<p>But to solve my communication issues with my writing partner (the zettelkasten), what I landed upon was a system of arbitrary constraints that helped me think through certain synthetic problems towards an outline and a draft but in a way that did not confine these notes to only serving that particular outline/draft. There could be both an imposed structure on zettelkasten as well as an open anarchic possibility to further future developments, future outlines and drafts.</p>
<h2 id="pythagorean-secrets-please-don-t-read-this-part-most-of-this-is-completely-arbitrary-and-just-suited-to-my-own-speed-and-length-of-writing-thinking">Pythagorean Secrets: Please Don’t Read this Part (most of this is completely arbitrary and just suited to my own speed [and length] of writing/thinking.)</h2>
<p>It’s true @zetteldistraction. I’m betraying my Pythagorean secrets. But hopefully the initiated will protect these secrets and keep them from getting out. They are too dangerous to be read by anybody else and may cause harm.</p>
<p>My own sense of arbitrary constraints come from my own needs as a historian in which different pieces of evidence can be articulated for very different arguments, whether the argument concerns material history or politics or theology or ritual or whatever. I don’t’ want to decide only one purpose for a piece of evidence so I’ve designed my system to be flexible and allow for multiple references of the same notes.</p>
<p>I have also designed my constraints to resonate with my own understandings of logic and semiotics. In it I have devised that base zettel are collected in various stages of synthesis in which they are refined on the way to becoming part of an outline for a particular conceptual argument. These layers involve some redundancies which allow me to use notes for various arguments without limiting them to this one project outline.</p>
<p>A base note is constrained to about three sentences. It has the function of either</p>
<p>a) representing a belief I or another person has
b) designating a relationship between two things in the world or
c) affirming or countering another note that I have.</p>
<!--ct: TODO checken, ob daraus eine Liste auf der Website wird-->
<p>Three of the above kinds of notes can be synthesized into a problematic (a problem note) where each note repeats, multiplies, or separates (creating binaries) from the other notes.</p>
<p>What I do is I collect three related notes and create with them a new note that I call a “problem note”. I designate this visually in the YAML (header yes I use meta-data, don’t get distracted), I link the notes the three notes to the problem note, and I give a π symbol in front of the title of the note while still preserving the zettel id for search (the zettel id is also preserved in the yaml header to allow for title fluctuations, but don’t get distracted). This π visually indicates to me the status of the note letting me know what to do with it next these notes might have other branches of related notes that could be collected as related problems.</p>
<p>Creating a problem is the first part of synthesis and I have different rules for defining what kind of problem it is, articulating it as something different than just a list of facts. This way I start to negotiate the relationship between the linked notes.</p>
<p>In the next step I create a series note. Three problem notes can become a series note which incorporates these three problems into a series that names them and/or regulates them. In this step I take the synthesis process into a further layer. I make a new note that links to the three linked problems, and I put a Σ in front of the title. In the YAML header I mark the problem notes linked and I also link the series not in the headers of each of those problem notes so I can see the ladder of synthesis as I traverse local note links. This is why it is important for me to label these notes accordingly but preserve the base zettel. I am creating a linear ladder through these ideas but multiple ladders are possible. Again syntheses can be related to other syntheses.</p>
<p>The next step is a fragment that consists of two series. One series is typically framed as correcting or elaborating upon the other. I repeat the process described in the other steps, putting a φ symbol in the title. The fragment note is where I start to get to a thicker building block for a draft in my writing process. Here is where broader concepts and bibliographies start to percolate in concert with the zettelkasten. At this point I combine all the text from the lower levels (as I have combined and synthesized them at each level) and write an overview of the sources that are generating these syntheses. From here I ask, are these sufficient? What is missing?</p>
<p>Beyond the fragment is a concept a note marked by a Δ and consisting of three fragment notes. The concept is one of the highest level of notes in my taxonomy.</p>
<p>At each level I combine text from previous levels, but the procedure is not purely combinatory (copy and paste). At each level I am asking new questions about the relationships between the emerging sets as I have organized them.</p>
<p>The concept note usually occupies a third of an outline (Ω) which consists of three concepts forming the three parts of a body of a typical academic argument.</p>
<p>Usually a concept should be linked to a thesis (θ) or hypothesis (ψ) as well as an outline note and an outline note is linked to the concepts and the thesis. The redundancies strengthen the connections for traveling through this process nonlinearly. I don’t see the redundancies in my zettelkasten as a hindrance primarily because global search is not my primary way of working with my zettelkasten. Instead I work through local connections of notes. This means that notes with redundant links are more likely to show up in my wanderings, which is something I exploit so that important notes show up more often, when and where I might need them.</p>
<p>When one level of a problem, series, or fragment has been processed into a higher order of synthesis I might tag this as done or label it as “DONE_” in the title visually to tell me not to retrace my steps redundantly. Again this is just marking out a process of synthesis in a matter of an argument but at each point there could be offshoots.</p>
<p>In a perfect world I would develop each strand of synthesis from the bottom up and then begin to draft once all those stages are complete, but usually given an onrush of insight or the pressure of a deadline the drafting process starts somewhere in the middle and other parts of these ladders are worked out either independently or in in tandem with the drafting process. This back-and-forth becomes a conversation in which the zettelkasten helps me progress my thinking on the draft through iterative development independent of the draft.</p>
<p>I developed these stages by noting the depth and length required for synthesizing an argument for a dissertation chapter given my own reading and note taking strategies. I actually have a lot more rules for how to structure and define each part of the note and I can include those later but the reason I give an example of my process is not to recommend it (because I’ve designed it very specifically for my own uses) but to give an example of what I mean by arbitrary constraints. I’m actually not recommending you employ this specific method, unless you are finishing a dissertation on origins of the Western metaphor of “pure blood” from the first to third centuries.</p>
<p>What I do recommend is you finding ways to assign particular arbitrary constraints to your own process an order. These can be personally attenuated and even a bit random.</p>
<hr>
<p><strong>Sascha’s Comment:</strong> My first association with this great metaphor is a segmented speed run. Some players try to play through a game as fast as possible and compete on that time. There are some variations like “naked runs” when you aren’t even allowed to wear any armor. The segmented run allows the player to divide the run into segments and improve the time of each segment independently instead of starting the run all over once you fail. So, each segment run is a hit or miss. But sometimes you run just to experiment and test a new theory. Local failures in one segment are fine because they are part of a bigger strategy. Each run is a note, each segment is a structure note, the run is your ZK.</p>
<p><strong>Christian’s Comment:</strong> As a casual player of roguelike RPGs, I really dig the metaphor presented here! Dive in, try to achieve something useful in your current so the next run has a higher likelihood to succeed. Sacrifice the present run for the success of a future run. You don’t overcome the hard challenges in your early runs. You just improve the likelihood of “making it” in the next run. That’s a powerful metaphor for life in general :) There’s no winning in your Zettelkasten, but there’s lots of smaller wins and milestones to celebrate!</p>
tag:zettelkasten.de,2022-03-29:/posts/field-report-5-reading-processing-effective-notetaking-mcpherson/Field Report #5: How I Prepare Reading and Processing <i>Effective Notetaking</i> by Fiona McPherson2022-03-29T11:11:09Z2022-03-29T11:11:09Z<figure class="post-figure "><a href="/posts/field-report-5-reading-processing-effective-notetaking-mcpherson/extensive-book-biting.jpg"><img alt="" src="/posts/field-report-5-reading-processing-effective-notetaking-mcpherson/extensive-book-biting.jpg" class="post-figure__image"></a><figcaption class="post-figure__caption"></figcaption></figure>
<p>When you process a book into your Zettelkasten you should prepare both the book and your Zettelkasten. The following is exactly how I prepared <a href="https://amzn.to/3tPEsvj"><em>Effective Notetaking</em> by Fiona McPherson</a>:<sup id="fnref1"><a href="#fn1">1</a></sup></p>
<p><strong>I set clear expectations and why I am reading a book.</strong> I don’t read for joy, although I enjoy good books almost regardless of their topic. The usefulness of the book comes first. I expect <em>Effective Notetaking</em> to teach me on how to use note-taking to achieve specific goals. So I expect a combination of theoretical and practical knowledge.</p>
<p>I am reading the book for two reasons:</p>
<ol>
<li>Improve my knowledge on note-taking as a topic and – even more important – improve my skillset.</li>
<li>Improve the Zettelkasten Method by integrating the above into the overall model.</li>
</ol>
<p>I didn’t want to read yet another theoretical book by an educationalist. So I reviewed the bibliography to see what the ratio of articles to books is. Many books and few articles is a sign that the book is not based on primary research. Luckily, the ratio was satisfying and there were no red flags that popped up when I skimmed the titles. (If you want to have a glimpse into the reason behind this read <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/layers-of-evidence/">Layers of Evidence</a>).</p>
<p><strong>I review the table of content to generate a mental map.</strong> Since the book is on note-taking, I am very familiar with the topic. I needed just 2 minutes for this step. The book is separated into three main parts:</p>
<ol>
<li>Selecting strategies</li>
<li>Connecting strategies</li>
<li>Application</li>
</ol>
<p>Awesome! It mirrors the Zettelkasten Method – which is no coincidence since I make use of general patterns of knowledge and information processing.</p>
<p>I think this priming step is overemphasised by many. Reading a book takes a couple of hours in total if you are in an optimal reading environment. But the reality is that the reading time is broken up into lots of fragments unless you have the luxury (and focus) to read many hours at a time. So the reading could be spread out over weeks. By that time, you will forget most of your mental maps anyway.</p>
<p>This is the reason why I personally don’t read many book introductions. I never benefited from reading them, nor did I encounter valid empirical research that shows benefits of reading introductions in a real world scenario.</p>
<p><strong>I come up with an hypothesis what the core idea of the book is.</strong> The book is not about good <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/create-zettel-from-reading-notes/">atomic notes</a>. It is about the effects of various ways of note-taking, the <em>process</em> of note-taking.</p>
<p><strong>I plan what I will use the book for within my Zettelkasten.</strong> I know that I will process the book into my Zettelkasten. It’d be short-sighted if I wouldn’t take this into consideration. I give my future self ideas and tasks what to do when he will process the book. Some are set initially, but most will be added during the first reading. I don’t plan too much and instead react to the reading experience.</p>
<p><strong>Then I prepare a bookmark for the book.</strong> It is structured like this:</p>
<ol>
<li>The title of the book.</li>
<li>The core idea</li>
<li>Tasks</li>
</ol>
<p>It looked like this when I was on page 151 (when I wrote this article; to the right, there is an English translation):</p>
<table>
<tr>
<td><figure class="post-figure "><a href="/posts/field-report-5-reading-processing-effective-notetaking-mcpherson/bookmark.jpg"><img alt="" src="/posts/field-report-5-reading-processing-effective-notetaking-mcpherson/bookmark.jpg" class="post-figure__image"></a><figcaption class="post-figure__caption"></figcaption></figure></td>
<td>
<ul>
<li>
<strong>Title:</strong> McPherson - Effective Notetaking</li>
<li>
<strong>Core Idea:</strong> The very process of note-taking</li>
<li>
<strong>Tasks, Ideas:</strong>
<ul>
<li>The good note</li>
<li>The good pre-product</li>
<li>Processing for oneself vs for ZK</li>
<li>Recall vs. Recognition relating depth of processing</li>
<li>How to learn with the ZK</li>
<li>Review the bibliography</li>
<li>The 5 aspects of knowledge for reading preparation? Setting reading goals?</li>
<li>First reading = Instruction for second reading</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>My latest quirk is to use proper cards instead of ordinary slips of paper for that. But normal paper works fine. I have a stack of DIN A5 cards which I cut to a smaller size if the book is smaller than this format.</p>
<h2 id="bonus-how-to-read-effective-notetaking-to-improve-your-personal-iteration-of-the-zettelkasten-method">Bonus: How to Read <em>Effective Notetaking</em> to Improve Your Personal Iteration of the Zettelkasten Method</h2>
<p>This is the current flow diagram of the Zettelkasten Method for the <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/tags/second-edition/">upcoming book</a>.</p>
<figure class="post-figure "><a href="/posts/field-report-5-reading-processing-effective-notetaking-mcpherson/value-creation-extended.png"><img alt="" src="/posts/field-report-5-reading-processing-effective-notetaking-mcpherson/value-creation-extended.png" class="post-figure__image"></a><figcaption class="post-figure__caption"></figcaption></figure>
<p>And this is the table of content of <em>Effective Notetaking</em>:</p>
<p>1. Introduction<br>
2. Making note-taking an effective strategy<br>
<strong>PART I: Selection strategies</strong><br>
3. Highlighting important information<br>
4. Headings highlight structure<br>
5. Summaries<br>
6. Graphic summaries<br>
<strong>PART II: Connection strategies</strong><br>
7. Understanding connection<br>
8. Elaboration strategies<br>
9. Concept maps<br>
<strong>PART III: Applying your strategies</strong><br>
10. Taking notes in lectures<br>
11. Using your notes<br>
12. Learning style and individual differences<br>
13. Choosing the right strategy</p>
<p>I mapped the various sections of the book to the flow diagram to show you how my model of the Zettelkasten Method will absorb what I will find in the book:</p>
<ol>
<li>Research</li>
<li>Reading and Learning by Identification
<ul>
<li>3. Highlighting important information</li>
<li>4. Headings highlight structure</li>
<li>10. making notes in lectures</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Excerpts and Learning by Reformulation and Association
<ul>
<li>2. Making note-taking an effective strategy</li>
<li>5. Summaries</li>
<li>6. Graphic summaries</li>
<li>7. Understanding connection</li>
<li>8. Elaboration strategies</li>
<li>9. Concept maps</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Processing and by Reformulation and Association
<ul>
<li>2. Making note-taking an effective strategy</li>
<li>7. Understanding connection</li>
<li>8. Elaboration strategies</li>
<li>9 .Concept maps</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Structuring, Integrating and Learning by Integrating
<ul>
<li>2. Making note-taking an effective strategy</li>
<li>8. Elaboration strategies</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Drafting</li>
<li>Putting into practice</li>
</ol>
<p>Some sections will be absorbed by a peripheral model:</p>
<ul>
<li>Use Cases and User Case
<ul>
<li>11. Using your notes</li>
<li>12. Learning style</li>
<li>13. Choosing the right strategy</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p>My hypothesis is that the differentiation between selecting and connecting mirrors the two steps of the <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/barbell-method-reading/">Barbell Method of Reading</a>.</p>
<div class="footnotes">
<hr>
<ol>
<li id="fn1">
<p>Affiliate link. I earn a little % commission when you use my link to purchase, but you don’t pay extra. <a href="#fnref1">↩</a></p>
</li>
</ol>
</div>
tag:zettelkasten.de,2022-03-26:/posts/zettelkasten-and-gtd-taskpaper/How to Integrate Your Zettelkasten with Your GTD2022-03-26T16:05:49Z2022-03-26T16:05:49Z<p>A quick demonstration on how to go from task manager to The Archive:</p>
<figure class="post-figure youtube"><div class="video-container"><iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/0nuztKTi7u4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div></figure>
tag:zettelkasten.de,2022-03-25:/posts/introduction-antinet-zettelkasten/Introducing the Antinet Zettelkasten2022-03-25T07:17:26Z2022-03-25T07:17:26Z<p><em>Today, we’re happy to introduce you to Scott P. Scheper via this introduction to his fully, 100% analog and paper-based approach to Zettelkasten! Make sure to also check out his videos for a live demo at the end. Enjoy!</em></p>
<hr>
<figure class="post-figure "><a href="/posts/introduction-antinet-zettelkasten/picture1.jpg"><img alt="" src="/posts/introduction-antinet-zettelkasten/picture1.jpg" class="post-figure__image"></a><figcaption class="post-figure__caption"></figcaption></figure>
<p>Before we begin, please note that this piece assumes intermediate familiarity with Zettelkasten and its original creator, the social scientist Niklas Luhmann (1927–1998). It also is more conceptual in nature rather than a practical guide for how to build your own Antinet Zettelkasten.<sup id="fnref1"><a href="#fn1">1</a></sup></p>
<p>My goal is twofold: (1) I hope to motivate those who prefer paper-based thinking systems, and (2) I hope to present an alternative perspective for those who use digital Zettelkasten systems. I hope my perspective will add one or two valuable insights you can add to your Zettelkasten workflow (even a digital one).</p>
<p>Let’s get started.</p>
<p>In brief, an Antinet Zettelkasten possesses four principles. These four principles delineate what an Antinet Zettelkasten is and what it is not. Let’s explore these four principles now.</p>
<h2 id="the-four-principles-of-an-antinet-zettelkasten">The Four Principles of an Antinet Zettelkasten</h2>
<p>The four principles Niklas Luhmann used to build his notebox system are:</p>
<ol>
<li>Analog</li>
<li>Numeric-alpha</li>
<li>Tree</li>
<li>Index</li>
</ol>
<p>The first letters of those four principles (A, N, T, I) are what comprise an <em>Antinet</em>. An Antinet Zettelkasten is a network of these four principles.</p>
<p>Let’s dive into each of these four principles now.</p>
<h3 id="principle-1-analog">Principle #1: Analog</h3>
