Probably not what the GP meant, but an interesting data point: CGP Grey is a Youtuber who became well known for deeply-researched videos on subjects of nerdy i

Probably not what the GP meant, but an interesting data point: CGP Grey is a Youtuber who became well known for deeply-researched videos on subjects of nerdy interest. Many years after going full-time doing this, he encountered Zettelkasten and realized that "taking notes" is supposed to including paraphrasing, write things in your own words, and making connections to other facts you've found. (Cortex podcast #105) He thought notes were just the transcription version of using a highlighter in a book: exclusively verbatim quotes, just to save you from rereading the whole book. Synthesizing knowledge was a separate process. He'd carried this belief his whole life — educational Youtuber, high school physics teacher, two college degrees. He attributes this in part to being raised on standardized testing, where memorizing the teacher's sound bites was how you succeeded. Taking notes feels so basic that we just assume everyone knows how, and that we ourselves are doing it effectively. I mean, it's just taking notes, how hard is it? But really it's a growable skill where technique matters, and you can plateau very low if no one tells you you're doing it badly.