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I've come to realize that: 1. 80% note-taking value is in writing the info down in any form. 2. 19% is in re-reading your notes. Moreover, you'll e

I've come to realize that: 1. 80% note-taking value is in writing the info down in *any* form. 2. 19% is in re-reading your notes. Moreover, you'll evolve a loose/informal system if you stick with it long enough. You'll learn to read your past self. That's presumably what Herr Luhmann did. Note-taking changed my life. I urge people to stop chasing perfection and just get started.

dhimes 6y ago
The power of any system comes when you re-organize the information in your own mind. Reviewing might be enough to allow your brain to do it automatically, but you can also force the process with things like concept-maps and, apparently, this system (which seems to be a type of concept map- but I've not used it so I'm not sure).
- omginternets 6y ago
  Again, from one internet stranger to another, it has been my experience that: 1. Writing & reviewing notes is forcing the process. It is not automatic. 2. Specialized methods don't generalize well. 3. Personalized methods/notations/styles emerge naturally. 4. Nothing beats pencil-and-paper (with a lot of sketches). 5. Chasing "more efficient note-taking" is grossly counter-productive. YMMV.
  - clairity 6y ago
    > "4. Nothing beats pencil-and-paper (with a lot of sketches)." i bought the first ipad pro with pencil to replace paper for this use case, on the promise of search for handwritten notes. i thought it would be the killer app for ipad pro. instead, it's been disappointing. if only apple had improved the notes app, especially OCR/search, over time rather than regressing it.
    - kragen 6y ago
      I think the Newton was actually better at that.
omginternets 6y ago
As a follow-up: if you want to improve your ability to synthesize knowledge, but don't know where to start, I recommend Rich Hickey's Hammock-Driven Development talk [0] Spoiler alert: it's all stuff your parents and teachers have told you before. [0] https://youtu.be/f84n5oFoZBc https://youtu.be/f84n5oFoZBc.
chadlavi 6y ago
> I urge people to stop chasing perfection and just get started. This is BY FAR the most important aspect of note taking. Just do it. Start now.

I've come to realize that: 1. 80% note-taking value is in writing the info down in *any* form. 2. 19% is in re-reading your notes. Moreover, you'll e

dhimes 6y ago

The power of any system comes when you re-organize the information in your own mind. Reviewing might be enough to allow your brain to do it automatically, but you can also force the process with things like concept-maps and, apparently, this system (which seems to be a type of concept map- but I've not used it so I'm not sure).

omginternets 6y ago
Again, from one internet stranger to another, it has been my experience that: 1. Writing & reviewing notes is forcing the process. It is not automatic. 2. Specialized methods don't generalize well. 3. Personalized methods/notations/styles emerge naturally. 4. Nothing beats pencil-and-paper (with a lot of sketches). 5. Chasing "more efficient note-taking" is grossly counter-productive. YMMV.
- clairity 6y ago
  > "4. Nothing beats pencil-and-paper (with a lot of sketches)." i bought the first ipad pro with pencil to replace paper for this use case, on the promise of search for handwritten notes. i thought it would be the killer app for ipad pro. instead, it's been disappointing. if only apple had improved the notes app, especially OCR/search, over time rather than regressing it.
  - kragen 6y ago
    I think the Newton was actually better at that.

omginternets 6y ago

As a follow-up: if you want to improve your ability to synthesize knowledge, but don't know where to start, I recommend Rich Hickey's Hammock-Driven Development talk [0] Spoiler alert: it's all stuff your parents and teachers have told you before. [0] https://youtu.be/f84n5oFoZBc https://youtu.be/f84n5oFoZBc.

chadlavi 6y ago

> I urge people to stop chasing perfection and just get started. This is BY FAR the most important aspect of note taking. Just do it. Start now.