When they are described like that, they are ridiculous. That description of what to do lacks the context of why you might want to take notes at all. The OP put

When they are described like that, they are ridiculous. That description of what to do lacks the context of why you might want to take notes at all. The OP put it best with, "Your zettelkasten should be made up of your ideas about the authors ideas." It took me a couple of years of "doing it wrong", researching some more, and practicing the act of notetaking to understand why some people are such strong advocates of zettelkasten. Thinking and writing down one's own thoughts to reflect on later is far more useful than recording the thoughts of others.