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> I like to print out the paper and highlight the most relevant information, so on a quick rescan I can be reminded of the major points. I used to do this but

> I like to print out the paper and highlight the most relevant information, so on a quick rescan I can be reminded of the major points. I used to do this but I've tried to move to exclusively digital. I always, after some period of time, end up throwing out the papers I've printed. Plus digital allows for easier access across devices, quick searches, etc. Still though, I enjoy reading printed papers more. Curious if anyone else has a similar experience with print vs digital.

Koliakis 6y ago
I've been trying to make all-digital work for years. I feel like there are significant downsides with digital that make me want to go back to paper (but if I were to print out everything I read, my small apartment would be overflowing in a year and it seems so wasteful). One of the most obvious benefits to paper that comes to mind is the ability to lay multiple non-sequential pages (from the same paper and from other papers) side-by-side. That spatial aspect isn't replicable afaict and I definitely feel like it limits me in many ways.
- maxioatic 6y ago
  Completely agree on both points. Another thing for me is just grabbing a paper and a pen and knowing that's all I can do for the next X minutes. No digital distractions possible.
- BlueTemplar 6y ago
  It's pretty replicable - you just open the same document multiple times ! (Of course it's often easier to run out of screen space than out of desk space…)
  - Koliakis 6y ago
    It falls apart in how you interact with the pages. It's not even close to the same thing, so not replicable at all.
bosie 6y ago
whats your workflow for being 100% digital?
- maxioatic 6y ago
  A mix of things that are constantly changing. I like Polar for reading, storing, and annotating them - but I'm considering moving away from it. I also use Zotero for storing meta data about the papers because it has a really great automatic meta data retrieval [0]. It's also good for searching, sorting and what not based on this info. My current thoughts are to move more to Zotero because it also has some annotation functionality, but primarily use it as an extraction point to then store these annotations/notes in plain text or markdown. Which then I'll manage with git or something. I've personally realized it's more important to me to have my notes about the papers easily accessible (hence plain text in git) than to have PDF annotations stored in an app alongside the PDF. I've also realized this has been a little bit of a shift in how I read, making me more focused on extracting information. Not sure how I feel about this yet. [0] - https://www.zotero.org/support/retrieve_pdf_metadata https://www.zotero.org/support/retrieve_pdf_metadata
  - asdff 6y ago
    For annotations with zotero, I don't even bother and annotate with the system PDF viewer directly onto the pdf file (preview in my case). Keeps things together all the same for syncing across devices and the annotations are platform independent since it's right on the pdf file. If I need a clean copy I can grab the doi from zotero and download another in like 30 seconds.
    - maxioatic 6y ago
      Yeah, exactly what I'm moving towards. I've also started using the mdnotes plugin [0] to extract the annotations to markdown if I desire. [0] - https://github.com/argenos/zotero-mdnotes https://github.com/argenos/zotero-mdnotes
NalNezumi 6y ago
I've had this, and still does. I prefer print any time of the day. The compromise I do is that I make a .txt summary file of the article, after I've thoroughly read the paper, where I write down all the notes I made on the print (+ a summary) and store it digitally. It takes extra time, and might feel wasteful, but I usually do it some days/week after I read the paper, for a spaced repetition purpose too.
inawarminister 6y ago
I'm using Xournal++ and tablet pen input to write annotations on the pdf, might be doable if you have a pen tablet and equivalent app. OCRing the notes for searching is too fiddly though ..
proverbialbunny 6y ago
I find when I highlight it's for two things: 1) Noting key points to come back to and 2) important concepts I'm not as familiar on as I could be, usually unconsciously it comes up in the form of a question or some sort of information that is breaks exceptions. Instead of highlighting I take notes. I write down a list of key points, and I write down a list of topics I'm not as familiar I'd like to be with, including breaking expectations. I go further and I google around investigating this list learning more on the topics beyond what the paper has to say. This style may or may not be ideal for you, but it works well for me. Highlighting has always, for me, been not very helpful when compared to taking notes and getting a more solid understanding by combining sources of information on the topic when possible.

Koliakis 6y ago

I've been trying to make all-digital work for years. I feel like there are significant downsides with digital that make me want to go back to paper (but if I were to print out everything I read, my small apartment would be overflowing in a year and it seems so wasteful). One of the most obvious benefits to paper that comes to mind is the ability to lay multiple non-sequential pages (from the same paper and from other papers) side-by-side. That spatial aspect isn't replicable afaict and I definitely feel like it limits me in many ways.

maxioatic 6y ago
Completely agree on both points. Another thing for me is just grabbing a paper and a pen and knowing that's all I can do for the next X minutes. No digital distractions possible.
BlueTemplar 6y ago
It's pretty replicable - you just open the same document multiple times ! (Of course it's often easier to run out of screen space than out of desk space…)
- Koliakis 6y ago
  It falls apart in how you interact with the pages. It's not even close to the same thing, so not replicable at all.

bosie 6y ago

whats your workflow for being 100% digital?

maxioatic 6y ago
A mix of things that are constantly changing. I like Polar for reading, storing, and annotating them - but I'm considering moving away from it. I also use Zotero for storing meta data about the papers because it has a really great automatic meta data retrieval [0]. It's also good for searching, sorting and what not based on this info. My current thoughts are to move more to Zotero because it also has some annotation functionality, but primarily use it as an extraction point to then store these annotations/notes in plain text or markdown. Which then I'll manage with git or something. I've personally realized it's more important to me to have my notes about the papers easily accessible (hence plain text in git) than to have PDF annotations stored in an app alongside the PDF. I've also realized this has been a little bit of a shift in how I read, making me more focused on extracting information. Not sure how I feel about this yet. [0] - https://www.zotero.org/support/retrieve_pdf_metadata https://www.zotero.org/support/retrieve_pdf_metadata
- asdff 6y ago
  For annotations with zotero, I don't even bother and annotate with the system PDF viewer directly onto the pdf file (preview in my case). Keeps things together all the same for syncing across devices and the annotations are platform independent since it's right on the pdf file. If I need a clean copy I can grab the doi from zotero and download another in like 30 seconds.
  - maxioatic 6y ago
    Yeah, exactly what I'm moving towards. I've also started using the mdnotes plugin [0] to extract the annotations to markdown if I desire. [0] - https://github.com/argenos/zotero-mdnotes https://github.com/argenos/zotero-mdnotes

NalNezumi 6y ago

I've had this, and still does. I prefer print any time of the day. The compromise I do is that I make a .txt summary file of the article, after I've thoroughly read the paper, where I write down all the notes I made on the print (+ a summary) and store it digitally. It takes extra time, and might feel wasteful, but I usually do it some days/week after I read the paper, for a spaced repetition purpose too.

inawarminister 6y ago

I'm using Xournal++ and tablet pen input to write annotations on the pdf, might be doable if you have a pen tablet and equivalent app. OCRing the notes for searching is too fiddly though ..

proverbialbunny 6y ago

I find when I highlight it's for two things: 1) Noting key points to come back to and 2) important concepts I'm not as familiar on as I could be, usually unconsciously it comes up in the form of a question or some sort of information that is breaks exceptions. Instead of highlighting I take notes. I write down a list of key points, and I write down a list of topics I'm not as familiar I'd like to be with, including breaking expectations. I go further and I google around investigating this list learning more on the topics beyond what the paper has to say. This style may or may not be ideal for you, but it works well for me. Highlighting has always, for me, been not very helpful when compared to taking notes and getting a more solid understanding by combining sources of information on the topic when possible.