<p>The first principle is what Luhmann calls a <em>technical</em> requirement for a Zettelkasten. He refers to its analog nature as an <em>externality</em>, meaning it’s an indirect benefit to the other core principles of the Zettelkasten: “Wooden boxes, which have drawers that can be pulled open, and pieces of paper.”<sup id="fnref2"><a href="#fn2">2</a></sup></p>
<p>I hold that physical materials unlock some of the most powerful results that drive one’s experience using a Zettelkasten.</p>
<p>Luhmann did not specify <em>analog</em> as a requirement over <em>digital</em>. The reason why is simple. Digital tools were not an option when he started building his Zettelkasten. I believe that if Niklas Luhmann were alive today, he would continue using physical materials to develop his thinking. In future writings, I will share why Luhmann would continue using an analog Zettelkasten if he were alive today.</p>
<h3 id="principle-2-numeric-alpha">Principle #2: Numeric-alpha</h3>
<p>Perhaps the most crucial principle in the Antinet Zettelkasten is the <em>Numeric-alpha</em> notecard address. What is meant by <em>Numeric-alpha</em> is simply this: addresses which start with a number and are combined with alphabetical characters. For instance, a notecard with an address in the top corner like: <code>3306/27A</code>. This enables what Luhmann phrased as “the possibility of linking.”<sup id="fnref3"><a href="#fn3">3</a></sup> It’s the very thing that allows the system to become self-referential and a <em>cybernetic</em> network, as Luhmann thought of it.<sup id="fnref4"><a href="#fn4">4</a></sup> The system is self-referential in that it can refer to its individual parts (each individual thought). One way to think of this is to think about yourself. You are a system. You have distinct pieces of yourself (like your left hand). Your left hand has its own label (i.e., ‘left hand’). This allows one to reference their individual parts. The same becomes true with the Antinet, thanks to Numeric-alpha addresses.</p>
<p>When people first see a notecard address like <code>3306/2A/12</code>, they think of it as a hierarchical system. Yet it’s not. It’s merely the <em>location</em> of where the leaf lives on a branch or stem on your tree of knowledge. Think of it more like a <em>geographic coordinate system</em>, like a latitude and longitude scheme (for instance, <code>-77.0364,38.8951</code>). The slashes do not connote that of a hierarchy; the address ‘3306/2A/12’ could simply be represented as <code>3306.2A.12</code>, and that would be just fine. It’s a matter of personal preference.</p>
<p>The Numeric-alpha address stands as a vital principle in Luhmann’s system. The Numeric-alpha address not only enables linking but also enables the self-referential composition of the Zettelkasten. The Numeric-alpha addresses never change; however, due to the infinite internal branching of the system, its position shifts over time.</p>
<p>The Antinet’s <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/add-identity/">permanent-address</a> scheme, with its shifting nature, gives the system a unique <em>personality</em>. The Antinet’s unique personality stands as one of the most integral aspects of the system.</p>
<p>A key component that enables insightful communication with a human being is the human’s <em>personality</em>–the person’s unique way of communicating with you based on their unique perspectives and interpretations. The Numeric-alpha addresses provide the Zettelkasten with a unique personality. Over time, unique structures form due to Numeric-alpha addresses. This is important because it allows one to <em>communicate</em> with the Antinet, transforming it into a communication experience with a <em>second mind</em>, a <em>doppelgänger</em>, or a <em>ghost in a box</em>, as Luhmann called it.<sup id="fnref5"><a href="#fn5">5</a></sup> This is the entity Luhmann referred to when he titled his paper, <em>Communicating with Noteboxes</em>.</p>
<p>Numeric-alpha addresses make all of this possible.</p>
<h3 id="principle-3-tree">Principle #3: Tree</h3>
<p>The third principle is based on something Luhmann refers to as “the possibility of arbitrary internal branching.”<sup id="fnref6"><a href="#fn6">6</a></sup></p>
<p><em>How can one devise a system built on that which best models reality?</em> Reality is chaos, yet it also emerges from ordered and simplistic rules (think the laws of thermodynamics). Reality emerges from simplistic laws (for instance, the atomic theory–that all matter is composed of particles called atoms). Reality is chaos built out of simple laws of order. These simple laws and units of order bind the system together, allowing one to navigate complexity. It was with <em>both</em> chaos and order in mind that Luhmann crafted his notebox system.<sup id="fnref7"><a href="#fn7">7</a></sup></p>
<p>Within the current popularity of communities around Personal Knowledge Management (“PKM”), it’s become a popular idea to embrace so-called <em>dynamic</em> systems. Ones that are <em>fluid</em> and are built on things like <em>wikilinks</em> and <em>tags</em>. It’s become popular advice to ditch systems that use folders and directory structures.<sup id="fnref8"><a href="#fn8">8</a></sup> This notion, however, is a rather new idea. Luhmann’s Zettelkasten was not <em>dynamic</em>, nor was it <em>fluid</em>. It looks almost as if it’s built entirely of folders (in the digital computer directory sense).</p>
<p>I argue that you should not strive for dynamic, fluid systems–ones that constantly can update themselves with <em>find-and-replace</em> text features. Such a structure would be lacking in rough, unique conventions. It would lack a unique personality or an “alter ego,” which is what Luhmann’s system aimed to create.<sup id="fnref9"><a href="#fn9">9</a></sup> One of Luhmann’s goals centered on replacing the need for an “expensive” research assistant.<sup id="fnref10"><a href="#fn10">10</a></sup> The way he achieved this was by architecting one with its own unique personality: his Zettelkasten.</p>
<p>Simply stated, Luhmann’s Zettelkasten structure was not <em>dynamic</em> or <em>fluid</em> in nature. Yet, it was not <em>rigid</em>, either. Examples of a <em>rigid</em> structure are classification systems like the Dewey Decimal Classification System or Paul Otlet’s massive notecard world museum known as, <em>The Mundaneum</em>. These types of systems are helpful for <em>interpersonal knowledge systems</em>; however, they’re not illustrative of what Niklas Luhmann’s system was: an <em>intrapersonal communication system</em>. Luhmann’s notebox system was not logically and neatly organized to allow for the convenience of the public to access. Nor was it meant to be. It seemed chaotic to those who perused its contents other than its creator, Niklas Luhmann. One researcher who studied Luhmann’s system in person says, “at first glance, Luhmann’s organization of his collection appears to lack any clear order; it even seems chaotic. However, this was a deliberate choice.”<sup id="fnref11"><a href="#fn11">11</a></sup> Luhmann’s Zettelkasten was not a structure that could be characterized as one of <em>order</em>. Indeed, it seems closer to that of <em>chaos</em> than <em>order</em>.</p>
<p>If Luhmann’s notebox system was not <em>dynamic</em> and <em>fluid</em> and not one of pure <em>order</em>, either, how can one think of Luhmann’s notebox system? In my experience using an Antinet Zettelkasten, I find it to be more <em>organic</em> in nature. Like nature, it has simple laws and fundamental rules by which it operates (like the laws of thermodynamics in physics); yet, it’s also subject to arbitrary decisions. We know this because in describing it, Luhmann uses the word <em>arbitrary</em> to describe its <em>arbitrary internal branching</em>. We can infer that <em>arbitrary</em>, means something that was decided by Luhmann outside of some external and strict criteria (i.e., strict schemes like the Dewey Decimal Classification).<sup id="fnref12"><a href="#fn12">12</a></sup> This <em>arbitrary</em>, <em>random</em> structure contributes to one of its most distinctive aspects of the system–the aspect of <em>surprises</em>. Because of its unique structure, the Antinet is noted as “a surprise generator,” and a system that develops “a creativity of its own.”<sup id="fnref13"><a href="#fn13">13</a></sup></p>
<p>Let’s jump back to the question: <em>How can one think of Luhmann’s notebox system?</em> It’s quite simple, and I’ll share with you precisely how you should think of the Zettelkasten in just a moment. Until then, it’s essential to close the loop on the characteristic which describes it.</p>
<p>One of the knowledge scientists who studied Luhmann’s Zettelkasten closest is Johannes Schmidt, who works at Bielefeld University in Germany. Schmidt is currently the scientific coordinator of a project to digitize Luhmann’s notebox and publish its contents online for all to explore.<sup id="fnref14"><a href="#fn14">14</a></sup></p>
<p>According to Schmidt, Niklas Luhmann’s notebox system is “a <em>rough</em> structure.”<sup id="fnref15"><a href="#fn15">15</a></sup> It’s organized “by subject areas, which is reflected in the first number assigned to the card.”<sup id="fnref16"><a href="#fn16">16</a></sup> A <em>rough</em> structure comprises both “order and disorder,” as Luhmann put it.<sup id="fnref17"><a href="#fn17">17</a></sup></p>
<p>I propose that one ought not to think of the Zettelkasten as a <em>dynamic</em> or <em>fluid</em> structure. Nor should one think of the Zettelkasten as a system of complete <em>order</em>. As Johannes Schmidt observed, I hold that it’s most precise to think of it as a <em>rough</em> structure. Yet, knowing this gets us only so far. Knowing the abstract traits of a system is nice, yes, but not really that useful in practice. For this reason, I’ll share with you what I’ve found to be the best illustration of what type of structure a Zettelkasten is.</p>
<p>Think of a Zettelkasten as a tree. A real tree. What does a real tree contain? It contains a trunk, branches, stems, leaves, and vines (depending on the tree). Think of each individual leaf as a notecard. With a Zettelkasten, you’ll be building a tree of knowledge. One that has different branches, different stems of thought, and even vines that link to other branches. This allows one to explore and swing between branches, stems, and leaves.</p>
<p>The importance of the Zettelkasten’s tree-like structure should not be overlooked. Long-term memory works in a way that closely models tree-like structures.<sup id="fnref18"><a href="#fn18">18</a></sup> The same thing goes for the human brain, neurons, and neural networks. Some of the most beautiful tree-like images are the networks of the human brain.<sup id="fnref19"><a href="#fn19">19</a></sup></p>
<p>This helps create a concept I like to call the <em>second mind</em>. The <em>second mind</em> is something different than the PKM term of <em>second brain</em>. The structure of the Zettelkasten is critical because it makes possible the emergence of a <em>second mind</em>. It’s not about storing information and creating bubbles that link concepts together; instead, it’s about <em>exploration</em>, as one knowledge scientist put it.<sup id="fnref20"><a href="#fn20">20</a></sup> It’s about exploration from one card to the next, and jumping to cards linked to remote branches. The tree structure of the Zettelkasten enables meaningful <em>exploration</em>. One knowledge scientist goes on to say, “secondary memories themselves have an inner order that allows for exploration.”<sup id="fnref21"><a href="#fn21">21</a></sup> Such things are enhanced by the tree structure of the Zettelkasten.</p>
<h3 id="principle-4-index">Principle #4: Index</h3>
<p>The last principle in Luhmann’s notebox system is the <em>index</em>. Luhmann calls this concept a “Register.”<sup id="fnref22"><a href="#fn22">22</a></sup> I prefer <em>index</em>, but you’re welcome to use whatever terminology you like best. You can think of the index as a <em>map</em> for exploring your own <em>tree of knowledge</em>.</p>
<p>Say you’re traveling, staying in a new location, and suddenly you realize you haven’t eaten all day. You’re starving. You think to yourself, <em>I’m really craving In-N-Out Burger right now</em>. You recall seeing an In-N-Out Burger the previous day, but since you’re traveling, you’re not sure how to get there. You then pull out your phone and open up the maps app. What do you do next? Do you type in ‘32.7794303,-117.242262’? Or do you type in the human-memorable name ‘In-N-Out Burger’? Chances are you opt for the human-memorable name. This is precisely how to think of the index for you Zettelkasten. The index is a key-value associative array. The keyterm is the human-readable name, and the value is the location of the leaf on a tree in your Zettelkasten. For instance, here’s an example taken directly from my own Zettelkasten: <em>‘Truth’: ‘5455/1’</em>. This should look familiar if you’re familiar with data structures like JSON, Python dictionaries, or YAML arrays. You can get pretty advanced with your index and create nested items. However, I won’t cover such now.</p>
<p>The bottom line is this: think of the index as your own map that enables you to swing onto a specific leaf, on a certain branch of a particular tree. From there, you can then continue exploring by reviewing the nearby stems of thoughts and the individual cards, which, themselves, contain remote links. These remote links enable you to swing around to other leaves on other branches of your tree of knowledge.</p>
<figure class="post-figure "><a href="/posts/introduction-antinet-zettelkasten/picture2.jpg"><img alt="" src="/posts/introduction-antinet-zettelkasten/picture2.jpg" class="post-figure__image"></a><figcaption class="post-figure__caption">Photo of Scott’s own 18 Antinet drawers as of February 2022, bound to expand further!</figcaption></figure>
<h2 id="introducing-the-antinet">Introducing: “The Antinet”</h2>
<p>Now that you know what the four principles are that Luhmann used to build his Zettelkasten, let’s summarize them briefly here.</p>
<p>The four principles Luhmann used to build his notebox system are:</p>
<ol>
<li>
<strong>A</strong>nalog</li>
<li>
<strong>N</strong>umeric-alpha</li>
<li>
<strong>T</strong>ree</li>
<li>
<strong>I</strong>ndex</li>
</ol>
<p>The first letters of those four principles (A, N, T, I) are what comprise <em>Antinet</em>. It’s also the four specific principles comprising a Luhmannian Zettelkasten.</p>
<p>When first coming across the term <em>Antinet</em>, many people may mistake it for being <em>anti-digital</em>, or <em>anti-technology</em>. However, if you spend some time reading or watching what I actually say, I’m actually not as anti-digital as one would think. If one elects to stick with digital as their medium of choice for an <em>Antinet</em>, just drop the <em>analog</em> principle and stick with the rest (<em>Nitnet</em>). There are good reasons why you’d want to still ascribe to the other principles. One reason centers around stamping <em>cues</em> onto your mind (by way of using a manual index). This helps you retrieve thoughts instantly. It exercises your brain’s <em>neuro-associative recall</em> muscle. This happens by way of using the index (but also the Analog component helps significantly via neuro-imprinting).</p>
<p>To be clear, I am anti-digital when it comes to a thinking development system such as the Antinet; but within reason. I understand that some people may operate and think better with digital tools. That’s fine. I believe a digital Zettelkasten is a compromised version; yet it seems to be a useful tool for others. However, after you read the research backing an <em>analog</em> thinking development system, I hope you’ll at least give it your best shot before reverting to the digital version.</p>
<p>Before we move on, there’s one last thing you should know. It pertains to the <em>net</em> in <em>Antinet</em>.</p>
<h3 id="the-net-in-antinet">The Net in Antinet</h3>
<p>The <em>net</em> in <em>Antinet</em> refers to <em>network</em>. To Luhmann, the system he built was a network, a <em>cybernetic network</em>.<sup id="fnref23"><a href="#fn23">23</a></sup> The Antinet, according to Luhmann, was <em>self-referential</em> in nature. It was self-referential because of its ability to reference itself via the <em>numeric-alpha</em> addresses.</p>
<p>This is all I’ll say about the <em>network</em> component of the Antinet for now.</p>
<figure class="post-figure "><a href="/posts/introduction-antinet-zettelkasten/picture3.jpg"><img alt="" src="/posts/introduction-antinet-zettelkasten/picture3.jpg" class="post-figure__image"></a><figcaption class="post-figure__caption"></figcaption></figure>
<h2 id="what-an-antinet-really-is">What an Antinet <em>Really</em> Is</h2>
<p>Now that you know the four principles of Luhmann’s notebox, you’re closer to understanding it. But there’s only one problem: you now know what an Antinet is comprised of, but you still have no idea what an Antinet <em>really</em> is. The reason why centers around the four principles merely describing the <em>parts</em> of Luhmann’s system. They describe its fundamental raw organs. You can’t understand what a human being is just by learning it’s made up of seventy-eight organs. The individual parts do not represent the <em>whole</em> that it creates. Like a human being, the four parts of an Antinet combine to create a whole more significant than the sum of its parts.</p>
<p>When the four principles are combined into a system, the Antinet becomes a <em>thinking tool</em>, a <em>communication partner</em>, and a <em>second mind</em>. They combine to create many other novel phenomena, such as insightful <em>surprises</em> by way of ordered <em>randomness</em>. The Antinet becomes a system where <em>thought</em> is developed–both in the short-term, by way of thinking on paper with pen; as well as in the long-term, by its branched architecture that stamps things in time that are most useful later on (this includes mistakes in your own thinking that are stamped in time, which prove valuable later on). Also stamped in time is that of your own mind and its own context, with its own links that it thinks of at the time of writing and developing <em>thought</em>. In brief, there’s <em>temporal</em> context that is stamped and installed into your Antinet. This context, and your inner voice, evolve into a <em>second mind</em> enabling you to communicate with your Antinet (and in Luhmann’s phraseology, to ask it questions). It is the combination of all four of its principles that transform the Antinet from a mere notebox into a <em>second mind</em>–a whole greater than the sum of its parts.<sup id="fnref24"><a href="#fn24">24</a></sup></p>
<p>Magic takes place when the four principles interact in the Antinet:</p>
<ol>
<li>The <em>neuro-imprinting</em> on the mind via its <em>analog</em> medium of writing by hand.</li>
<li>The “(selective) relations” between notes are enabled via the <em>numeric-alpha addresses</em>.<sup id="fnref25"><a href="#fn25">25</a></sup>
</li>
<li>The “special filing technique,” with its <em>infinite internal branching</em> via the <em>tree</em> structure.<sup id="fnref26"><a href="#fn26">26</a></sup>
</li>
<li>The <em>index</em> enables you to neuro-imprint ideas and cues in human-memorable language.</li>
</ol>
<p>All of these four things interact and create unexpected effects. When you experience new links in the Antinet you unleash a phenomenon in human memory called <em>reverberation</em>. This refers to a “just-experienced association” setting off a ticking clock for a short period of time. Before the clock winds down, the association is easier to recall.<sup id="fnref27"><a href="#fn27">27</a></sup> The Antinet’s structure enables you to retain more knowledge and connections than you ever thought possible. You’ll begin to notice yourself reading differently. Certain keyterms you’ve stamped onto your mind by way of the deliberate act of writing them onto your index will start to arise while reading; all you have to do oftentimes is simply write down the keyterm in the book’s margin. Or, if you do not wish to write in a book’s margins, you can write the keyterm down on a notecard you keep with you while reading, which is what Luhmann did. This notecard acts as a <em>staging area</em> for your thoughts before you transform them into full reflections on individual cards.</p>
