## How to Take Smart Notes 🔹 *parent* [[⏶ Zettelkasten|Zettelkasten]] ▫️ *related* [[Obsidian|Obsidian]], [[⏶ Obsidian Process 2023|Obsidian Process]], [[❞ How to Take Smart Notes in Obsidian|How to Take Smart Notes in Obsidian]] ### Overview Notes from my reading of a influential book that motivated my understanding of the philosophy behind Zettelkasten method. >*“The slip-box does not put the learner in the centre. Quite the contrary: It allows the learner to let his or her own thinking become decentralised within a network of other ideas. Learning, thinking and writing should not be about accumulating knowledge, but about becoming a different person with a different way of thinking. This is done by questioning one’s own thinking routines in the light of new experiences and facts.”* > -- Sönke Ahrens >*“Slavoj Žižek said in an interview that he wouldn’t be able to write a single sentence if he didn’t start by convincing himself he was only writing down some ideas for himself, and that maybe he could turn it into something publishable later. By the time he stopped writing, he was always surprised to find that the only thing left to do was revise the draft he already had.”* >-- Sönke Ahrens ### Goodreads Review [[#^2cad9b|Goodreads Review]] One argument that rang true to my experience from this book is that change is possible when the solution appears to be simple. Over a year ago, I started looking for a replacement to "simplify" my notes that were scattered throughout numerous programs, often difficult to hunt down and find the most current version. I'd heard about new programs like Obsidian and Roam Research, read an article or two about this thing called the Zettelkasten method, and eventually found this book. With the assumption that I'd read a simple self-help guide and learn some simple note software, I was off. I really had no idea what I'd gotten myself into. The title of *How to Take Smart Notes* may sound like a straightforward self-help guide, but it went far beyond my expectations, making me question how I've been reading and truly processing new information my entire life. Rather than simply read and highlight (and most likely forget), it pushes you to read "with a pen in hand" (i.e. a <i>physical pen</i> on <i>paper</i>). Through the process of not only reading material and making notes in your own words, the slip-box method then pushes you to go a step further by summarizing what you've learned and cataloging that summation into a permanent body of knowledge, <i>not</i> just an endless stack of random, fleeting notes. This whole process may not happen all at once, but as we catalogue and develop thoughts on material through writing and creating meaningful reference to other ideas, we free up our mind to do what it does best — grapple with ideas in order to come to meaningful conclusions and develop new ideas. This process also helps confront our own confirmation bias by urging completeness, not just writing down what we already know or agree with. It helps identify circular reasoning and fill in unrealized gaps in knowledge. It helps us minimize the technical limitations so that our minds are more free to play with ideas and think creatively about a problem. While I've been able to see first hand how many of these changes in process have transformed by own notes over the course of a year, the supposedly "simple" task of moving to a program like Obsidian and reading a book has began a vast transformation in my newly-developed "personal knowledge management" (PKM) approach. I realize now the power of the Zettelkasten method and can see clearly the distinction between my old methods (endless haphazard random notes) and the compendium of knowledge that I'm always in a cycle of writing, processing, revisiting, adding to, and learning from again. Whatever type of knowledge work you might do, this book is a must read — with pen in hand, of course. >*“The slip-box does not put the learner in the centre. Quite the contrary: It allows the learner to let his or her own thinking become decentralised within a network of other ideas. Learning, thinking and writing should not be about accumulating knowledge, but about becoming a different person with a different way of thinking. This is done by questioning one’s own thinking routines in the light of new experiences and facts.”* > -- Sönke Ahrens ### Key Ideas #### The process of developing ideas To get a good paper written, you only have to rewrite a good draft; to get a good draft written, you only have to turn a series of notes into a continuous text. And as a series of notes is just the rearrangement of notes you already have in your slip-box, all you really have to do is have a pen in your hand when you read. #### Importance of an accessible Inbox Have an Inbox - something to record ideas that come to you as quickly as possible, and then process later. Make writing easy - a notebook, a napkin, anything you can easily write. Then have a good editor (like Obsidian) and file quick notes into the correct place at the end of each day. #### The right kind of attention 62. Proofreading is focused attention, while finding the right word is focused attention. 63. A study of Nobel Prize winners found that researchers required both relentless focus and creative flexibility, and importantly the ability to alternate between them easily. #### Become an expert instead of a planner 64. Trying to force analytical rationality to solve all problems seems to limit performance. 