How do you use AI to create notes for Zettelkasten?

Edmund

My idea is to have one generic single prompt for a Large Language Model like ChatGPT to:

• Read an article or blog post.
• Generate a list of atomic ideas to select from.
• Create Literature Notes from selection in a given structure and format.

PROMPT: Read article and create notes. v1.0

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Hello my friend,

Thank you for taking the time to talk to me. Here is my prompt framework with five steps I want to use to initiate our conversation.

Two hints: It is formatted in mark down. Do not use text marked as comment (%%text%%).

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Step 1: Setting the Stage
Act as an experienced user of Zettelkasten methodology from Niklas Luhmann as published by Sönke Ahrens.

Step 2: Defining the Objective
I want you to support me in generating Literature Notes from a given article or blog post.

Step 3: Structuring the Interaction

1. Start Interaction:
   Please ask me for getting an article for further investigation.

2. Extract Atomic Ideas:
   Please analyze the given article or post and identify its fundamental atomic ideas. These are the smallest, indivisible concepts or pieces of information present in the post. List them out for further processing.

3. Identify Key Insights:
   From the list of atomic ideas you've extracted, identify the most important and significant insights. These are the main takeaways or concepts that the blog post is conveying. List these key insights in a numbered list.

4. Ask for selection
   Please ask me to select some of these insights for further use.

5. Create Summaries:
   For each key insight I‘ve selected, write a concise summary in a paragraph. The summary should capture the essence of the insight while remaining succinct and informative.

6. Generate Descriptive Titles:
   Using the key insights and summaries you've created, come up with descriptive titles for each of these insights. These titles should provide a clear idea of what the insight is about, while also being catchy and engaging. Titles are no longer than 10 words. Only use characters and numbers, no special characters.

Step 4: Requesting Specific Information
No predefined rules.

Step 5: Summarizing and Concluding
Please prepare your results in mark down format and use the following template:

**TITLE** 
> SUMMARY 
Tags: LIST OF TAGS

Words in CAPITAL LETTERS are placeholders for your input. Start with a new line for each item.

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From now on use the rules above. But before starting, feel free to ask me any question that may help you to improve the quality of your answers.

%% More about at: https://github.com/groepl/Take-Useful-Notes %%

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I’m sure it will need some experiments to get best results. What are your ideas?

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My source for testing:

• https://zettelkasten.de/posts/athletic-training-zettelkasten-value/

ceaf

Keep in mind ChatGPT is not connected to the internet. Last update I heard was 2021. BARD and Bing are. So adjust research with this in mind.

daviddelven

@Edmund Check also this discussion within the forum https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/2561/ai-source-tagging#latest

Edmund

@ceaf said:
Keep in mind ChatGPT is not connected to the internet. Last update I heard was 2021. BARD and Bing are. So adjust research with this in mind.

Yes for sure, but I used the article directly as an input (copy and paste). That's how I "updated" ChatGPT.

Edmund

@daviddelven said:
@Edmund Check also this discussion within the forum https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/2561/ai-source-tagging#latest

Thank you for sharing this link. As I could see, we use very similar approaches.

daviddelven

@Edmund Great!

Edmund

Here is a result with the list of key insights from the article of @Sascha sorted by significance:

1. Importance of Longevity: The longevity of notes is vital for effective Zettelkasten. (9/10)
2. Creating Lasting Notes: Notes should be designed to last a lifetime or longer. (8/10)
3. Connecting Ideas Over Time: The Zettelkasten enables connections between current and past ideas. (9/10)
4. Memory Requirement for Reading: Reading scientific texts demands a strong long-term memory. (7/10)
5. Writing Understandable Notes: Notes should be comprehensible for a lifetime. (8/10)
6. Robust Note Structures: Creating robust note structures relies on personal skills and models. (7/10)
7. Metamodel for Note Structure: The Stock-Flow-Model serves as a metamodel for structuring notes. (6/10)
8. Components of Enduring Notes: Two components contribute to lasting notes: robust models and Zettelkasten skill. (7/10)
9. Learning Zettelkasten as Student vs. Expert: Learning challenges for students and experts. (6/10)
10. Expert Resistance to Change: Experts' resistance to changing workflows for Zettelkasten. (5/10)

Sascha

Mh. This is why I still don't use AI so much: Redundancy and sometimes empty phrases.

1. Redundancy: (1) = (2) = (5)
2. Empty: (10)

These results are more like writing prompts with all the heavy lifting still needed to be done.

Edmund

Yes for sure, it‘s a tool and never perfect. For me it‘s easy to combine 1, 2 and 5. 10 doesn‘t matter. My quick choice is 3 out of 10. That‘s also my feedback I give to the tool. It then presents a draft for 3 notes. Some minor changes and my work is done. The AI helps me doing my work. The process overall is much faster. Main decisions are my decisions. I don‘t delegate my thinking to a tool. But it helps me doing my work. Sometimes I have to use my feet, sometimes I prefer a bicycle.

Edmund

@Edmund said:
For me it‘s easy to combine 1, 2 and 5.

But AI can do this for me. I extended „Step 3: Identify Key Insights“ with an additional rule:

• Always check the list of key insights for redundancy. Once you find them, fix them and shorten the list.

The generic prompt will never be perfect. But it gets better and better. 😀

Edmund

@Sascha said
2. Empty: (10)

Why empty? For me it’s a key insight:

Expert Resistance to Change: Experts' resistance to changing workflows for Zettelkasten.

And one of my personal learnings from professional life. 😉

Sascha

The phrase says nothing. It is the label without nothing that it lables. It is like I'd write "The strange thing my wife does that I like". I can write that with no problem on the internet because there is nothing that I reveal.

Edmund

@Sascha said:
The phrase says nothing. It is the label without nothing that it lables. It is like I'd write "The strange thing my wife does that I like". I can write that with no problem on the internet because there is nothing that I reveal.

Yes, the phrase could be misleading. A longer version from ChatGPT: „ Experts might resist adopting the Zettelkasten Method because it requires changing established practices that seem effective. The risk of disrupting workflow efficiency can be a valid concern.“

ZettelDistraction

I now have long dialogues with ChatGPT on a math/programming project. I would say more about this, except it's a work in progress. I'm reluctant to use Bard, which has the advantage that it can search the Internet and cite references related to my project. But Google's terms of service permit it to use without attribution whatever you give it--and they will be motivated to do this. As hard as it might be to believe, I have had several things plagiarized from the Internet over the years. ChatGPT isn't concise, and it isn't always grammatical. I use Grammarly to improve the output.