<p>As it relates to the four principles, <em>this structure</em>, as Johannes Schmidt observes, <em>demonstrates how quickly</em> the Antinet sets you on a path away from what one would deem <em>ordered</em> (and taxonomically sound).<sup id="fnref28"><a href="#fn28">28</a></sup> Although seemingly nonsensical, to the creator–that is, to you–the Antinet becomes perfectly natural to understand. One is <em>lead away from the original topic and to a variety of other subjects that he or she would not have initially associated with one another</em>.<sup id="fnref29"><a href="#fn29">29</a></sup> All of these incommunicable experiences are formed by the structure of the Antinet’s four principles.</p>
<p>The <em>whole</em> of an Antinet is incommunicable–meaning, you’ll need to understand it yourself by experiencing it yourself.</p>
<h3 id="wrapping-things-up">Wrapping Things Up</h3>
<p>An <em>Antinet</em>, defined, comprises four principles (Analog, Numeric-alpha, Tree, Index) which form a <em>thinking system</em> network. This system, in turn, transforms itself into a <em>second mind</em>.</p>
<p>It may not seem like much from this definition, but there’s a lot to unpack here. I’ve provided you with a brief overview of the four principles of an Antinet. Yet, I’ve not adequately covered the concepts of an Antinet as a <em>thinking system</em>, nor have I covered the <em>second mind</em> in detail.</p>
<p>Such concepts, and others, will be covered in the book I’m working on related to the Antinet. I’ve spent much of the past year researching and writing the book.</p>
<p>If you want to learn more about the Antinet, and if you want a free copy of the book when it’s released, please head over to my website and sign up for my newsletter: <a href="https://scottscheper.com">https://scottscheper.com</a></p>
<p>Warm regards,</p>
<p>Scott P. Scheper</p>
<hr>
<p><strong>Sascha’s Comment:</strong> When I saw that Scott actually had built a sizable Zettelkasten, I was eager to ask him to present his perspective on the matter on this blog. Though I disagree with him on a number of points, I think his perspective is very valuable for the overall exploration of how to develop a thinking machine.</p>
<p>There is one thing I fully agree with: There is a very beneficial effect of writing in longhand.</p>
<p>I, myself, will definitely check out his book when it is published.</p>
<p><strong>Christian’s Comment:</strong> I second Sascha’s impressions – there’s so much talk about paper-based note-taking systems, but nobody seems to stick to it long enough to truly write from their heart and experience. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5kI1l7JXGY">Scott’s personal Antinet looks like</a> a sizable accomplishment on its own! (More videos on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/scottscheper/videos">his YouTube channel</a>)</p>
<div class="footnotes">
<hr>
<ol>
<li id="fn1">
<p>For a more practical guide on building your own Antinet, try these two sources: (1) <a href="https://scottscheper.com/letter/1/">https://scottscheper.com/letter/1/</a>, (2) <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kj9zwGex-y0">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kj9zwGex-y0</a>. <a href="#fnref1">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn2">
<p>“Communicating with Slip Boxes by Niklas Luhmann,” accessed May 4, 2021, <a href="https://luhmann.surge.sh/communicating-with-slip-boxes">https://luhmann.surge.sh/communicating-with-slip-boxes</a>. <a href="#fnref2">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn3">
<p>“Communicating with Slip Boxes by Niklas Luhmann,” accessed May 4, 2021, <a href="https://luhmann.surge.sh/communicating-with-slip-boxes">https://luhmann.surge.sh/communicating-with-slip-boxes</a>. <a href="#fnref3">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn4">
<p>“ZK II: Note 9/8 - Niklas Luhmann Archive.” Accessed January 10, 2022. <a href="https://niklas-luhmann-archiv.de/bestand/Zettelkasten/zettel/ZK_2_NB_9-8_V">https://niklas-luhmann-archiv.de/bestand/Zettelkasten/zettel/ZK<em>2</em>NB<em>9-8</em>V</a>. <a href="#fnref4">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn5">
<p>“ZK II: Note 9 / 8.3 - Niklas Luhmann Archive,” accessed January 11, 2022, <a href="https://niklas-luhmann-archiv.de/bestand/Zettelkasten/zettel/ZK_2_NB_9-8-3_V">https://niklas-luhmann-archiv.de/bestand/Zettelkasten/zettel/ZK<em>2</em>NB<em>9-8-3</em>V</a>. <a href="#fnref5">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn6">
<p>“Communicating with Slip Boxes by Niklas Luhmann,” accessed May 4, 2021, <a href="https://luhmann.surge.sh/communicating-with-slip-boxes">https://luhmann.surge.sh/communicating-with-slip-boxes</a>. <a href="#fnref6">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn7">
<p>“Communicating with Slip Boxes by Niklas Luhmann,” accessed May 4, 2021, <a href="https://luhmann.surge.sh/communicating-with-slip-boxes">https://luhmann.surge.sh/communicating-with-slip-boxes</a>. “This parallel should not be exaggerated; but you will not be mistaken in the assumption that in society and especially in the realm of scientific research order results only from a combination of disorder and order.” <a href="#fnref7">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn8">
<p>“1c.3 Using Folders - LYT Curriculum / Unit 1 - PKM & Idea Emergence,” Linking Your Thinking, accessed October 25, 2021, <a href="https://forum.linkingyourthinking.com/t/1c-3-using-folders/142/2">https://forum.linkingyourthinking.com/t/1c-3-using-folders/142/2</a>. “Folders are rigid and exclusionary by their nature. Whatever is in a folder lives separated from the main collection. It’s a rigid hierarchy that imposes order.” <a href="#fnref8">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn9">
<p>“Communicating with Slip Boxes by Niklas Luhmann,” accessed May 4, 2021, <a href="https://luhmann.surge.sh/communicating-with-slip-boxes">https://luhmann.surge.sh/communicating-with-slip-boxes</a>. We find evidence of Luhmann gearing his Zettelkasten to emerge as a communication partner and develop its own personality from Luhmann stating, “As a result of extensive work with this technique a kind of secondary memory will arise, an alter ego with who we can constantly communicate.” We also see Luhmann emphasizing the idea that the Antinet takes on its own life–its own type of person from Luhmann stating, “it gets its own life, independent of its author.” <a href="#fnref9">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn10">
<p>“ZK II: Sheet 9/8.1 - Niklas Luhmann Archive,” accessed February 6, 2022, <a href="https://niklas-luhmann-archiv.de/bestand/zettelkasten/zettel/ZK_2_NB_9-8-1_V">https://niklas-luhmann-archiv.de/bestand/zettelkasten/zettel/ZK_2_NB_9-8-1_V</a>; “ZK II: Zettel 9/8,2 - Niklas Luhmann-Archiv,” accessed February 6, 2022, <a href="https://niklas-luhmann-archiv.de/bestand/zettelkasten/zettel/ZK_2_NB_9-8-2_V">https://niklas-luhmann-archiv.de/bestand/zettelkasten/zettel/ZK_2_NB_9-8-2_V</a>. In these notes Luhmann created in preparation for his paper on communicating with his Zettelkasten, we Luhmann deliberating with himself on how to create a personality–meaning, a true communication partner in the form of a person. The reason Luhmann desired to do this, opposed with hiring a “junior partner,” or research assistant centers on such being too expensive. <a href="#fnref10">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn11">
<p>Johannes Schmidt, “Niklas Luhmann’s Card Index: Thinking Tool, Communication Partner, Publication Machine,” Forgetting Machines. Knowledge Management Evolution in Early Modern Europe 53 (2016), https://pub.uni-bielefeld.de/record/2942475, 290. <a href="#fnref11">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn12">
<p>Angus Stevenson and Christine A. Lindberg, eds., <em>New Oxford American Dictionary 3rd Edition</em>, 3rd edition (Oxford ; New York: Oxford University Press, 2010). <a href="#fnref12">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn13">
<p>Johannes Schmidt, “Niklas Luhmann’s Card Index: Thinking Tool, Communication Partner, Publication Machine,” Forgetting Machines. Knowledge Management Evolution in Early Modern Europe 53 (2016), <a href="https://pub.uni-bielefeld.de/record/2942475">https://pub.uni-bielefeld.de/record/2942475</a>, 290. <a href="#fnref13">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn14">
<p>“PEVZ: Johannes Schmidt - Contact (Bielefeld University),” accessed January 11, 2022, <a href="https://ekvv.uni-bielefeld.de/pers_publ/publ/PersonDetail.jsp?personIde3450">https://ekvv.uni-bielefeld.de/pers_publ/publ/PersonDetail.jsp?personIde3450</a>. <a href="#fnref14">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn15">
<p>Johannes Schmidt, “Niklas Luhmann’s Card Index: Thinking Tool, Communication Partner, Publication Machine,” <em>Forgetting Machines. Knowledge Management Evolution in Early Modern Europe</em> 53 (2016), <a href="https://pub.uni-bielefeld.de/record/2942475">https://pub.uni-bielefeld.de/record/2942475</a>, 295. <a href="#fnref15">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn16">
<p>Johannes Schmidt, “Niklas Luhmann’s Card Index: Thinking Tool, Communication Partner, Publication Machine,” <em>Forgetting Machines. Knowledge Management Evolution in Early Modern Europe</em> 53 (2016), <a href="https://pub.uni-bielefeld.de/record/2942475">https://pub.uni-bielefeld.de/record/2942475</a>, 295. <a href="#fnref16">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn17">
<p>“Communicating with Slip Boxes by Niklas Luhmann,” accessed May 4, 2021, <a href="https://luhmann.surge.sh/communicating-with-slip-boxes">https://luhmann.surge.sh/communicating-with-slip-boxes</a>. <a href="#fnref17">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn18">
<p>Xiaodan Zhu, Parinaz Sobhani, and Hongyu Guo, “Long Short-Term Memory Over Tree Structures,” ArXiv:1503.04881 [Cs], March 16, 2015, http://arxiv.org/abs/1503.04881. <a href="#fnref18">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn19">
<p>For beautiful images, and exploration on this subject, see: Giorgio A. Ascoli, <em>Trees of the Brain, Roots of the Mind</em> (Cambridge, MA, USA: MIT Press, 2015). “If each nerve cell enlarged a thousandfold looks like a tree, then a small region of the nervous system at the same magnified scale resembles a gigantic, fantastic forest.” <a href="#fnref19">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn20">
<p>Alberto Cevolini, ed., <em>Forgetting Machines: Knowledge Management Evolution in Early Modern Europe</em>, Library of the Written Word, volume 53 (Leiden ; Boston: Brill, 2016), 16. <a href="#fnref20">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn21">
<p>Alberto Cevolini, ed., <em>Forgetting Machines: Knowledge Management Evolution in Early Modern Europe</em>, Library of the Written Word, volume 53 (Leiden ; Boston: Brill, 2016), 16. <a href="#fnref21">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn22">
<p>“Communicating with Slip Boxes by Niklas Luhmann,” accessed May 4, 2021, <a href="https://luhmann.surge.sh/communicating-with-slip-boxes">https://luhmann.surge.sh/communicating-with-slip-boxes</a>. <a href="#fnref22">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn23">
<p>“ZK II: Note 9/8 - Niklas Luhmann Archive.” Accessed January 10, 2022. <a href="https://niklas-luhmann-archiv.de/bestand/Zettelkasten/zettel/ZK_2_NB_9-8_V">https://niklas-luhmann-archiv.de/bestand/Zettelkasten/zettel/ZK<em>2</em>NB<em>9-8</em>V</a>. <a href="#fnref23">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn24">
<p>It’s become a marketing idea of late to refer to a system that stores information as a <em>second brain</em>; yet, that’s not really what you want, nor is that even a good term for what you’re developing with an Antinet. What you’re building is a second mind. In the scholarly field, this idea is often referred to as an <em>extended mind</em>. <a href="#fnref24">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn25">
<p>Johannes Schmidt, “Niklas Luhmann’s Card Index: Thinking Tool, Communication Partner, Publication Machine,” <em>Forgetting Machines. Knowledge Management Evolution in Early Modern Europe</em> 53 (2016), <a href="https://pub.uni-bielefeld.de/record/2942475">https://pub.uni-bielefeld.de/record/2942475</a>, 309. <a href="#fnref25">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn26">
<p>Johannes Schmidt, “Niklas Luhmann’s Card Index: Thinking Tool, Communication Partner, Publication Machine,” <em>Forgetting Machines. Knowledge Management Evolution in Early Modern Europe</em> 53 (2016), <a href="https://pub.uni-bielefeld.de/record/2942475">https://pub.uni-bielefeld.de/record/2942475</a>, 309. <a href="#fnref26">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn27">
<p>Michael Jacob Kahana, Foundations of Human Memory. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2014), 9. <a href="#fnref27">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn28">
<p>Johannes Schmidt, “Niklas Luhmann’s Card Index: Thinking Tool, Communication Partner, Publication Machine,” <em>Forgetting Machines. Knowledge Management Evolution in Early Modern Europe</em> 53 (2016), <a href="https://pub.uni-bielefeld.de/record/2942475">https://pub.uni-bielefeld.de/record/2942475</a>, 309. <a href="#fnref28">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn29">
<p>Johannes Schmidt, “Niklas Luhmann’s Card Index: Thinking Tool, Communication Partner, Publication Machine,” <em>Forgetting Machines. Knowledge Management Evolution in Early Modern Europe</em> 53 (2016), <a href="https://pub.uni-bielefeld.de/record/2942475">https://pub.uni-bielefeld.de/record/2942475</a>, 309. <a href="#fnref29">↩</a></p>
</li>
</ol>
</div>
<p><em>Today, we're happy to introduce you to Scott P. Scheper via this introduction to his fully, 100% analog and paper-based approach to Zettelkasten! Make sure to also check out his videos for a live demo at the end. Enjoy!</em></p> <p>My goal is twofold: (1) I hope to motivate those who prefer paper-based thinking systems, and (2) I hope to present an alternative perspective for those who use digital Zettelkasten systems. I hope my perspective will add one or two valuable insights you can add to your Zettelkasten workflow (even a digital one).</p>
tag:zettelkasten.de,2022-03-07:/posts/zkm-teaser-improved-diagram-flow-value-creation/Book Teaser (2nd Edition): Improved Diagram of the Flow of Value Creation2022-03-07T10:38:58Z2022-03-07T10:38:58Z<figure class="post-figure "><a href="/posts/zkm-teaser-improved-diagram-flow-value-creation/2022-03-07-value-creation.png"><img alt="" src="/posts/zkm-teaser-improved-diagram-flow-value-creation/2022-03-07-value-creation.png" class="post-figure__image"></a><figcaption class="post-figure__caption"></figcaption></figure>
<p>This is an improved version of the <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/teaser-zkm-book-flow-diagram/">diagram on the flow of value creation</a>. Three comments on that:</p>
<ol>
<li>It goes from bottom to top because this direction reflects the increase of value better.</li>
<li>It now shows the idealised boundaries of the Zettelkasten itself. It is possible to have the drafts within the Zettelkasten and the excerpts as well. However, this would detract from understanding the Zettelkasten Method.</li>
<li>It shows why I use the term Zettelkasten Method. There are practical implications on how to design the overall workflow. Those are both individualised but also stand on general principles that are grounded in the nature of knowledge itself.</li>
</ol>
tag:zettelkasten.de,2022-03-05:/posts/catographing-folgezettel-debate/Using Cartography as a Metaphor for Investigating the Great Folgezettel Debate2022-03-05T11:20:35Z2022-03-05T11:20:35Z<p><em>Today, we’ve got a post by Austin Ha (@iamaustinha on the forum and <a href="https://twitter.com/iamaustinha">on Twitter</a>) that tackles the Folgezettel–vs–links-only debate from a different perspective – cartography! Austin went really far in preparing example archives to illustrate everything (download link at the bottom) so thank a lot for all this work!</em></p>
<hr>
<p>As a novice Zettler introduced to the method via the Cortex podcast, I’ve been taking the last year or so to build up the foundations of a useful archive. I’ve come to an inflection point in the management of my archive, as I’ve done a lot of collecting and not a lot of assimilating, linking, etc. Of course, at this new stage, it’s only natural that I’ve stumbled upon the Great Folgezettel Debate. After going on a deep dive in the forums for the past week, I’ve come to the point where I’d like to start weighing the tradeoffs between the two most prevalent organizational techniques I see discussed here: Folgezettel and Structure Notes.</p>
<p>While I think I have a feel for where I’ll land at the end of this, I want to float my ideas in the forums first to see how they land.</p>
<h2 id="topography-of-a-zettelkasten">Topography of a Zettelkasten</h2>
<p>I’m a big fan of laying some foundations before discussing anything, so I’d like to begin with a deeper investigation of a metaphor I’ve seen pop up when Folgezettel are discussed: topography.</p>
<p>I first saw the discussion of “topography” in <a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/928/hierarchical-branched-note-taking-and-the-archive-app-is-topography-important/p1">this post</a>, but have seen both implicit and explicit discussions about the idea of the topography of a Zettelkasten all throughout the forums (see <a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/comment/4812/#Comment_4812">here</a> for example). Instinctually, I love this term in the context of Zettelkasten, and at the beginning of this post I want to call for help crystallizing a definition for what we mean when we talk about topography. My working definition:</p>
<p><strong>Topography of a Zettelkasten</strong> := The arrangement of connections that exist in an archive.</p>
<p>I would expand on this to say that the Topography of a Zettelkasten “mirrors” the Topography of <em>all possible</em> connections within a Zettelkasten. In other words, the connections that are in our Zettelkasten are a subset/selection of all the possible connections that <em>could</em> exist (which seems trivial to state). Again, our practical, real Zettelkasten is an image of this “Maximal” slip box with all possible connections, but not an exact image – in fact, an exact image would not be useful to us…knowing that every note can be connected to every other note for <em>some</em> reason would not be useful in practicality, but I digress. So, for another working definition:</p>
<p><strong>Topography of <em>Knowledge</em> in a Zettelkasten</strong> := The arrangement of connections that exist in a “Maximal” archive.</p>
<h2 id="cartography-as-a-metaphor">Cartography as a Metaphor</h2>
<p>Before moving on, it’s worthwhile to note that the language of “mapping” out the knowledge in a Zettelkasten is already common (see <a href="https://medium.com/@ethomasv/the-folgezettel-conundrum-20b14dc986ec">here</a> and <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/luhmann-folgezettel-truth/">here</a>, for example). Personally, I’ve come to find the idea of mapping out knowledge to be more apt than I’d initially realized.</p>
<p>To play with the metaphor a bit, if there <em>is</em> a Topography of Knowledge in our Zettelkasten, then it makes sense that we should explore that Topography and selectively map out the connections the Topography contains for our use. In this case, our existing Zettelkasten is the <em>map</em> that we are constructing of the knowledge in the Maximal Zettelkasten.</p>
<p>If we’re making maps, that makes us cartographers. As such, I propose we can use cartographical language when discussing our ZK:</p>
