What kind of graph view can be generated basing on Luhmann-style IDs and his keyword index
Many note-taking apps like Obsidian provide the graph view functionality to visualize the relation of notes. But this kind of graph view only bases on linkages/references(incoming links and outgoing links) between notes. It is hard to recognize a specific long COT(chain of thoughts)——the starting point, the path and the end. Different COTs crossing in the graph view makes it more chaotic.
Luhmann's zettelkasten is a "combination of disorder and order, of clustering and unpredictable combinations emerging from ad hoc selection."
The graph view(generated by linkages/references) in some ways can represent the aspect of disorder of a zettelkasten. But what is the aspect of order?
"The absence of a fixed system of order and, in consequence, a table of contents turned the index into the key tool for using the file – how else should one be able to find certain notes again and thus gain access to the system of references? Not wanting to rely on pure chance requires being able to identify at least one point from which the respective web of references can be accessed. This is the purpose of the keyword index."
Base on my understanding, the aspect of order in Luhmann's zettelkasten is composed of his note IDs and keyword index(register).
As so far, I don't find any note-taking apps provide the graph view functionality basing on Luhmann-style IDs and his keyword index——And this is why I created a new Obsidian plugin "zettelkasten navigation" recently. I think this plugin , in some ways, represents the real Luhmann way to retrive thoughts and navigate notes in a digital zettelkasten. The other note-taking apps should provide the similar functionality as well in future.
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That's a cool idea, and I really hope people will share what using Luhmann-style ID's and a tree visualization like this feels like. We need more data and experience reports -- and tool-makers like you. Thank you
Author at Zettelkasten.de • https://christiantietze.de/
@Terry Very interesting; thanks for sharing this with us. It's a great idea!
As my zettelkasten experience with my plugin , there is a lot of benefits from the tree view(visualizing Luhmann IDs). One thing deeply impress me is that the tree view help me to quickly recall the history of a branch's development.
Every time I have an new idea/note, I will check the keyword index and find if there are some keywords relative to this idea/note. Then I will select the most promising keywords. The plugin will generate the tree view for the selected keyword. With the tree view's help , I am able to quickly recall all notes of this branch and find out the most suitable location to place this idea/note. Most of the time, I will generate some new ideas when I do this.
Why Luhmann IDs are so important? My answer is they record the history of a branch's development. But Luhmann IDs are not perfect. Because it lacks timeline.
Timeline of a branch:
1->1a->1b->1b1->1a1
Structure of a branch
As I knowed there are lot of discussions about Luhmann IDs vs date/time IDs in this forum. Both style-IDs have advantages and disadvantages. In a digital zettelkasten, it is easy to use both of them(the date/time IDs can be generated and saved as filename or frontmatter automatically in Obsidian).
But the important thing is what benefit will it bring if we use both Luhmann IDs and date/time IDs? My answer is we can get the exact history of a branch's development. I came up a new idea to make it visualizing：generate an animation to show the branch node by node with timeline. aha~
@GeoEng51 You are welcome. So happy you are insterested in it.
wow! looks amazing 🤩!
do you share this plugin for testing?
It is in Obsidain community plugins already, you can search "Zettelkasten Navigation"
The visualization of the nearby and distant links to other notes is cool too.
Digital Difference, Schmidt
This is what i mean "the exact history of a branch's development", generated basing on Luhmann-style IDs plus date/time IDs.