64. Giving ourselves the ability to move flexibly between tasks (most important or most promising) in pieces can give our mind more room to make connections at the right moments. #### Get closure 68. There was a story about a researcher who encountered a waiter who could remember a whole table's orders, but upon return couldn't remember her face. 69. We're only able to remember a set number of things at once. Even those who memorize things often will use tricks to connect ideas in their head, but it's not a matter of remembering more but creating references - either through rules, theories, narratives, or models. 69. The slip box operates on a similar level - by writing down ideas it gives the flexibility to close certain loops so that our mind can actively play with problems we're trying to solve. 70. Open loops in our brain will occupy our short-term memory until they're complete or written down. Which is why GTD is so effective because it puts tasks on paper so we're not straining to remember them all. 70. Rather than trying to do all of the writing needed for a project at once, instead breaking it into pieces is less daunting and lets us return to useful info later, and often when connections will become more apparent. - This is also why it's important to try and right now the outcome of thinking as it comes to us - so that it's easier later to make more solid connections. 71. When ideas are operating in the background of our minds it's often when we make the best connections - while doing other tasks (exercise, in the shower, etc). #### Reduce the number of decisions 73. The less process involved with transferring notes into a slipbox, the more energy can be spent on the actual topic. It's important to focus on simplifying the process. - I think I'm starting to feel out a better process. Highlighting, but then revisiting those highlights and transcribing them into notes like I'm doing here seems to be pretty effective, as long as I take time to go back over highlights. - Ideally, it might be better to read some things on my computer and make notes as I read, rather than separating the two. - I've also copied sections over to my inbox and then transferred them later. It might be possible to use all three. #### Read with a pen in hand 76. As you read, write down notes and reference the page/bibliographic details. After finishing the book, look over those notes and find how they can fit into Topic format. 77. Underlining or highlighting alone is nearly as ineffective as taking no notes at all. A few things will stick for a short period but not long term and won't contribute to developing our own ideas. 78. Studies have shown that students who wrote notes by hand rather than computer overall had better comprehension. This happens because writing by hand is slower, and so students actually have to summarize an idea as they write rather than just type it verbatim, and doing so makes the idea more memorable. #### Keep an open mind 79. We are naturally drawn to things that feel good - the things that confirm what we already believe and know. 81. A slip box can aid in combating confirmation bias because it teaches us to add any information - even that which we disagree with - as long as it connects or adds to the topic. Adding as many positions as possible can make a topic more clear, but can also require us to consider more ideas. 82. Relevancy is the most important first step to what we add. It's later on that we connect the notes and draw conclusions in order to form a better argument. #### Compare, correct, differentiate We often have the same idea more than once, or we mistake another person's idea as original. Most people don't confront themselves with this, but the slip box helps us to do this, and often helps us correct old ideas. The brain can spot differences but the need to be seen together to be compared accurately. A paradox can be a sign that we've exhausted a certain paradigm. *The constructions of oppositions can be the most reliable way of generating new ideas.* I've thought about this a lot in terms of political opposition and why it's important to have sides - the difference generates new modes of thinking. The feature-positive effect happens when we refer to information that is the easiest to access at the top of our head, not what is most relevant. #### Chapter 13.4 I liked this reference in one of the final chapters from Zizek about how he writes things in the mindset that it is only for himself, and might later be collected. Doing that allows him to feel free to write what needs until all that is left is to revise. >*“If there is one piece of advice that is worth giving, it is to keep in mind that the first draft is only the first draft. Slavoj Žižek said in an interview that he wouldn’t be able to write a single sentence if he didn’t start by convincing himself he was only writing down some ideas for himself, and that maybe he could turn it into something publishable later. By the time he stopped writing, he was always surprised to find that the only thing left to do was revise the draft he already had.”* ## References 1. Ahrens, Sönke, 2017. *How to Take Smart Notes: One Simple Technique to Boost Writing, Learning and Thinking – for Students, Academics and Nonfiction Book Writers*, [Goodreads](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34507927-how-to-take-smart-notes) 2. My review (2021). *How to Take Smart Notes*, [Goodreads](https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3636412056) ^2cad9b [[References/Readwise/Books/How to Take Smart Notes|Literature Notes]]