<p>Here are the “fundamental objectives of traditional cartography” (via <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartography">Wikipedia</a>):</p>
<ul>
<li>
<strong>Map Editing</strong>: “Select traits of the object to be mapped.”</li>
<li>
<strong>Generalization</strong>: “Eliminate characteristics of the mapped object that are not relevant to the map’s purpose” (see above) and “reduce the complexity of the characteristics that will be mapped.”</li>
<li>
<strong>Map Design</strong>: “Orchestrate the elements of the map to best convey its message.”</li>
<li>
<strong>Map Projection</strong>: “Represent the terrain of the mapped object on flat media.”</li>
</ul>
<p>Here’s how they manifest in a ZK:</p>
<ul>
<li>
<strong>ZK “map editing”</strong>: We must select the traits we are interested in mapping. Of course, as @sfast <a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/comment/5020/#Comment_5020">notes</a>, anything can be related to anything else (i.e. being “too creative” when making connections may not be useful), but it is our selection of interesting traits that makes our Zettelkasten useful to us based on the “comparative schema” we bring to the slip-box at any given time, as <a href="https://luhmann.surge.sh/communicating-with-slip-boxes">Luhmann writes about</a>. I suggest our filter is simply “features/connections we find interesting,” which (again) seems trivial to state.</li>
<li>
<strong>ZK “generalization”</strong>: We act upon the traits we’ve chosen in the “map editing” phase and only comparatively “file” (whether it be using Folgezettel, Structure Zettel, or something else) our notes selectively, placing them in contexts that are interesting or useful for us to continue lines of thought in our ZK (Eva Thomas (@ethomasv) covers this well <a href="https://medium.com/@ethomasv/the-folgezettel-conundrum-20b14dc986ec">here</a>). We must also work to reduce the complexity of the things we do map (and we do this by choosing key features to focus on like topics, projects, curiosity, etc.).</li>
</ul>
<p>These cartographical goals for our Zettelkasten cover the first two fundamental objectives of traditional cartography; they make up the foundation of ZK exploration: we comparatively file our notes, inherently using a comparative schema to place the note in one or more relevant contexts across the span of our archive. We are <em>discovering</em> connections as we traverse the notes in our archive.</p>
<p>We’ll assume here that we don’t make connections that aren’t useful to us (on an infinite timescale we <em>could</em> always make meaning of <strong>all</strong> the relationships established in our ZK), but the important takeaway is that <strong>editing</strong> and <strong>generalization</strong> are covered by the simple act of placing a note in the archive and settling it in a context, possibly via Folgezettel or Structure Zettel – but which method should we choose?</p>
<p>For the remaining two cartographical goals:</p>
<ul>
<li>
<strong>ZK “map design”</strong>: This, I propose, is the heart of the great Folgezettel debate. The question is: how do we orchestrate all of the elements above (the selected connections to be mapped) in a way that allows the Zettelkasten to serve as a “thought partner?” So far, the most popular methods of achieving this have been through direct links and either Folgezettel (or Folgezettel-like structures) or Structure Notes.</li>
<li>
<strong>ZK “map projection”</strong>: Deciding how to project our Topography onto a 2D space is what I see as a missing key to the Folgezettel debate. The similarities strike me here: we are literally projecting the complex Topography of our ZK into a 2D space: the text editor that’s on our screen. I think this similarity has been most vigorously alluded to by those who have been the largest advocates for Folgezettel, such as @pseudoevagrius and @argonsnorts , but I don’t know of anywhere that has explicitly stated that the community should discuss how we <em>see</em> and traverse our knowledge Topography. (Maybe @Sociopoetic , our resident cartographer, has thoughts?)</li>
</ul>
<p>A small note: while many of these goals seem to intermingle in their means and ends, I do think it’s especially important to note that it seems like map projection is a <em>part</em> of map design.</p>
<h2 id="prototyping-an-archive-with-three-different-structural-models">Prototyping an Archive with Three Different Structural Models</h2>
<p>So, if our focus is on design, let’s play with some prototyping. In my exploration of The Great Folgezettel Debate, I made three archives that contain the same notes and approximately the same connections: one with Folgezettel titles, one with Folgezettel implemented using forwards-links, and one with Structure Zettel. I did not use time-based UIDs, as it wasn’t necessary for the scope of this project. I built these archives in Obsidian and visualized them using their graph tools. (I’ll also say that the archive is <em>far</em> from being an exemplary one. This is something that is truly a prototype for prototyping’s sake.)</p>
<p>(<a href="https://github.com/austinha/zettelkasten-cartography/">Download link for the 3 archives</a>)</p>
<p>Here are the results:</p>
<h3 id="structure-zettel">Structure Zettel</h3>
<figure class="post-figure "><a href="/posts/catographing-folgezettel-debate/7led0sulux5g_structure-zettel.png"><img alt="" src="/posts/catographing-folgezettel-debate/7led0sulux5g_structure-zettel.png" class="post-figure__image"></a><figcaption class="post-figure__caption">Global graph view of the archive with Structure Zettel</figcaption></figure>
<h3 id="folgezettel-implemented-using-forwards-links">Folgezettel implemented using forwards links</h3>
<figure class="post-figure "><a href="/posts/catographing-folgezettel-debate/a99q7c1dalz3_folgezettel-forward-links.png"><img alt="" src="/posts/catographing-folgezettel-debate/a99q7c1dalz3_folgezettel-forward-links.png" class="post-figure__image"></a><figcaption class="post-figure__caption">Global graph view of the archive with “forwards link” Folgezettel</figcaption></figure>
<figure class="post-figure "><a href="/posts/catographing-folgezettel-debate/x903yv41crmf_folgezettel-forward-links-detail.png"><img alt="" src="/posts/catographing-folgezettel-debate/x903yv41crmf_folgezettel-forward-links-detail.png" class="post-figure__image"></a><figcaption class="post-figure__caption">An example visualization of the “local graph” when viewing a particular note in the “forwards link” Folgezettel archive</figcaption></figure>
<h3 id="folgezettel">Folgezettel</h3>
<figure class="post-figure "><a href="/posts/catographing-folgezettel-debate/ww5urliklj2u_folgezettel.png"><img alt="" src="/posts/catographing-folgezettel-debate/ww5urliklj2u_folgezettel.png" class="post-figure__image"></a><figcaption class="post-figure__caption">Global graph view of the archive with Folgezettel</figcaption></figure>
<figure class="post-figure "><a href="/posts/catographing-folgezettel-debate/o16n27af8gys_folgezettel_detail.png"><img alt="" src="/posts/catographing-folgezettel-debate/o16n27af8gys_folgezettel_detail.png" class="post-figure__image"></a><figcaption class="post-figure__caption">An example visualization of the “local graph” when viewing a particular note in the Folgezettel archive</figcaption></figure>
<figure class="post-figure "><a href="/posts/catographing-folgezettel-debate/qn6gqfhx28o2_folgezettel_list.png"><img alt="" src="/posts/catographing-folgezettel-debate/qn6gqfhx28o2_folgezettel_list.png" class="post-figure__image"></a><figcaption class="post-figure__caption">List view of the Folgezettel archive</figcaption></figure>
<p>Preliminarily, I would say that the local graph views are most useful in both Folgezettel conditions. In contrast, the global graph visualizations are most useful in the Structure Zettel and “forwards link” conditions. Of course, the list view is most useful in the Luhmannesque Folgezettel condition.</p>
<p>The feeling I get when using the archives to traverse the connections they contain is that Structure Zettel form a kind of “top-down” bird’s eye view. Knowledge is more obviously hierarchical and the structure feels most apt for <em>constructing</em> patterns and knowledge. It is very easy to look at the text of a Structure Zettel and follow a condensed line of thinking, the same way it’s easy to route from one city to another using a map.</p>
<p>When using both Folgezettel techniques to traverse, it feels like the Folgezettel form an on-the-ground “street view.” Knowledge, in this case, is more detailed and rich and it’s easier to see what a “next step” might entail as far as knowledge creation, argumentation, writing, etc. goes, the same way it’s easier to make a decision about what direction to turn when you’re on the ground, observing the environment at a particular location.</p>
<h2 id="closing">Closing</h2>
<p>This is my first post in the forums and I have to say that it’s intimidating to jump into a conversation in such a committed, intelligent, and passionate community. I’m not sure if this metaphor is useful at all to you all, but I personally found it quite enlightening to have an apples-to-apples comparison of the different structural techniques I’ve been studying now for about a week.</p>
<p>Please, please let me know your thoughts and let me know if there’s anything I can clarify!</p>
<hr>
<p>If you want to experiment with the data yourself, <a href="https://github.com/austinha/zettelkasten-cartography/">Austin released the benchmark notes on GitHub</a>. – Each variant lives in another branch, so you need to know a bit about git or download each branch from GitHub manually. For intermediate git users, I suggest to put each branch into its own directory <a href="https://isscroberto.com/2019/12/09/git-worktree-work-on-two-git-branches-at-the-same-time/">using <code>git worktree</code></a>.</p>
<hr>
<p><strong>Sascha’s Comment:</strong> This post might be the most inspiring and in-depth post on the topic I ever read. So, I want to thank @iamaustinha for that big time. These two concepts are close to the core of the issue: “top-down” bird’s eye and on-the-ground “street view”. I’d like to keep my commentary to a minimum and rather write an extensive discussion on your article. Disclaimer: I immediately went into my Zettelkasten and created a Structure Note on this topic (for the first time ever in this domain).</p>
tag:zettelkasten.de,2022-02-28:/posts/embrace-dark-folgezettel-power/No, I Do Not Underestimate the Power of the Dark Folgezettel – I Embrace Its Source of Power2022-02-28T18:44:32Z2023-04-04T08:31:40Z<figure class="post-figure "><a href="/img/blog/20220228195302_sorcery.jpg"><img alt="" src="/img/blog/20220228195302_sorcery.jpg" class="post-figure__image"></a><figcaption class="post-figure__caption">Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/clard-6995126">Szilárd Szabó</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com/">Pixabay</a></figcaption></figure>
<p>A long time ago, Daniel wrote a reply to my reply to his article. This might be the spark that ignited the Great Folgezettel Debate.</p>
<p>The summary is:</p>
<p>Daniel wrote that Luhmann didn’t just create a network that looked like this:</p>
<figure class="post-figure "><a href="/posts/embrace-dark-folgezettel-power/mesh_network.png"><img alt="Cross-connected web" src="/posts/embrace-dark-folgezettel-power/mesh_network.png" class="post-figure__image"></a><figcaption class="post-figure__caption">An interconnected web of notes – <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FullMeshNetwork.svg">GW_Simulations, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons</a></figcaption></figure>
<p>Instead, Daniel claims Luhmann created something resembling this:</p>
<figure class="post-figure "><a href="/posts/embrace-dark-folgezettel-power/pseudo_binary_tree.png"><img alt="A tree structure" src="/posts/embrace-dark-folgezettel-power/pseudo_binary_tree.png" class="post-figure__image"></a><figcaption class="post-figure__caption">A tree-like structure – <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pseudobin%C3%A4rersuchbaum.svg">Chris828, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons</a></figcaption></figure>
<p>The central quote is:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>If a thought is to be placed in the Zettelkasten, <strong>first consider which topic it fits to.</strong> Then this topic must be sifted through, after which a note can be incorporated - be it as a new “initial note”, as a continuation or as a branching off of a note (so-called Folgezettel notes in the Zettelkasten). (My translation, my emphasis) (<a href="https://strengejacke.wordpress.com/2015/09/08/luhmanns-arbeitsweise-im-elektronischen-zettelkasten/">source</a>)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This was what triggered my article <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/luhmann-folgezettel-truth/">No, Luhmann was not about Folgezettel</a> since in his now famous article <em>Kommunikation mit Zettelkästen</em> he wrote the following:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>By creating links, we can, without too much work or paper invested, solve the problem of “multiple storage”. Using this technique, <strong>it is not important where a new note is placed.</strong> If there is more than one possible place the decision is arbitrary since <strong>the context can be captured by links.</strong> (My emphasis, <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/communications-with-zettelkastens/">my translation</a> of Luhmann (1993): <em>Kommunikation mit Zettelkästen</em>; for a more word-by-word translation by Manfred Kühn, <a href="http://luhmann.surge.sh/communicating-with-slip-boxes">see here</a>)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Luhmann himself remarked the <em>functional equivalence</em> of the connection created by the relative placement of a note (parent–child-relationship) and the connection created by a link.</p>
<p>Daniel Lüdecke wrote a nicely titled rebuttal: <a href="https://strengejacke.wordpress.com/2015/11/01/you-underestimate-the-power-of-the-dark-folgezettel/">You Underestimate the Power of the Dark Folgezettel</a>. The core statement of his response is:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Links or references do not emphasize the relationship between notes (ideas, content). The context of connections usually remains unclear due to arbitrary relationships. (<a href="https://strengejacke.wordpress.com/2015/11/01/you-underestimate-the-power-of-the-dark-folgezettel/">Source</a>)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Let’s see what real links and <em>their contexts</em> in my Zettelkasten look like. All examples are direct translations from my own Zettelkasten.</p>
<h2 id="links-that-explore-statements">Links That Explore Statements</h2>
<p>Some notes elaborate statements that you make in a note. In practice, it looks something like that:</p>
<div class="highlight"><pre><code class="language-markdown" data-lang="markdown"><div class="highlight"><pre class="highlight markdown"><code><span class="c"><!-- Epistemic presupposition --></span> If one understands the Fall of Man as the myth of becoming conscious,[[202201121037]] one can investigates these myths to see what consequences becoming conscious has for us as conscious subjects. Perhaps, we manage to conclude from this becoming conscious to the two states of Being.
</code></pre></div></code></pre></div>
<p>This is one of the notes that starts with an <em>epistemic presupposition</em>. It is a conditional sentence which basically means: On the condition of the reliability of the epistemic tools, the following is true. The link above is placed directly after the comma. Any link I place behind a comma refers directly to a note that explores this statement. The link establishes a relationship between two notes that is specific: One note is the elaboration of a statement that is made in another. The context of this relationship is given by the content of the notes.</p>
<p>This kind of relationship cannot be captured accurately by the Folgezettel technique.</p>
<h2 id="links-as-topical-entry-points">Links as Topical Entry Points</h2>
<p>Some notes refer to topics and not specific thoughts. They can serve as a reminder for your future self to see this note within the context of a wider discourse. Let’s see how it looks in practice:</p>
<div class="highlight"><pre><code class="language-markdown" data-lang="markdown"><div class="highlight"><pre class="highlight markdown"><code>The Fall of Man describes the emergence of consciousness and thus self-consciousness.<span class="p">[</span><span class="nv">546</span><span class="p">][</span><span class="ss">#booker2004</span><span class="p">]</span> The Fall of Man [[202201011058]] is a mythological contemplation of the emergence of consciousness, which came about and is perhaps necessary because man became aware of his consciousness.
</code></pre></div></code></pre></div>
<p>This is the first paragraph of the note “<em>Fall of man as myth of becoming conscious</em>”. It is a basic claim with no further justification. The link is behind the term <em>The Fall of Man</em>. This means its link context is just the term itself and not the entire sentence.</p>
<p>I link to the note “<em>The Fall of Man</em>” because not only the biblical story is meant. The term refers to an underlying pattern of several myths in my Zettelkasten. Another example for such a myth would be <em>Pandora’s Box</em>. The link refers to a general note on The Fall of Man because I connect this note to my exploration of this meta-myth pattern <em>The Fall of Man</em>. I set my future self up to view the note within a certain context that I set by creating a deviation of a term.</p>
<p>The Folgezettel technique can only capture this relationship once since you have only one place of each note. If you want set this specific context for other notes you need to rely on direct links. But you’ll run into other issues if you want to use Folgezettel even for that one chance you get: The parent–child-relationship has no semantic accuracy. There is no meaning behind the fact that a note is a parent or a child to another note. The meaning of the relationship needs to be characterised <em>individually</em> if you want to truly understand the connection later on. With the Folgezettel technique, you will create the need to always make sense of the relationships established by this technique on the fly. Your insights into the nature of this relationship would be either lost or require an explanation written on the notes. The Folgezettel technique is not capable of providing the proper connection.</p>
<h2 id="links-that-provide-additional-information">Links That Provide Additional Information</h2>
<p>Some notes contain additional but not directly related knowledge.</p>
<div class="highlight"><pre><code class="language-markdown" data-lang="markdown"><div class="highlight"><pre class="highlight markdown"><code>Archetypes can also be personified as sleeping forces resting within us.[[201812080747]]
The archetype for this is the sleeping god. In stories, he is an externalization for there being hidden powers within us.
<span class="p">
1.</span> They rest or sleep. That is, they are not active.
<span class="p">2.</span> They are great but still undirected resources. That is, they are potential and do not yet serve a purpose.
<span class="p">3.</span> Danger automatically follows from (2). If they are awakened wrongly, they are directed against oneself, against the family, the village (community), the world, the cosmos. (cf. the story wheel [[201812051006]] for scaling).
<span class="p">4.</span> But from (2) also follows a great potential for good. If you awaken these forces correctly, they serve you.
<span class="p">5.</span> From (3) and (4) it follows that we must ask ourselves the question of right and bad behavior, of virtues and vices, of the right social environment, and so on.
