Connection Discovery through the Stream of Thought
This discussion was created from comments split from: Call for "Critique my Zettel"-Notes.
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Thanks, Sascha.
Attached a file, which I agree is okay to share under creative commons.
One of the problems for me is that I have a script that sets up headers based on the note type (here, "theory"; others include "bibliographic", "construct", "research program", "howto"), and I don't use the sections consistently. This note, for instance, has a section called "Why care?" which is empty, but the other sections answer the "why care" question.
The "Incoming" and "outgoing" blocks are automatically generated by a script, an unholy mix of Sqlite3, Python, Alfred, and Keyboard Maestro that allows me to quickly add links, create notes, update the connection blocks, etc. update sections, etc. Your feedback may allow me to redo some things, even if that means touching all notes, since modification is fairly automated.
I also have a huge number of relatively empty notes. Hell, I will admit, many are fully empty except for the title and note type, but they have much value nonetheless. The value comes from the incoming notes. My titles are usually quite specific and most of my notes organize my own thinking. When I need to expand a note, the title and the incoming links give me enough information to know how to fill it out. When I create a note, I sometimes add a dozen empty outgoing links, and a good set of structure notes allows me to add many incoming connections to empty notes. There is likely great value and fleshing out some of these notes, now rather than later. Maybe I just need to do a bit of addition routinely.
Anyhow, if I am one of the chosen ones and you analyze this, thank you in advance.
--Abhijit
Content
It might be because of the translation into English. So, keep in mind that I don't know the original wording:
There are connectors of thought that hint to underdeveloped lines of thought like "If we press forth with the analogy...". What does it actually mean to press forward with an analogy? The first step of unfolding an analogy would be the mapping of one object onto another. (interesting book: mind and nature by Bateson, read it a long time ago) So, don't just state the analogy but actually make it.
Title
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Summary
On the level of the method, the note is quite good. Developed link contexts, a concise title and separation of the claim (statements and variants) and the discussion. The note seems to contain an ongoing exploration, so the weakness I see is that the actual exploration (e.g. make in the analogy instead of stating it) is a bit underdeveloped.
Comment on my comment: I had some difficulties with giving my feedback because there is a lot on this note and some messiness to it. However, this is the reality of the ZKM. There will be many notes like that which is fine. The ZK can take it. So, I tried to uncover the underlying stream of thought and what direction the note might take by exploring the nature of the note like one would speculate what tree would come out of a already sprouting seed.
I am a Zettler
I missed to read your comment before I commented on the note itself...
This is fine. Just change it and whenever you stumble on an old note you clean it up.
In that case, you are using the mechanism I used in buffer notes. My recommendation is to write at least one sentences on why you linked to the note.
In the moment of association, you have fresh information which you will likely forget in the long run. Then you'll have a lot of links which you need to understand which will feel like a big burden. A sentence would increase the likelyhood of your future self being able to make sense of the link collection.
I am a Zettler
Thanks for the detailed comments!
Yes, it is an ongoing note, and the thought will be developed much more in the coming days and months.
Yes, the formulation is consciously chosen. I am not saying "A thought leads to other thoughts". I mean exactly that a prior though is a context which influences the effect of the current thought. For example, Alfred Noble was very worried. His friends and employees were dying because of nitro-glycerin explosions. That is a recent prior thought. When he dropped nitro-glycerin, he thought he was going to die, but no explosion occurred (current event). His recent thought combined with his current thought led to the discovery of dynamite. Both were necessary ingredients.
You are right that there are questions to be asked AND written down.
That is a good point. This is a good example of the context in my mind instead of in the note, the same issue I pointed out in response to sjm's post on Feynman technique recently. I know perfectly well what that analogy is. It is a different note I did not connect. Six years from now I will not remember what analogy I meant. Incidentally, for completeness, that "key" is part of how Deep Learning models called Transformers work. Interesting that you bring up Gregory Bateson here: he is mixed in here, although the only thing I read of his is "A Theory of Play and Phantasy".
Agreed.
I think I will change the note and keep the title.
These are about note types. Initially, I had KM macros set up where a keystroke would bring up suggestions for additional sections based on note type. Additional sections about a "theory" would be questions such as "Who supported these?", "Who opposed it?", "What variants of the statement are there?", etc, while for a note type "construct" --- any abstract category which is posited by some theory, such as "radial category" or "private speech"---the section suggestions were different, such as "who created that concept", "what role does it play", etc. This system got too complex and goes unused.
Yeah. Can be removed. They say the note type over and beyond what is above, but I can experiment with leaving it off.
Thanks so much again for the effort you put in here. Much appreciated.
Regardless of what I said about "Effective Note taking", I am going to try writing more to-the-pointt headers and setting up notes' structure.
Best,
Abhijit