</code></pre></div></code></pre></div>
<p>These are the first lines of the note “<em>Archetype The Sleeping God</em>”. The first link is an expansion of the claim that archetypes can be seen as personifications of untapped powers. This is nothing new: links unfold claims. The second link is something different. There seems to be a sequence of concepts that can be ordered by scale: self, family, village, world, cosmos. Placing a link with no added context would be a bad choice since I would need to click on it to understand why it is placed. Therefore, <em>I add context</em> to the link. It refers to the story wheel (a concept by James Bonnet) that I use to scale stories.</p>
<p>The relationship between those two notes is this: one note states that it is dangerous if you wake a sleeping god, and the other states that the danger can be measured by the story wheel.</p>
<h2 id="the-quality-of-links-is-identical-with-the-provided-context">The Quality of Links Is Identical With the Provided Context</h2>
<p>Let’s come back to Daniel’s claim:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Links or references do not emphasize the relationship between notes (ideas, content). The context of connections usually remains unclear due to arbitrary relationships. (<a href="https://strengejacke.wordpress.com/2015/11/01/you-underestimate-the-power-of-the-dark-folgezettel/">Source</a>)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>As clearly seen, at least in my own Zettelkasten, links provide not only some context. The context is explicitly stated in the commentary to the link on the note. The relationship is established by explaining it as precise as possible. Let’s see what a very low quality connection looks like. This is one of my older notes:</p>
<div class="highlight"><pre><code class="language-markdown" data-lang="markdown"><div class="highlight"><pre class="highlight markdown"><code><span class="gh"># 201209040850 Dietary change is behavioral change.</span>
<span class="gh">#nutrition #behavior #nutritionalcounseling</span>
Dietary change essentially means changing behavior. Nutrition habits are first and foremost just that: habits. This means that for dietary change and all related issues (nutritional counseling, lifestyle change, moralizing life) should be seen in the context of behavioral psychology.
cf. [[201208161531]]
</code></pre></div></code></pre></div>
<p>Here you see some typical mistakes that I made:</p>
<ol>
<li>I used a pathological mix of topic tags (<code>#nutrition</code>) and imprecise object tags (<code>#behavior</code> is not precise. It should be <code>#behaviorchange</code>). (Explore the difference between those tags on this post: <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/object-tags-vs-topic-tags/">The Difference Between Good and Bad Tags</a>)</li>
<li>I wasn’t conscious at all of the nature of knowledge while processing. For example, I didn’t highlight the flow of truth (e.g. making the logical form of the argument explicit) or stating the usefulness of seeing dietary change as behavioral change.</li>
</ol>
<p>From just looking at the link, can you estimate the relationship to the other note? I guess not. Me neither. What if I provided you with the title of the target note “Gradual Development of Behavior”? You could speculate on its relevance same as I if I didn’t remember the connection. What if I’d actually provide a proper link context?</p>
<div class="highlight"><pre><code class="language-markdown" data-lang="markdown"><div class="highlight"><pre class="highlight markdown"><code>If dietary change is subject to the dos and donts of behavioral change we should apply the knowledge of behavioral psychology to dietary change. An example is to apply the principle of gradual habit development [[201208161531]] instead of forcing meal plans on yourself or your clients
</code></pre></div></code></pre></div>
<p>Now, the nature of the relationship between those notes is crystal clear. But why? How is the link context establishing a relationship between notes? The counter-intuitive answer is that it doesn’t. The improvement didn’t stem from me using a technique to connect notes. I connected <em>the knowledge</em> of each note by establishing the relationship between two thoughts: One being an example (principle of gradual habit development) of the conceptual relationship of ones dietary change, a subset of behavioral change. The established connection of knowledge then is manifested as a link between notes.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Connect knowledge and not notes.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2 id="the-power-source">The Power Source</h2>
<p>So, what is the verdict then? The power source of links is not the mere fact that they are placed, or that they connect notes.</p>
<p><strong>The power source of links is the nature of the knowledge connection itself.</strong></p>
<p>I agree with Daniel that context and relationship is what note connection is about. But as I demonstrated, links are an excellent technique to provide context and relationship to the nature of the connection.</p>
<p>And I am yet to witness an example of Folgezettel being able to provide or even to establish an even remotely as rich context.</p>
<hr>
<p><strong>Christian’s Comment:</strong> Ah, yes … when I search for “cf.” (or its German equivalent), I get 484 results! Some are just qualifying citations, so they don’t count, but a lot of these are introducing links to other notes. My personal trend to use that stopped around 2014, it seems. That kinda checks out since around that time, Sascha and I were more systematically sharing knowledge about Zettelkasten a lot more, and the website here began to blossom. I do not look back fondly to times of ‘confering’ to other notes. I much prefer not having to guess when I look around a link anymore. Eliminating guess-work and friction when plowing through the thousands of notes at my disposal every day is much more important than, say, shaving off half a minute when writing a note. Qualifying the link context does that.</p>
A long time ago, Daniel wrote a reply to my reply to his article. This might be the spark that ignited the Great Folgezettel Debate. Daniel wrote that Luhmann didn't just create a network that looked like a interconnected web, but instead, he created something resembling an ordered tree.tag:zettelkasten.de,2022-02-22:/folgezettel/Folgezettel2022-02-22T12:55:00Z2022-02-28T19:30:53Z<p>On this page, we provide an overview of what came to be known as <em>The Great Folgezettel Debate</em> and its follow-up discussions.</p>
<p>For all intents and purposes, we often translate the German word “Folgezettel” as “sequence of notes”.</p>
<p>We’re writing this overview in the open. If you come across any relevant resource or piece of discussion you want to share, <a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/2152/">contribute to the forum discussion</a> or <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/legal/#contact">email us</a></p>
<h2><em>The Great Folgezettel Debate</em> Timeline</h2>
<table><thead>
<tr>
<th>#</th>
<th>Post</th>
<th>Core Position</th>
</tr>
</thead><tbody>
<tr>
<td>1</td>
<td><strong>Daniel Lüdecke:</strong> <a href="https://strengejacke.wordpress.com/2015/09/08/luhmanns-arbeitsweise-im-elektronischen-zettelkasten/">“How Luhmann worked”</a> (German)</td>
<td>Folgezettel are essential to Luhmann’s style of working</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>2</td>
<td><strong>Sascha:</strong> <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/luhmann-folgezettel-truth/">“No, Luhmann was not about Folgezettel”</a></td>
<td>Folgezettel are <em>one technique amongst many</em> to implement an underlying principle.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>3</td>
<td><strong>Daniel Lüdecke:</strong> <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/luedeckes-follow-up/">“You Underestimate the Power of the Dark Folgezettel”</a></td>
<td>Folgezettel provide context, links don’t. They are not just <em>one technique amongst many</em>. They provide a unique mechanism and are therefore essential</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>4</td>
<td><strong>Sascha:</strong> <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/embrace-dark-folgezettel-power/">“No, I Do Not Underestimate the Power of the Dark Folgezettel – I Embrace Its Source of Power”</a></td>
<td>Links provide rich context, Folgezettel can’t, by design. Both provide the mechanistic foundation to a Luhmannesque Zettelkasten. But links provide vastly enriched contexts to connections.</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<h2>Understanding Folgezettel</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/kinds-of-ties/">“Different Kinds of Ties Between Notes”</a></li>
<li><a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/understanding-hierarchy-translating-folgezettel/">“Understanding Hierarchy by Translating Folgezettel and Structure Zettel”</a></li>
<li>@ZettelDistractions’s <a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/1982/mathematical-definition-of-folgezettel/p1">Mathematical Definition of Folgezettel</a>, a work-in-progress piece.</li>
<li>@iamaustinha’s <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/catographing-folgezettel-debate/">“Using Cartography as a Metaphor for Investigating the Great Folgezettel Debate”</a></li>
<li><a href="https://github.com/flengyel/Zettel/wiki/Backward-compatible-Folgezettel-IDs-and-user-friendly-timestamps-in-Zettlr">Backwards Compatible Folgezettel ID format for Zettlr</a></li>
<li><a href="https://medium.com/@ethomasv/the-folgezettel-conundrum-20b14dc986ec">“The Folgezettel Conundrum”</a></li>
<li><a href="https://bobdoto.computer/folgezettel-mechanics">“Folgezettel is More than Mechanism”</a></li>
<li><a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/tags/folgezettel/">All our posts and videos tagged #folgezettel</a></li>
</ul>
tag:zettelkasten.de,2022-02-16:/posts/teaser-zkm-book-flow-diagram/Book Teaser (2nd Edition): Flow Diagram of the Zettelkasten Method2022-02-16T14:39:50Z2022-03-07T10:43:47Z<p>Hi Zettlers,</p>
<p>This is a little flow diagram that illustrates the Zettelkasten Process with the help of one of the principles of the Zettelkasten Method, “Creating Pre-Products”:</p>
<figure class="post-figure "><a href="/posts/teaser-zkm-book-flow-diagram/2022-02-16-workflow.png"><img alt="" src="/posts/teaser-zkm-book-flow-diagram/2022-02-16-workflow.png" class="post-figure__image"></a><figcaption class="post-figure__caption">The Zettelkasten Method as a flow diagram</figcaption></figure>
<p><em>The concept “excerpt” might be interpreted as “literature note” since both concepts are similar.</em> To me, creating an excerpt is a methodological approach of using tools to understand a text. So it is more than just about creating notes on thoughts and ideas embedded in a source. (Check out this <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/concepts-sohnke-ahrens-explained/">explanation of Ahrens’s terms, including “literature note”</a>, if you want to learn more.)</p>
<p><em>Flow diagrams can distract from the actual sites of value creation. They are mostly for superficial overview.</em> There are a couple of different ways to translate the Zettelkasten Method into a flow diagram. At this moment, two flow diagrams including this one are part of the book. I don’t stress the concept of work<em>flow</em> since I fear that it is rather distracting from the more valuable aspects of the Zettelkasten Method. For example: It is by far more important to be able to write a good note than to have some process put in place to extract digital reading highlights from Kindle to the app of your choice.</p>
<p>If you want to improve your own way of processing knowledge, you may ask yourself: <strong>Do you have an unbroken chain of transforming the sources of your world into publications, improved habits and actions?</strong></p>
<p><strong>Update 2022-03-07:</strong> <a href="http://zettelkasten.de/posts/zkm-teaser-improved-diagram-flow-value-creation/">There’s an improved version.</a></p>
Hi Zettlers.<p>This is a little flow diagram that illustrates the Zettelkasten Process with the help of one of the principles of the Zettelkasten Method, "Creating Pre-Products".<p><em>The concept "excerpt" might be interpreted as "literature note" since both concepts are similar.</em> To me, creating an excerpt is a methodological approach of using tools to understand a text. So it is more than just about creating notes on thoughts and ideas embedded in a source.tag:zettelkasten.de,2022-02-10:/posts/concepts-sohnke-ahrens-explained/From Fleeting Notes to Project Notes – Concepts of "How to Take Smart Notes" by Sönke Ahrens2022-02-10T07:41:01Z2022-02-16T09:15:00Z<p><em>This is a guest post by our dear @ZettelDistraction. You can find his sketches and some (academia-)critical illustrations on Instagram <a href="https://instagram.com/flengyel">@flengyel</a>. And if you’re interested in seeing how a text evolves, check out <a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/2119/the-fleeting-note-in-how-to-take-smart-notes-by-soenke-ahrens">the revisions of this post</a> on the forums.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>{{TOC}}</p>
<p>Terminological troubles beset the account of note categories in <em>How To Take Smart Notes</em> by Sönke Ahrens (Ahrens 2017). The book reads as though it emerged unedited from the author’s Zettelkasten. The most important type of note doesn’t have a name. This post aims to settle the record.</p>
<h2 id="note-categories-named-and-unnamed">Note categories named and unnamed</h2>
<p>Ahrens discusses five categories of notes: three main descriptive categories of notes: <em>fleeting notes</em>, <em>permanent notes</em> and <em>project notes</em>; and two subcategories of permanent notes, <em>literature notes</em> and <em>Zettels</em>, although the term <em>Zettel</em> occurs nowhere in Ahrens (Ahrens, 41). Italicized terms are defined in “Note categories in detail” below, after some remarks on the components of a Zettekasten and on workflow in the Zettelkasten Method according to Ahrens.</p>
<h2 id="zettelkasten-components">Zettelkasten components</h2>
<p>A Zettelkasten consists of three components: a slip-box, which may be implemented in editing and note-linking software such as <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/the-archive/">The Archive</a>, <a href="https://logseq.com/">Logseq</a>, <a href="https://obsidian.md/">Obsidian</a>, <a href="https://roamresearch.com/">Roam Research</a>, <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.eu.thedoc.zettelnotes&hl=en_US&gl=US">Zettel Notes</a>, or <a href="https://www.zettlr.com/">Zettlr</a>; a reference manager, such as <a href="https://www.zotero.org/">Zotero</a> or <a href="https://www.mendeley.com/">Mendeley</a>; and, a pen and notebook or paper for so-called fleeting notes, to be defined (Ahrens, 29–30).</p>
<p>Ahrens includes a fourth component, an editor (Ahrens, 30). In software, the editor is usually combined with the slip-box function, so we refer to three components instead of four. When we refer to the slip-box, we mean the corresponding software component. Sometimes it is convenient to refer to the slip-box as <em>the</em> Zettelkasten, however it is (usually) clear from context whether one means the slip-box component or all of the components.</p>
<h2 id="workflow">Workflow</h2>
<p>The Zettelkasten Method is a description of the standardized note formats used and of the workflow of those notes and source references among the components of the Zettelkasten (Ahrens, 23, 41, 45). The workflow starts with hand-written notes and ends either with permanent notes in slip-box or the reference manager, or with project notes for writing projects based on the contents of the Zettelkasten (Ahrens, 23, 41–45).</p>
<h3 id="niklas-luhmann-s-workflow">Niklas Luhmann’s workflow</h3>
<p>In Ahrens’ account of Niklas Luhmann’s Zettelkasten workflow, Luhmann first wrote brief <em>literature notes</em> and used these to write self-contained <em>permanent notes</em> called <em>Zettels</em>, which Luhmann wrote carefully, as if for publication (Ahrens, 17–18, 43).</p>
<h3 id="ahrens-workflow">Ahrens’ workflow</h3>
<p>For Ahrens, the Zettelkasten workflow begins with <em>fleeting notes</em>, which could be revised as <em>literature notes</em>, which are further developed as <em>Zettels</em>; otherwise the fleeting notes are revised directly as <em>Zettels</em> (Ahrens, 23). In the rare circumstance that one’s thoughts are fully formed as if for print, the preliminary fleeting and literature note steps can be skipped, and one writes a <em>Zettel</em> (Ahrens, 23).</p>
<p>Ahrens misses an opportunity to revisit Luhmann’s workflow in terms of the descriptive categories Ahrens identifies, and to relate Luhmann’s workflow to the workflow he presents in section 2.1 (Ahrens, 23). Examples and diagrams of the workflow would have been helpful. This should have presented no problem, as Ahrens states that “[s]implicity is paramount” (Ahrens, 38–40).</p>
<h2 id="note-categories-in-detail">Note categories in detail</h2>
<h3 id="fleeting-notes">Fleeting notes</h3>
<p><em>Fleeting notes</em> are hand-written notes to be discarded after being recast for inclusion in the Zettelkasten as permanent notes (see below). Ahrens assigns the fleeting note to its own category to emphasize its function and to emphasize the habits that he wants users of the Zettelkasten Method to adopt. “Fleeting notes are there for capturing ideas quickly while you are busy doing something else” (Ahrens, 43).</p>
<p>Ahrens advises reading with paper and pen in hand and advises against highlighting or marking up books and leaving slips of paper around (Ahrens, 29, 85, 87). Ahrens also expects fleeting notes to be written judiciously on the spot, rewritten as Zettels or Literature Notes, and discarded within a day or two (Ahrens, 43). This is crucial: if you don’t cultivate the habit of reading with pen and paper in hand, then for Ahrens, you are not following the Zettelkasten Method (Ahrens, 146).</p>
<p>Ahrens refers to the “fleeting literature note” for the handwritten precursor to the literature note (Ahrens, 44). There is no name in Ahrens for the fleeting note that is rewritten as a Zettel, just as there is no name in Ahrens for the Zettel.</p>
<p>The fleeting note is more significant than its name suggests, because of its normative function in Ahrens’s account of the Zettelkasten Method. For Ahrens, the Zettelkasten Method is a systematic approach to academic research and non-fiction writing in which the first step is to jot down fleeting notes while reading or attending lectures and seminars, or when busy doing something else (Ahrens, 23, 41, 43). Also, Ahrens advises writers to act “[…] as if nothing counts other than writing” (Ahrens, 38). Taken literally, this maxim commits the writer to an instrumental approach to life, forever cycling through a workflow that begins with the fleeting note. We leave the topic of instrumentalism in Ahrens for another post.</p>
<h3 id="permanent-notes">Permanent notes</h3>
<p><em>Permanent notes</em> are self-contained notes that end up in the slip-box or in a reference manager. Quoting Ahrens [emphasis in boldface added]:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Permanent notes, which will <strong>never</strong> be thrown away and contain the necessary information in themselves in a <strong>permanently understandable way</strong>. They are always stored in the same way in the same place, either <strong>in the reference system</strong> or, written <strong>as if for print</strong>, <strong>in the slip-box</strong>.<br>
(Ahrens, 41)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Ahrens recommends that permanent notes be written in “your own words.” (Ahrens, 23, 24, 37).</p>
<h3 id="literature-notes-a-subcategory-of-permanent-notes">Literature notes: a subcategory of permanent notes</h3>
<p>A <em>literature note</em> is a source reference in a reference manager, optionally with one or more attached notes.</p>
<p>The term ‘literature note’ derives from the note cards on which Niklas Luhmann, the prolific sociologist and originator of the Zettelkasten Method, recorded bibliographic references (Ahrens, 18). Occasionally Luhmann wrote a few brief remarks on the other side of these cards (Ahrens, 18, 43; Schmidt 2013, 170). Despite the ambiguous terminology, a literature note is a reference in a reference manager, such as Zotero. Ordinarily one doesn’t refer to bibliographic references as notes, although it is possible to attach notes to bibliographic entries in Zotero. In Ahrens, the reference manager is where those notes would go (Ahrens 43).</p>
<h3 id="zettels-a-subcategory-of-permanent-notes">Zettels: a subcategory of permanent notes</h3>
<p>What about the notes that go into the slip-box? Since Ahrens doesn’t give them a name, we’ll assign them a standard name that appears nowhere in the English translation of <em>How to Take Smart Notes</em>: the Zettel. Using only the descriptive categories Ahrens provides, the next definition will have to do, for now.</p>
<p>A <em>Zettel</em> is a permanent note that isn’t a literature note.</p>
<p>Ahrens refers to these notes as “the main notes in the slip-box” in exactly one place (Ahrens, 44). Since Ahrens doesn’t provide examples of Zettels or offer a standard template for notes, I offer a template for free at <a href="https://github.com/flengyel/Zettel">https://github.com/flengyel/Zettel</a>.</p>
<h4 id="malleability">Malleability?</h4>
<p>Zettels are permanent notes, but not conversely. Moreover, neither Zettels nor Literature Notes are immutable as their name might suggest. <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/literature-notes-vs-permanent-notes/">They can be revised</a>—however, I advise caution when revising permanent notes. There are trade-offs to be aware of. Zettels are supposed to be self-contained: revision could result in loss of context (Ahrens 44). Since Zettels are linked to other Zettels, changing one Zettel could affect any other note connected to it, directly or indirectly. There is also the risk of obliterating history; of losing track of mistakes and dead ends to avoid; and of creating a misleading record of ever-upward progress (Ahrens, 125–127).</p>
<blockquote>
<p>[…] our culture is focused on success and how we neglect the important lessons from failure (Burkeman 2013).<br>
(Ahrens, 125)</p>
</blockquote>
<!-- separate -->
<blockquote>
<p>It is very good to know what has already proven to not work if we try to come up with new ideas that do work.<br>
(Ahrens, 127)</p>
</blockquote>
<h3 id="project-notes">Project notes</h3>
<p><em>Project Notes</em> are mentioned by Ahrens in four places (Ahrens, 42, 45, 46, 71). These notes don’t have a standard format and reside outside the Zettelkasten for writing projects that make use of the Zettelkasten (Ahrens, 23).</p>
<p><strong>Acknowledgements.</strong> I wish to thank @taurusnoises for professional editorial assistance and encouragement. @zk_1000 alerted me to the term “fleeting literature note” and pointed out that permanent notes subsume literature notes. @ctietze suggested additional citations.</p>
<h2 id="references">References</h2>
<ul>
<li><p>Ahrens, Sönke. 2017. <em>How to take smart notes: one simple technique to boost writing, learning and thinking: for students, academics and nonfiction book writers</em>. North Charleston, SC: CreateSpace.</p></li>
<li><p>Burkeman, Oliver. 2012. <em>The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking</em>. New York: Faber and Faber.</p></li>
<li><p>Schmidt, Johannes F.K. 2013. “Der Nachlass Niklas Luhmanns – eine erste Sichtung: Zettelkasten und Manuskripte.” Soziale Systeme 19 (1): 167–83.</p></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<p><strong>Christian’s Comment:</strong> Reading the first iteration of this text, I wanted to invite @ZettelDistraction to put this on the blog, because of one clever and interesting distinction he found in Ahrens’s book – and now the post turned into a much more thorough discussion of the concepts and terms used, and that’s even more useful to the Zettelkasten community! Thanks for taking so much care to make this piece.</p>
<p><strong>Sascha’s Comment:</strong> This is the reason why the Zettelkasten Forum is the best community. I have nothing to add other than to thank @ZettelDistraction for his work. I hope this adds to the collective knowledge of the Zettelkasten community and clarifies some of the difficulties to understand of Ahrens’s concepts.</p>
<p>Terminological troubles beset the account of note categories in <em>How To Take Smart Notes</em> by Sönke Ahrens (Ahrens 2017). The book reads as though it emerged unedited from the author’s Zettelkasten. The most important type of note doesn’t have a name. This post aims to settle the record.</p><p>Ahrens discusses five categories of notes: three main descriptive categories of notes: <em>fleeting note</em>, <em>permanent notes</em> and <em>project notes</em>; and two subcategories of permanent notes: <em>literature notes</em> and <em>Zettels</em>, although the term <em>Zettel</em> occurs nowhere in Ahrens (Ahrens, 41). Italicized terms are defined in "Note categories in detail" below, after some remarks on the components of a Zettekasten and on workflow in the Zettelkasten Method according to Ahrens.</p>tag:zettelkasten.de,2022-01-28:/posts/field-report-4-what-i-learned-writing-thesis-with-zettelkasten/Field Report #4: I spent six months using a Zettelkasten to write my thesis. Here's what I learned2022-01-28T16:16:22Z2022-01-28T16:16:22Z<p><em>This is a guest post by <a href="https://mappist.github.io">Caleb Winebrenner</a> (@Sociopoetic on our forums) where he shares his practical insights. Enjoy!</em></p>
<hr>
<p>We users of a Zettelkasten strive for a set of ideals: that we don’t only collect knowledge but integrate it and use it in the service of our own knowledge work; that use of a Zettelkasten generates new connections and insights for us in that work (as Luhmann said, as a conversation partner); that our organization of notes allows for clear thinking and organized ideas.</p>
<p>At least those are the ideals I had in mind when I commenced my thesis research. Truthfully, I adopted the Zettelkasten method <em>precisely because</em> I wanted to take good notes as I returned to academia. I was entering a new field (cartography) and believed that the Zettelkasten could be an important part of my success. As a preliminary point, my grades were excellent – and I’m convinced that my zettels were the reason why, especially since so many of our exams and projects were open-note. Ideas <em>did</em> seem to stick better in my mind when I had carefully-crafted notes. <em>To zettel</em>, or as I thought of it <em>to feed my Zettelkasten</em> and <em>to play</em> in my Zettelkasten were the majority of my study process. Any reading I did was done with The Archive open and any writing of reports had my Zettelkasten at hand for material.</p>
<p>I felt prepared to write my thesis. I was – and remain – confident in the method and in (most of) my notes. Writing and adding to my Zettelkasten is still part of my daily life of the mind.</p>
<p><em>Writing my thesis was not the same</em>.</p>
<p>The thesis-writing process revealed three dictums that I’m carrying forward:</p>
<ol>
<li><p><strong>A good piece of writing probably won’t be verbatim Zettels</strong>
At first I tried having verbatim Zettel integrated into my thesis.<sup id="fnref1"><a href="#fn1">1</a></sup> I discovered that when I did this, my resulting drafts did not have the sense of coherence required for my arguments. Atomic notes make for a useful Zettelkasten, but not good chapter sections. (Perhaps this is why some people criticize Luhmann’s own writing as tangled or obtuse.) To be clear, my Zettels made for good <em>outlines</em> or working first drafts, but not something I’d submit to my advisor. I absolutely relied on my Zettelkasten to get me started, but it only carried me so far. The task of writing was still mine to do, not the Zettelkasten’s. The exception was with descriptions of specific methodological details or some other technical aspect. A good formulation of an idea in a Zettel (if it was my own words) might still be used. The other notable exception would be direct quotations from other scholars that I had in my Zettelkasten. However, any interpretation of the quote in the original note was eventually discarded in favor of explication that was more directly related to the arguments in my thesis.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>A good Zettel requires good metadata</strong>
Sometimes, I knew I had a Zettel for something and it took a while to find it, or I found it only when looking for something else. Part of my research and writing process was to edit the metadata of my Zettels. My tags became more specific. Titles of notes were rewritten in order to show up with searches. For example, I started using the names of certain scholars as tags. A Zettel that may not include a quote from the scholar but resonated strongly with their ideas got the tag. In this way, I could track how some of my arguments were taking shape (again with the caveat that making Zettel was not the same as drafting a chapter)</p></li>
<li><p><strong>Material from a thesis draft should feed back into the Zettelkasten</strong>
As my thesis writing dominated my schedule, I began to work primarily in that document<sup id="fnref2"><a href="#fn2">2</a></sup>. One thing I found myself doing, however, was to put Zettel UIDs as comments<sup id="fnref3"><a href="#fn3">3</a></sup> in the draft. This led to the discovery that some material in my thesis writing was <em>not</em> in my Zettelkasten and should be, especially quotes or figures from scholars I was in dialogue with. I’ve not completed this step yet, but I intend to. Even as the thesis is a finished product, it is still a product that can feed my Zettelkasten. In doing so, it will make my future scholarship more robust. Relatedly, some expressions of key ideas that I finally seemed to get right in the final draft of my thesis are probably deserving of inclusion as separate (atomic) notes for use in other projects – with the caveat that I will still end up rewriting in order to meet the goals of the project at hand.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>All of this served as a reminder that my Zettelkasten is not static. A finished thesis, however, has to be in some sense. Continuing to add to and edit my Zettelkasten is essential (<a href="https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/1693/ant-spider-bee">be like the bee</a>). Again, I trust the Zettelkasten Method; it really worked for me. For the part of the scholarly process it’s designed for (collecting, organizing, and analyzing ideas), it’s spectacularly good. For other part of the process (some synthesis, writing), it’s best in a supporting role.</p>
<hr>
<h2 id="sascha-s-comment">Sascha’s Comment</h2>
<p>Practical experience is extremely valuable. Thank you @sociopoetic for this report!</p>
<p><strong>A good piece of writing probably won’t be verbatim Zettels</strong></p>
<p>This is consistent with my experience during the beta phase for the second edition of The Zettelkasten Method: Not only did I have to reword a lot to make the work during the writing process. Even having done this, a regular criticism from beta readers was that something was not sufficiently contextualised: either it could be deleted, or it needed to be clarified to make sense for the book. So, exactly the criticism one hears in regards to Luhmann’s writing style.</p>
<p>The context of thoughts and knowledge is different when it is in your Zettelkasten compared to being in a text. A good note in your Zettelkasten not only records thoughts clearly and precisely. It should also be understandable on its own. But in a text, the thought shouldn’t be interpreted in isolation, but in the context of the respective train of thought of the written piece. This makes it necessary to reformulate the thought in order to transfer it from one context to another.</p>
<p>The question for me at this point is: Can this friction be reduced to make the notebook a better writing tool without harming its quality as a thinking tool?</p>
<p><strong>A good Zettel requires good metadata</strong></p>
<p>I would generalise this lesson: Feeding the Zettelkasten and using it requires different but compatible conventions. The question is if writing the master’s thesis has produced production-specific problems and solutions to @sociopoetic, or if writing the thesis has produced fundamental improvements to the Zettelkasten that translate to a variety of activities.</p>
<p>In any case, I know the problem not only from writing texts. I make such adjustments all the time. The question is whether I work differently with my Zettelkasten or whether my way ensures an ongoing improvement, even without requiring to produce a text. Or: Because I already am producing texts with my Zettelkasten, I am already trained to make this change even without currently having a writing project.</p>
<p><strong>Material from a thesis draft should feed back into the Zettelkasten</strong></p>
<p>This is exactly my experience. During writing, new thoughts emerge and old ones are improved. This means that these new thoughts should be fed back into the Zettelkasten so that they are available for other thinking and writing with the Zettelkasten.</p>
<div class="footnotes">
<hr>
<ol>
<li id="fn1">
<p>So much so I found a LaTeX package to import markdown files. It’s a useful package for some writing goals (a short essay, perhaps), but not for a complex academic text. <a href="#fnref1">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn2">
<p>Technically, a folder of documents. <a href="#fnref2">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn3">
<p>I wrote the thesis in LaTeX, so commenting was easy. <a href="#fnref3">↩</a></p>
</li>
</ol>
</div>
We users of a Zettelkasten strive for a set of ideals: that we don't only collect knowledge but integrate it and use it in the service of our own knowledge work; that use of a Zettelkasten generates new connections and insights for us in that work (as Luhmann said, as a conversation partner); that our organization of notes allows for clear thinking and organized ideas.tag:zettelkasten.de,2022-01-25:/posts/zettelkasten-fiction-writing-part-4-create-story/The Zettelkasten Method for Fiction IV - Creating Stories2022-01-25T17:10:01Z2022-01-25T17:10:01Z<!-- Conclusion: Creating Fiction is the same as creating non-fiction. It is about creating a linearly readable text with *some* cross-referencing. -->
<p><strong>Recap:</strong> In the <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/zettelkasten-fiction-writing-part-1-knowledge/">first part</a>, we learned not to care about the source of the knowledge we deal with, but about its nature. In the <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/zettelkasten-fiction-writing-part-2-elements-of-story/">second part</a>, we learned what we are dealing with when we deal with story. In the <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/zettelkasten-fiction-writing-part-3-tools-analysing-story/">third part</a>, we learned how to use our Zettelkasten to analyse story.</p>
<p>What is left for us to learn? Creation.</p>
<figure class="post-figure "><a href="/img/blog/20220125181653_pit-bull-kisses.jpg"><img alt="" src="/img/blog/20220125181653_pit-bull-kisses.jpg" class="post-figure__image"></a><figcaption class="post-figure__caption">Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/rescuewarrior-2251306/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=2047469">Beverly Lussier</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=2047469">Pixabay</a></figcaption></figure>
<p>Writing books with the Zettelkasten is <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/write-book-without-even-trying-so-hard/">not that difficult</a>:</p>
<ol>
<li>Create a structure note that governs the outline of your book. Either create a preliminary outline up front, or create the outline bottom-up while you incorporate new notes.</li>
<li>I recommend double-entry bookkeeping: Incorporate each note into the note specific to the book, and into a note that deals with the topic in a systematic way instead of sticking to the original didactic or rhetorical form of the book.</li>
<li>Whenever you create a note that can be part of the book, incorporate it into the outline for the book and into the systematic part of your Zettelkasten.</li>
</ol>
<p>Topics are not linear in general. Think about ecology. It is the <em>circle</em> of life, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circle_of_Life">Simba</a>. Not the ray of life. But if you want to write a book on ecology, then the didactic and rhetoric nature of a book forces you to translate non-linearity into linearity.</p>
<p>Creating fiction is the same as creating non-fiction: It is about creating a linearly readable text with <em>some</em> cross-references that make the non-linear nature of its content availabe.</p>
<p>How do you start a fiction project within your Zettelkasten?</p>
<ol>
<li>Create a structure note for the outline of your book. Either create a preliminary outline, or create the outline bottom-up while you incorporate new notes. In fiction writing, the outline is guided by the plot. It provides linearity, because effect always <em>follows</em> cause. (Please, be quiet, naughty time travelers.)</li>
<li>Create notes for a systematic approach to your story. Plot, characters, leading question, symbols and world-building are good starters.</li>
<li>Whenever you create a note that can be part of the book, incorporate it into the outline for the book and into the corresponding systematic note.</li>
</ol>
<p>It does look so similar to the setup for a non-fiction book because the underlying structure is the same: A linear approach (writing a book) to a non-linear matter (the topic).</p>
<p>That’s it for the setup. There are two additional practices I want to share with you since they help me a lot.</p>
<h2 id="mark-prose">Mark Prose</h2>
<p>Prose and non-fiction text have different criteria for being good. That is the reason I mark prose with a “T” in the title of the note, so I can filter them visually pretty easy. A title looks like this <code>202112010811 T Nyx du bist meine Welt</code>. (“Nyx, you are my world”)</p>
<h2 id="do-create-links-even-if-you-write-prose">Do Create Links Even If You Write Prose</h2>
<p>Within your Zettelkasten, linking is powerful. You can add commentary, highlight comparisons to other parts of your book, and point to reference material – be its origin fiction or non-fiction. It adds to the depth of your writing.</p>
<p><strong>Disclaimer:</strong> This note is part of a script of mine and a translation of the real text. Please spare my fragile artist’s soul. :) (The translation is shitty since I cannot invest hours to find the right English words.)</p>
<div class="highlight"><pre><code class="language-markdown" data-lang="markdown"><div class="highlight"><pre class="highlight markdown"><code>The old woman looked through Lykaras' eyes into something inside of him:
"Become who you are."[[202109031324]]
"Become who you are." Lykaras softly murmured this sentence. It felt
like a distant echo. Yet, he had the impression that these words
boomed as if the echo in an empty hall amplified each word.
"Yes. You are always more than you are.[[260320121735]] Become who you
are: more. This is true for each of us. Everyone understands at least
a little bit of it. Some great people understand more. Almost no one
fully accepts this truth. This is your task, Lykaras. Your world
[[202112010811 T Nyx you are my world]] will live only if you
understand all of it and accept all of it, no matter how great your
pain."
</code></pre></div></code></pre></div>
<p>I’ll explain what the links refer to:</p>
<ol>
<li>
<strong>Become who your are</strong> (<code>202109031324</code>) is a reference to an aphorism by Nietzsche based on <a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pindar">Pindar</a>.</li>
<li>
<strong>You are always more than you are</strong> (<code>260320121735</code>) is a reference to a concept that combines some of Kant’s and Nietzsche’s view on self-development. It is my own concept, and an aphorism I came up with to condense the idea into one sentence: Becoming who you are means experiencing limits by overcoming them. (Again: Shitty translation for now.)</li>
<li>
<strong>Your world</strong> (<code>202112010811 T Nyx you are my world</code>) is a refence to a short dialog between Lykaras and his wife. One of the topics of this book is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lifeworld">lifeworld</a> and how it is created. So many characters will utter their opinion on these, giving different answers (let’s see how they will act: according to their opinion, or their <em>true opinion</em>).</li>
</ol>
<p>You can see that I am referencing to two types of notes:</p>
<ol>
<li>
<strong>Notes that deal with non-fictional concepts.</strong> Also fictional <em>non-fictional</em> concepts: An example would be a fictional beast description. It is fictional because I imagined it. But it is non-fictional in its behavior because the only difference is that the source is my imagination and not a real book on animals.</li>
<li>
<strong>Notes that deal with other prose.</strong> Those cross-references help me to keep consistency and coherence throughout the book.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="fourth-conclusion-writing-books-is-writing-books">Fourth Conclusion: Writing Books Is Writing Books</h2>
<p>Using the Zettelkasten Method to write fiction is no different from writing non-fiction. <strong>It is about creating a linearly readable text with <em>some</em> cross-referencing that also makes the non-linear nature of its content available.</strong></p>
<p>In isolation, the Zettelkasten Method just gives you architectual guidelines. But the specifics are dependent on the application. Let’s recap the four conclusions of this series:</p>
<ol>
<li>
<a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/zettelkasten-fiction-writing-part-1-knowledge/">Do not care about the source.</a> Knowledge is knowledge. This was the first installment because it is the most common issue I encounter.</li>
<li>
<a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/zettelkasten-fiction-writing-part-2-elements-of-story/">Learn how to deal with story first.</a> There are species of knowledge and species of story. The Zettelkasten Method in its core does not dictate species of knowledge. You need to decide how you understand knowledge. I think my catalogue of species is accurate. (See: <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/reading-is-searching/">Species of knowledge</a> and <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/zettelkasten-fiction-writing-part-2-elements-of-story/">species of story</a>) But you can have a different catalogue. This does not change the fact that you still create notes, that you link them and navigate your Zettelkasten. If you are dealing with stories, you have to deal with different species. That’s all that is important to use the Zettelkasten Method for story writing.</li>
<li>
<a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/zettelkasten-fiction-writing-part-3-tools-analysing-story/">Create a tool box to analyse story.</a> If you have your personal framework of elements of story down, you need to develop the skill – skill comes first! –, and the tools to either analyse or create stories.</li>
<li>Writing books is writing books. Again, the Zettelkasten Method stays the same whether you apply it to writing fiction or non-fiction. The reason is that the Zettelkasten Method entails very general principles. The word “general” essentially means “non-changing”. This unchanging nature is the difference between “general” and “specific”.</li>
</ol>
<hr>
<p>Do you want me to assist you with using the Zettelkasten Method? <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/coaching/">I offer 1-on-1 coaching</a>.</p>
<aside class="coaching__tldr">
<h2 class="skip-toc" id="zettelkasten-coaching-in-a-nutshell">Zettelkasten Coaching in a Nutshell</h2>
<ul>
<li>Learn from a decade of experience and dedication</li>
<li>Live 1-on-1 video chat</li>
<li>80 EUR (US$95) per hour</li>
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<hr>
<p><strong>Christian’s Comment:</strong> Hmm, the closest thing I have to fiction writing are notes for a computer role-playing game I wanted to write back when I was a teen. Some of these are in some kind of order, others utterly disconnected from the rest, small fragments or gameplay ideas. The low-hanging fruit I now see is this: incorporate world-building notes, like iconography and how magic works, into the Zettelkasten as regular notes. Interlinking them in the usual way, and also pointing to real-world examples in my Zettelkasten as backup reference. That shouldn’t be any trouble. Plus outlines for the story archs and plots of the games. That’d actually be a first for me, but I cannot come up with a reason <em>not</em> to include it into my Zettelkasten now anymore :)</p>
In the first part, we learned not to care about the source of the knowledge we deal with, but about its nature. In the second part, we learned what we are dealing with when we deal with story. In the third part, we learned how to use our Zettelkasten to analyse story. What is left for us to learn? Creation.tag:zettelkasten.de,2022-01-18:/posts/zettelkasten-fiction-writing-part-3-tools-analysing-story/The Zettelkasten Method for Fiction III - Create a Toolbox to Analyse Stories that Live in Your Zettelkasten2022-01-18T16:10:06Z2022-04-18T17:12:18Z<!-- Topic Creating Some examples of writing tools for fiction writing -->
<p><strong>Recap:</strong> In the <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/zettelkasten-fiction-writing-part-1-knowledge/">first part</a>, we learned not to care about the source of the knowledge we deal with, but about its nature. In the <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/zettelkasten-fiction-writing-part-2-elements-of-story/">second part</a>, we learned what we are dealing with when we deal with story.</p>
<p>So, how do we actually deal with story material using the Zettelkasten Method?</p>
<h2 id="story-tools-concept-and-example">Story Tools - Concept and Example</h2>
<p>Tools are devices to perform work. Story tools therefore can be described as devices used to perform the work that is done to analyse or create stories. Story tools are mostly bi-directional. The same tool can be used to both analyse and create stories. Or parts of them. There are exeptions, of course.</p>
<p>One of my personal tools is the functional model for character. I use the functional model to analyse or create a model of a character that gives me just the mechanical gist of a character. The mechanical gist is how the plot is driven forward or leading questions are answered. So I have a general character model that I use to create specific models for actual characters.</p>
<p>In essence, it is a miniature character sheet that just governs the essence of what a character does to the inner workings of story. It’s partially based on John Truby’s <em>The Anatomy of Story</em><sup id="fnref1"><a href="#fn1">1</a></sup> and Shawn Coyne’s <em>The Story Grid</em><sup id="fnref2"><a href="#fn2">2</a></sup>:</p>
<ul>
<li>Strengths
<ul>
<li>External strengths (physical, mental)</li>
<li>Inner strengths (moral, psychological)</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Weaknesses
<ul>
<li>External weaknesses (Physical, Intelligence)</li>
<li>Inner Weaknesses (Moral, Psychological)</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Objects of desire
<ul>
<li>External object of desire (craving)</li>
<li>Inner object of desire (need)</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>He/She as an answer to the core questions:
<ul>
<li>What is happiness?</li>
<li>What is meaning?</li>
<li>What is morality?</li>
<li>What can I hope for?</li>
<li>When am I responsible?</li>
<li>When must I act?</li>
<li>What must I endure?</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Answer to the guiding question of the narrative</li>
<li>Role for the plot</li>
</ul>
<p>This model is incorporated into my Zettelkasten like this:</p>
<ol>
<li>Another tool named <em>Unfolding the Character Network</em> uses this tool as a subroutine. The character network is a tool to, well, unfold the social fabric of the story’s characters and for that I need to have a functional model for each of them first.</li>
<li>The functional model is part of my general character sheet (it is <a href="https://github.com/Zettelkasten-Method/Zettelkasten-fuer-schriftsteller/blob/main/202009090952%20TL%20Charakterbogen.txt">available in German</a> and <a href="https://github.com/Zettelkasten-Method/Zettelkasten-for-fiction/blob/main/Character%20Sheet.md">in English</a>).</li>
<li>It is referenced on my main structure note that governs everything I write and know about characters in story. (In my Zettelkasten, it is very interconnected with psychology.)</li>
</ol>
<p>This model is mostly part of a more complex structure, like a more complex tool or structure note. It needs to be fleshed out more. Each concept I use, like the above lists of core questions (partially based on Kant) or objects of desire (partially based on Truby and Coyne), requires outgoing links to detail notes where I can write more about these concepts. But at this point in time, these are not complete. That is fine for me, though, because I have a good enough grasp on these concepts. But over time, this tool will evolve, and to support my decisions it will require an internal debate within my Zettelkasten.</p>
<p>I have created a tool <em>box</em> for these tools of mine. It looks like this:</p>
<h3 id="tool-box">Tool Box</h3>
<p><strong>Preface:</strong> These tools can be used both ways: Both as tools for writing a narrative, and as tools for analysis.</p>
<p>The following is the actual toolbox: It has compartments (“plot”, “characters” etc.) in which the tools reside. In my Zettelkasten, the note is named “story tools”.</p>
<div class="highlight"><pre><code class="language-markdown" data-lang="markdown"><div class="highlight"><pre class="highlight markdown"><code>Core idea of a narrative.........................[[202107300945]]
Plot
Bookertest for completeness..................[[202111201159]]
Storyboarding................................[[202111040801]]
Global Story Grid............................[[202107030735]]
Plot Table...................................[[202107081145]]
Seven-Step Plot..............................[[202108111130]]
Checklist Plot...............................[[202108111020]]
Kubler-Ross change model for narratives......[[202107071052]]
Characters
Individual
Functional model.........................[[202108180823]]
Character sheet..........................[[202009090952]]
Relationships
Shaping the character network............[[202108180846]]
The conflict square......................[[202108181350]]
Stage
Building stage for narrative.................[[202108301209]]
Guiding question/topic
Basic outline of narrative leading question..[[202108250950]]
Guiding question flower......................[[202108210906]]
Truby's moral argument strategy..............[[202108211043]]
Booker's Rule of Three.......................[[202112081055]]
Imagery and symbolism
Truby's tool.................................[[202109011041]]
Structure of the narrative
Arrangement of narrative elements............[[202108071134]]
Designing individual elements
Schematic of scene notes.....................[[202109040812]]
</code></pre></div></code></pre></div>
<h2 id="using-the-tool-box-to-analyse-fiction">Using the Tool Box to Analyse Fiction</h2>
<figure class="post-figure "><a href="/img/blog/20220118171228_puppy.jpg"><img alt="" src="/img/blog/20220118171228_puppy.jpg" class="post-figure__image"></a><figcaption class="post-figure__caption">Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/jeremy8-362830/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=406163">jeremy8</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=406163">Pixabay</a></figcaption></figure>
<p>Imagine I read <em>The Godfather</em> by Puzo. How do I process it? Well, it depends on who I am.</p>
<p>If I just like to read fiction and want to save the nuggets and use them to improve my Zettelkasten, then I don’t need to do anything special. <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/zettelkasten-fiction-writing-part-1-knowledge/">Knowledge is knowledge after all.</a> I will do the same as if it was just a non-fiction text.</p>
<p>If I want to go deep with the story – as a critic, an aspiring author or just as an enthusiast, I need to ask myself what I want to create, what analysis I want to perform. Do I want to learn about the inner mechanics of the story? Do I want to really understand the magic of Don Vito Corleone?</p>
<p>An objective is needed because the possible number of angles on how to analyse a story is near infinite. We need an aim to reduce infinity to possibility.</p>
<p>I finished reading <em>The Godfather</em> a week before writing this article – which is the reason I am using it as an example. My personal agenda with this book is the following:</p>
<ol>
<li>I want to extract all the iconic aphorisms. These will be attached to their respective themes and topics.</li>
<li>I want to understand how Puzo is able to make people truly sympathise with a mobster.</li>
<li>I want to have a basic character sheet for Don Vito Corleone, since he is one of the most iconic characters. I want to truly understand him in the hopes of improving my ability to create iconic characters myself.</li>
<li>I want to understand the basic leading questions and how they are answered.</li>
</ol>
<p>To fullfil my agenda, I go to my tool box and choose tools that will help:</p>
<ol>
<li>I will create a structure note for the novel <em>The Godfather</em>.</li>
<li>I will copy the complete story tool box into this structure note.</li>
<li>I will then delete everything I don’t need to my agenda.</li>
</ol>
<p>This will be the result:</p>
<div class="highlight"><pre><code class="language-markdown" data-lang="markdown"><div class="highlight"><pre class="highlight markdown"><code>Core idea of a narrative...........................[[202107300945]]
Plot
Bookertest for completeness....................[[202111201159]]
Global Story Grid..............................[[202107030735]]
Seven-Step Plot................................[[202108111130]]
Kubler-Ross change model for narratives........[[202107071052]]
Characters
Individual
Functional model...........................[[202108180823]]
Relationships
The conflict square........................[[202108181350]]
Leading question/topic
Basic outline of narrative leading question....[[202108250950]]
Leading question flower........................[[202108210906]]
</code></pre></div></code></pre></div>
<p>Then I will process the book from start to finish, guided by these tools. In the end, I will have a complete or incomplete functional model of Vito Corleone,<sup id="fnref3"><a href="#fn3">3</a></sup> a conflict square, etc. Then I’ll try to fill in the missing parts by going back to the book to the best of my ability.</p>
<p>Then the analysis is finished. The result will be a model of the book <em>The Godfather</em> by Mario Puzo.</p>
<h2 id="third-conclusion-create-a-tool-box-to-analyse-story">Third Conclusion: Create a Tool Box to Analyse Story</h2>
<p>If you want to analyse stories with your Zettelkasten, create a tool box and let it live within your Zettelkasten. If you go to work, do it like any good worker: First, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mise_en_place">prepare the tools</a> you need and keep the tool box at hand. And second, know what you are aiming for.</p>
<p>This is how you can use the Zettelkasten Method to analyse stories. In the <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/zettelkasten-fiction-writing-part-4-create-story">next installment</a> of this series, we will learn how to create stories using the Zettelkasten Method.</p>
<hr>
<p>Do you want me to assist you with using the Zettelkasten Method? <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/coaching/">I offer 1-on-1 coaching</a>.</p>
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<p><strong>Christian’s Comment:</strong> Last time, I pointed out I have no clue about storytelling and that the elements of story were new to me. The idea of a character sheet “copypasta” sounds appealing to me to get started, though, probably because it resonates with what I know as “Design Patterns” in programming. The presentation of such patterns is often formalized a bit. And the character sheet in particular resembles this practice. In fact, I believe that the practice outline here would’ve been quite useful to assemble <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Design_pattern">Design Patterns</a> in the tradition of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Pattern_Language">Christopher Alexander and his book on architecture</a>.</p>
<div class="footnotes">
<hr>
<ol>
<li id="fn1">
<p>John Truby (2008): The Anatomy of Story, New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. <a href="#fnref1">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn2">
<p>Shawn Coyne (2015): The Story Grid. What Good Editors Know, USA: Black Irish Entertainment LLC. <a href="#fnref2">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn3">
<p>It may remain incomplete if I don’t find every aspect and answer to the fundamental questions. <a href="#fnref3">↩</a></p>
</li>
</ol>
</div>
In the first part, we learned not to care about the source of the knowledge we deal with, but about its nature. In the second part, we learned what we are dealing with when we deal with story. So, how do we actually deal with story material using the Zettelkasten Method?tag:zettelkasten.de,2022-01-11:/posts/zettelkasten-fiction-writing-part-2-elements-of-story/The Zettelkasten Method for Fiction II – Collecting and Processing Building Blocks of Story2022-01-11T17:04:40Z2023-08-03T07:23:43Z<p><strong>Recap:</strong> In <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/zettelkasten-fiction-writing-part-1-knowledge/">part 1</a> we concluded that knowledge is knowledge, independent of its source. Applying the Zettelkasten Method to fiction books does not change anything if we are dealing with knowledge.</p>
<p>But if you want to use the Zettelkasten Method to analyse a story as a story? Then you need to know what to look for besides knowledge.</p>
<h2 id="what-to-look-for-in-stories">What to Look For in Stories?</h2>
<figure class="post-figure "><a href="/img/blog/20220111180002_dogs-in-line.jpg"><img alt="" src="/img/blog/20220111180002_dogs-in-line.jpg" class="post-figure__image"></a><figcaption class="post-figure__caption">Image via <a href="https://pixabay.com/photos/dogs-pomeranian-maltese-lined-up-1668020/">Pixabay</a></figcaption></figure>
<p><strong>Disclaimer:</strong> Style is excluded for didactic reasons. Style is not part of the story, but part of the language used to present the story. Whether the author chooses to use just the verb “say” to signify direct speech, uses lots of different synonyms for “saying”, or if he is an alliteration addict is not important to the story itself.</p>
<p>There are <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/reading-is-searching/">six types of knowledge</a>. In story, we find the following elements:</p>
<ol>
<li>
<strong>Structural elements</strong> are acts, scene sequences, scenes, beats.<sup id="fnref1"><a href="#fn1">1</a></sup> The units of story.</li>
<li>
<strong>Elements of plot</strong> are things like changes in value charge,<sup id="fnref2"><a href="#fn2">2</a></sup> plot elements of frameworks like the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero%27s_journey">hero’s journey</a> (example: Meeting with the Goddess),<sup id="fnref3"><a href="#fn3">3</a></sup> the resolution or the introduction of the protagonist’s weakness.<sup id="fnref4"><a href="#fn4">4</a></sup> Elements of plot are the various events and actions that are part of the <em>cause and effect network</em> named plot.<sup id="fnref5"><a href="#fn5">5</a></sup>
</li>
<li>
<strong>Elements of character</strong> are all the things related to the character. Imagine you write the most comprehensive character sheet. Everything you can write on it is an element of character: Backstory, values, actions in the story, relationship to others, etc.</li>
<li>
<strong>Leading question and theme</strong> belong to a deeper layer. Within a story there are always connections to the nature of the world. <em>The Godfather</em> by Puzo ask questions on what a good leader is made of and delivers a series of moral decisions that paint a picture on how to act morally, independent of the law. More obvious are those aspects of story in the <em>Drenai Saga</em> by David Gemmell: His books are about heroism, which deeds turn you good or evil, and if you can redeem yourself by doing good deeds.</li>
<li>
<strong>Symbols</strong> are semantic elements of story that stand for something else. There are general symbols, like the heart as a symbol for love, and specific symbols like the holy grail in the Arthurian saga.</li>
<li>
<strong>World-building</strong> entails everything that creates a fictional world and its feel. Sometimes, the term <em>exposition</em> is used but since it can also be used for character description I choose this term.</li>
</ol>
<p>This is my framework when I analyse stories. There is an obvious similarity to the six species of knowledge: You need more than just knowledge about them. You need competence. You can only detect an argument if you have the ability to spot the premises, the conclusion and the logical form. Accordingly, you can detect elements of plot only if you are able to recognise plot elements. That means that your ability to use the Zettelkasten Method to analyse story is mostly dependent on your ability to analyse story at all.</p>
<p>It is a beginner’s problem to be forced to become competent in different layer’s of a desired ability:</p>
<ol>
<li>If you want to be a competent knowledge worker you need to master the medium (hopefully, using software like <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/the-archive/">The Archive</a>), the method (hopefully, The Zettelkasten Method) and the knowledge work itself (rhetorics, scientific method, etc.).</li>
<li>If you want to competently deal with fiction, you need to master the medium as well (hopefully, using software like <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/the-archive/">The Archive</a>), the method (hopefully, The Zettelkasten Method) and creating/analysing fiction itself.</li>
</ol>
<p>Don’t confuse those layers and identify each of your abilities individually.</p>
<h2 id="second-conclusion-learn-how-to-deal-with-story-first">Second Conclusion: Learn How to Deal With Story First</h2>
<p>If you want to make the Zettelkasten Method work for you to understand story, you have to be able to understand story first.</p>
<p>It is similar to learning the handstand: First you learn how to stand on your hands, then you learn how to kick yourself up into the handstand. If you kick yourself on your hands without any handstand ability, you don’t know to which place you need to kick yourself up to.</p>
<p>My personal recommendations to learn story are (affiliate links):</p>
<ol>
<li>
<a href="https://amzn.to/3HU7kXh">Shawn Coyne (2015): The Story Grid. What Good Editors Know</a>, USA: Black Irish Entertainment LLC.</li>
<li>
<a href="https://amzn.to/3GuDGHG">John Truby (2008): The Anatomy of Story</a>, New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.</li>
<li>
<a href="https://amzn.to/3nhnwtH">Christopher Booker (2004): The Seven Basic Plots. Why we tell stories</a>, Croydon: Bloomsbury.</li>
</ol>
<p>So if you understand how story works, you have the first part down. The second part is to learn the basics of the Zettelkasten Method. The third step is to make your tools of thought work within the Zettelkasten Method’s framework. This will be the topic of the next installment in this series.</p>
<hr>
<p>Do you want me to assist you with using the Zettelkasten Method? <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/coaching/">I offer 1-on-1 coaching</a>.</p>
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<h2 class="skip-toc" id="zettelkasten-coaching-in-a-nutshell">Zettelkasten Coaching in a Nutshell</h2>
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<p><strong>Christian’s Comment:</strong> I have (had?) no clue about storytelling :) Getting to know that there’s elements to hunt for and extract is a relief. I have yet to practice looking for “symbols” and “character elements” in books, but I recall that it took some time when I started out with non-fiction note-taking and processing as well. I believe that back then it helped to put marks in the margins to get into the groove, like “A” for argument, “M” for model, etc. even though now a general purpose dot suffices – so maybe I’ll have to start again with these newbie techniques for this new set of elements. Just wanted to share this in case you have a hard time memorizing and identifying what to hunt for.</p>
<div class="footnotes">
<hr>
<ol>
<li id="fn1">
<p>Shawn Coyne (2015): The Story Grid. What Good Editors Know, USA: Black Irish Entertainment LLC, p 195. <a href="#fnref1">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn2">
<p>Shawn Coyne (2015): The Story Grid. What Good Editors Know, USA: Black Irish Entertainment LLC, pp 120-4. <a href="#fnref2">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn3">
<p>Joseph Campbell (2008): The Hero With a Thousand Faces, Canada: New World Library, p 91. <a href="#fnref3">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn4">
<p>John Truby (2008): The Anatomy of Story, New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, p 40. <a href="#fnref4">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn5">
<p>Ronald B. Tobias (2011): 20 Masterplots. And How to Build Them, Writer’s Digest Books, p 40. <a href="#fnref5">↩</a></p>
</li>
</ol>
</div>
In part 1 we concluded that knowledge is knowledge, independent of its source. Applying the Zettelkasten Method to fiction books does not change anything if we are dealing with knowledge .But if you want to use the Zettelkasten Method to analyse a story as a story? Then you need to know what to look for besides knowledge.tag:zettelkasten.de,2022-01-04:/posts/zettelkasten-fiction-writing-part-1-knowledge/The Zettelkasten Method for Fiction I – Knowledge is Knowledge2022-01-04T15:51:40Z2022-01-06T08:12:58Z<!-- Conclusion: The source does not have an influence on the nature of the knowledge you process. -->
<p>Quite frequently, the question how to make the Zettelkasten Method work for fiction arises. The simple answer is: There is no need to modify the Zettelkasten Method because it only provides the overarching architecture for your notes and their connections. If your sources are fictional or non-fictional is just a question of the content your notes hold.</p>
<p>To demonstrate this claim, I will show you ways to process a quote from the great movie <em>The Godfather</em> by Mario Puzo. Please forgive me for not providing the exact bibliographical data since I read the book in German. All quotes are taken from <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/266624-the-godfather?page=1">Goodreads</a>.<sup id="fnref1"><a href="#fn1">1</a></sup></p>
<h2 id="the-quotes">The Quotes</h2>
<p>Read the quotes carefully: There are some that are not like the other. Can you guess which?</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Never hate your enemies. It affects your judgment.</p>
</blockquote>
<!-- Trenner -->
<blockquote>
<p>He had long ago learned that society imposes insults that must be borne, comforted by the knowledge that in this world there comes a time when the most humble of men, if he keeps his eyes open, can take his revenge on the most powerful. It was this knowledge that prevented the Don from losing the humility all his friends admired in him.</p>
</blockquote>
<!-- Trenner -->
<blockquote>
<p>There are things that have to be done and you do them and you never talk about them. You don’t try to justify them. They can’t be justified. You just do them. Then you forget it.</p>
</blockquote>
<!-- Trenner -->
<blockquote>
<p>Revenge is a dish that tastes best when served cold.</p>
</blockquote>
<!-- Trenner -->
<blockquote>
<p>A man who doesn’t spend time with his family can never be a real man.</p>
</blockquote>
<!-- Trenner -->
<blockquote>
<p>The lawyer with the briefcase can steal more money than the man with the gun.</p>
</blockquote>
<!-- Trenner -->
<blockquote>
<p>The other Dons in the room applauded and rose to shake hands with everybody in sight and to congratulate Don Corleone and Don Tattaglia on their new friendship. It was not perhaps the warmest friendship in the world, they would not send each other Christmas gift greetings, but they would not murder each other. That was friendship enough in this world, all that was needed.</p>
</blockquote>
<!-- Trenner -->
<blockquote>
<p>We are all honorable men here, we do not have to give each other assurances as if we were lawyers.</p>
</blockquote>
<!-- Trenner -->
<blockquote>
<p>I don’t trust society to protect us, I have no intention of placing my fate in the hands of men whose only qualification is that they managed to con a block of people to vote for them.</p>
</blockquote>
<!-- Trenner -->
<blockquote>
<p>I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse.</p>
</blockquote>
<!-- Trenner -->
<blockquote>
<p>You cannot say ‘no’ to the people you love, not often. That’s the secret. And then when you do, it has to sound like a ‘yes’. Or you have to make them say ‘no.’ You have to take time and trouble.</p>
</blockquote>
<!-- Trenner -->
<blockquote>
<p>Many young men started down a false path to their true destiny. Time and fortune usually set them aright.</p>
</blockquote>
<!-- Trenner -->
<blockquote>
<p>A man who is not a father to his children can never be a real man.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Take your time and don’t continue reading until you have your hypothesis. I’ll process one of the quotes in the meantime.</p>
<h2 id="a-thoroughly-processed-quote">A Thoroughly Processed Quote</h2>
<p><strong>Disclaimer:</strong> The following is the pure processing, not the implementation into the Zettelkasten. The corresponding sample notes can be found <a href="https://github.com/Zettelkasten-Method/Sample-Zettelkasten-Archive">in the sample note archive on GitHub</a>. The emboldened sentences are comments on what I am doing next.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>A man who doesn’t spend time with his family can never be a real man.</p>
</blockquote>
<!-- Own words -->
<p><strong>First: A reformulation in my own words.</strong></p>
<p>To become a real man, a man must be complete. You cannot have something missing. Being there for the family is an essential part of a man’s life. So, if a man is not spending time with his family the issue is not just that he withholds quality time from its family. He violates his own honor.</p>
<!-- Truth -->
<p><strong>Second: Establishing the truth of the claim embedded in the quote.</strong></p>
<p>Paternal investment in offspring is a unique human trait compared to the other primates. Paternal investment is tightly linked to paternal certainty. For women, there is not doubt that their children are really theirs. For men, there is the issue of uncertainty. The rationality of their believe of being the biological father of children depends on various factors. It is more rational to trust in being the biological father in a monogamous marriage while living in a small village and being part of a culture that highly values fidelity, than in a casual relationship (“friends with benefits”) with no cultural ties to the woman.</p>
<p>This paternal uncertainty is not only a source of stress. The degree of paternal certainty can be seen as the result of the man’s capability to create a world in which it is rational to spend time with his family.</p>
<p>Coming from a more virtue based point of view, one can argue that spending time with one’s family separates a human male from primates. Spending time with the family is one aspect by which we human improved on our ancestors. So, if you don’t spend time with your family as a man, you don’t rise above the level of an ape. It makes you primitive if done by choice.</p>
<!-- Relevance -->
<p><strong>Third: Establishing the relevance of the claim if it is true.</strong></p>
<p>Spending time with one’s own family is part of the <em>Conditio Humana</em>. As people, we are not strictly separated from animals. Quite the contrary: Being human is not a biological trait you inherit with your genes, but a behavioral confirmation that needs to be acted out consciously in our daily lives. This makes solving the issue of paternal uncertainty and creating a life in which it is both rational and emotional right to spend time with one’s family one of the duties of a man’s codex.</p>
<p>The world is never our own world. We are born into the world to die. The world doesn’t exist for us not for us since we are the present, and the present is the point in time that is eternally being-born and dying simultaneously. The past is eternally dead. The future is the only thing that is truly alive. This is the true meaning of the saying “The world belongs to our children”. If we make spending time with our family part of our codex of being a man, we embody at least in part these words of wisdom. Therefore, we men should teach our sons the importance of spending time with family since they are the future dads who inherit this duty.</p>
<!-- Usefulness -->
<p><strong>Fourth: Thinking about the usefulness as if this claim was true and a tool. Or: Establishing the usefulness of the embedded guideline.</strong></p>
<p>Men need a code to live by. With no code, with no honor, men become weak and eventually succumb to the temptations of the expedient and lower vices. To make honor depend on whether we spend time with our family puts pressure on men that’s necessary to prevent them from becoming weak. It saves men from living as if they are not the already-dying present. It saves them from the hazards – for their selves and their family – of self-centeredness.</p>
<!-- Simpleness -->
<p><strong>Fifth: Establishing a relationship of the embedded guideline to the concept of simpleness. Here specifically: How to let the guideline manifest in your life with simple means.</strong></p>
<p>To spend time with family can be very simple. Incorporate rules and rituals that facilitate spending time with them: Train with them, eat together, have regular family events. Short: Make it a habit.</p>
<p>To increase the quality, make sure that you are conscious of what you aim for when you spend time with your family. It is about making the lives of your family better and knitting your ties a bit closer. So, if you eat with your family, it is not the time and place to unload frustrations with just because they can’t avoid you like they can the rest of the day.</p>
<!-- Beauty -->
<p><strong>Sixth: Establishing the relationship of the quote to the concept of beauty – the layer that is the most difficult to uncover layer of knowledge.</strong></p>
<p>If you imagine spending time with your family, you will always be able to find beauty. Even if spending time with them looks like a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Lampoon%27s_Christmas_Vacation">Chevy</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Lampoon%27s_Vacation">Chase</a> or <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grown_Ups_(film)">Adam</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grown_Ups_2">Sandler</a> movie, there is the hidden beauty of a father being with his family and making it part of his priority. The sight of an invested father fills us with similar joy like like looking at a <a href="https://www.wikiart.org/en/anders-zorn/our-daily-bread-1886">beautiful</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girl_with_a_Pearl_Earring">painting</a>. It might be less in-your-face, but the beautiful character trait shines through if you open your heart to it.</p>
<hr>
<p><strong>Commentary:</strong> Keep in mind that writing <em>is</em> thinking. These are my actual thoughts and besides the occasional typo I didn’t change anything to give you an idea how the real processing of the quote can look like. And should look like if you ask me.</p>
<h2 id="the-quotes-that-are-not-like-the-others">The Quotes That Are Not Like the Others</h2>
<p>There are three quotes that are not like the others:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>[1]</strong> The other Dons in the room applauded and rose to shake hands with everybody in sight and to congratulate Don Corleone and Don Tattaglia on their new friendship. It was not perhaps the warmest friendship in the world, they would not send each other Christmas gift greetings, but they would not murder each other. That was friendship enough in this world, all that was needed.</p>
</blockquote>
<!-- Trenner -->
<blockquote>
<p><strong>[2]</strong> We are all honorable men here, we do not have to give each other assurances as if we were lawyers.</p>
</blockquote>
<!-- Trenner -->
<blockquote>
<p><strong>[3]</strong> I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Compared to the rest of the quotes, these quotes are not straightforward claims on how the world is or how to act in it. The meaning in these quotes is more hidden. All the other quotes are straight-forward.</p>
<p>So let me ask this rhetorical question: Why should you treat those claims on the nature of the world any different than claims that you read in non-fiction literature?</p>
<p>The answer is: There is no reason to treat them any different, because the source does not dictate the nature of the type of knowledge we are confronted with.</p>
<p>If I’d tell that the quote I processed was by an important Roman or Greek philosopher, you might assume that I am using the Zettelkasten Method for philosophy. If I’d tell that the quote was pulled from the Bible, you might assume I was using the Zettelkasten Method for theology. But instead I used the quote above to demonstrate you how to use your Zettelkasten to process fiction.</p>
<p>The genre or medium of your source material does not matter for the application <em>and</em> applicability of the Zettelkasten Method. The Zettelkasten Method is a way of dealing with knowledge.<sup id="fnref2"><a href="#fn2">2</a></sup> It is not important if you stalk a stranger in the alley while he mumbles profound wisdom which you then recorded with your <a href="https://www-donnerundpflicht-de.translate.goog/spezielle-gehwege-fuer-zombies-in-china-und-belgien-die-numbphoneinfektion-breitet-sich-aus/?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en">numbphone</a>. It is not important if your source is a podcast, a book, a philosopher, a theologist, or a dead character in Game of Thrones. Knowledge is knowledge.</p>
<h2 id="first-conclusion-do-not-care-about-the-source">First Conclusion: Do Not Care About the Source</h2>
<figure class="post-figure "><a href="/img/blog/20220104182109_fiction-meet-fiction.jpg"><img alt="" src="/img/blog/20220104182109_fiction-meet-fiction.jpg" class="post-figure__image"></a><figcaption class="post-figure__caption"></figcaption></figure>
<p>If you process fiction, don’t be distracted by the type of book you are reading. Focus on the material at hand. The correct way to deal with it is to ignore the type of source and concentrate on the type of knowledge at hand.</p>
<p>If you want to process knowledge be aware of the different species of knowledge you can encounter. <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/reading-is-searching/">Reading is searching for these species</a>. But in fictional texts, there is value besides knowledge, especially when you are a fiction writer yourself. So in the next installment of this series, we will see what else we can look for in fiction.</p>
<hr>
<p>Do you want me to assist you with using the Zettelkasten Method? <a href="https://zettelkasten.de/coaching/">I offer 1-on-1 coaching</a>.</p>
<aside class="coaching__tldr">
<h2 class="skip-toc" id="zettelkasten-coaching-in-a-nutshell">Zettelkasten Coaching in a Nutshell</h2>
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<hr>
<p><strong>Christian’s Comment:</strong> When I read the drafts for this article, I was astonished how thoroughly Sascha processed that one quote. I believe I can change quite a bit in my attitude towards fiction when I’m looking at this – especially since I hardly process quotes from fiction. If you (like I did) feel you don’t know where and how to start, I’m certain that the upcoming parts will be a great help. I know what’s coming, of course :)</p>
<div class="footnotes">
<hr>
<ol>
<li id="fn1">
<p>Some quotes might be from the book. I have no way to tell from the Goodreads data. <a href="#fnref1">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn2">
<p>This includes information since transforming information into knowledge is part of knowledge work. <a href="#fnref2">↩</a></p>
</li>
</ol>
</div>
tag:zettelkasten.de,2021-12-29:/posts/teaser-zk-book-introduction/Book Teaser (2nd Edition): Declare Software Independence to Unshackle Your Mind2021-12-29T09:32:33Z2021-12-29T09:32:33Z<figure class="post-figure "><a href="/img/blog/20211229105154_leini-free-your-mind.jpg"><img alt="" src="/img/blog/20211229105154_leini-free-your-mind.jpg" class="post-figure__image"></a><figcaption class="post-figure__caption"></figcaption></figure>
<blockquote>
<p>The things you own end up owning you.<br>
(Quote from the movie “Fight Club”)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This is taken from the introduction to the second edition of the German book on the Zettelkasten Method</p>
<h2 id="english">English</h2>
<p>The biggest challenge in dealing with digital knowledge work is to get away from the idea that you are interacting with an application interface. We are used to being guided by the inner logic of a software application. All too quickly, we believe that we need this or that software because it does something unique, something irreplaceable for us. This makes us dependent and puts shackles on our thinking. This is harmful to our minds.</p>
<p>A side effect of these shackles is that we submit to the assumptions of the programmers of the software. Software is not neutral, of course. Build into them are the programmers’ assumptions about what are good and bad practices in knowledge work. For this reason, I have decided to present the Zettelkasten Method in a way that is independent of all software.</p>
<h2 id="german">German</h2>
<p>Die größte Herausforderung im Umgang mit digitaler Wissensarbeit ist, sich vom Gedanken zu lösen, dass man mit einer Programmoberfläche interagiert. Wir sind es gewohnt, dass wir durch die innere Logik eines Programms angeleitet werden. Allzu schnell glauben wir, dass wir diese oder jene Software brauchen, weil sie etwas Einzigartiges, Unersetzbares für uns leistet. Das macht uns abhängig und legt unserem Denken Fesseln an. Diese können wir nicht gebrauchen.</p>
<p>Ein Nebeneffekt dieser Fesseln ist, dass wir uns den Annahmen der Programmierer der Software unterwerfen. Software ist natürlich nicht neutral. In ihnen stecken die Annahmen der Programmierer, was gute und schlechte Praktiken der Wissensarbeit sind. Aus diesem Grund habe ich mich entschlossen, die Zettelkastenmethode auf eine Weise zu präsentieren, die unabhängig von aller Software ist.</p>
"The things you own end up owning you." (Fight Club) -- The following is taken from the introduction to the second edition of the German book on the Zettelkasten Method.tag:zettelkasten.de,2021-12-07:/posts/zk-live-2021-ep7/Live Zettelkasten Session on Dec 10th (Episode 7)2021-12-07T11:33:31Z2021-12-07T11:33:31Z<p>Dear Zettlers,</p>
<p>There will be a live Zettelkasten session, scheduled for Dec 10th, 2021, 19:30-21:00 CEST.</p>
<p>On that day, you can tune in right here:</p>
<figure class="post-figure youtube"><div class="video-container"><iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/dgU0LIykSWI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div></figure>
<p>(Link to the video: <a href="https://youtu.be/dgU0LIykSWI">https://youtu.be/dgU0LIykSWI</a>)</p>
<p>Live long and prosper,<br>
Sascha</p>
tag:zettelkasten.de,2021-11-05:/posts/zk-live-2021-ep6/Live Zettelkasten Session on Nov 12th (Episode 6)2021-11-05T12:35:31Z2021-11-05T12:35:31Z<p>Dear Zettlers,</p>
<p>There will be a live Zettelkasten session, scheduled for Nov 12nd, 2021, 19:30-21:00 CEST.</p>
<p>On that day, you can tune in right here:</p>
<figure class="post-figure youtube"><div class="video-container"><iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/a1lLDzP2VVA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div></figure>
<p>(Link to the video: <a href="https://youtu.be/a1lLDzP2VVA">https://youtu.be/a1lLDzP2VVA</a>)</p>
<p>Live long and prosper,<br>
Sascha</p>