Zettelkasten Forum


Do you put analogies as separate notes?

I came across an analogy someone made about passion years ago that has stuck with me ever since. The analogy is:

You can tell if an Italian chef is still passionate about what they do not through the inspired specials or the amazing cannolis or tiramisu, but all you have to do is look at the red sauce. The red sauce is something they’re supposed to make fresh every day; It’s one of the main fundamentals of being an Italian chef. It’s also something that can easily become the mundane if they’re not careful. It’s in the fundamentals that a dip in passion is shown in.

I’m VERY new to building my network of notes, so I’m curious, would most people put this analogy as a separate note like “Red Sauce Analogy” or would this live in a note for the overall concept titled “When passion slips, it shows in the mundane first”?

Comments

  • edited September 23

    Both ways are valid.

    If you think you can make a relation with this analogy in different notes, if you think that you can further develop your thoughts around it, if resonates in you in a relevant way, having it's own note makes sense. It has a reason to exist as a note.

    If the analogy exists only as the support for the abstract concept it represents, embedding it into the main note makes sense.

    Do you refer to this analogy in different places, or do you refer the concept it represents?

    the use you intend to make of it indicates whether the pivot is directly the analogy or the concept. Sometimes both are useful, they work at different levels

  • Let go of the need to hierarchize your ideas.

  • I'd make two notes with this idea, linking them together into an idea thread. We have two parts: the chef's attention to seemingly mundane details and one of many interpretations. Other possible reflections are the chef is practicing like a concert trumpet player practices their scales, the chef's vision is looking at things the beginner doesn't see, and the red sauce has a history because the chef made it 10,000 times. There are other second halves of the analogy. These may not be in your ZK yet, but who knows?

    Don't be afraid to collect analogies and metaphors. One of the joys of zettelkasting is finding ways to repurpose them in a new or fuller context.

    How an expert acts is an idea that really strikes a chord with me, and I’m genuinely excited about it. This is a small sampling of some of my notes that might answer the question, "Why put so much energy into a simple red sauce."


    Expert Analogy/Metaphor Notes
    • The intelligent use of space [[201903011645]] 1
    • Passion and the Art of Mindful Work 202409090541
    • Towards and Beyond the Critical Threshold of Growth 202409070528
    • Intentionality in Skill Development 202409070526
    • Subtle Layers of Learning 202409070523
    • We must face some direction [[201903040848]]
    • Managing the space around us [[201903040858]]
    • Embedded in the world [[201903040904]]
    • Situated reasoning [[201903040937]]
    • Unrecognized use of space [[201903040942]]
    • Create the environment [[201903040955]]
    • Experts use of space [[201903041004]]
    • Hallmarks of expertise [[201903041010]]
    • Expert perception [[201903041018]]
    • Increase time operating with skill [[201903041041]]
    • Physical Jigging [[201903041049]]
    • Informational Jigging [[201903041056]]
    • Cues and constraints [[201903041105]]
    • Reducing perceived actions [[201903041557]]
    • Affordance [[201903041559]]
    • Seeding opportunities [[201903041612]]
    • Cultivated opportunism [[201903041618]]
    • Eliminate decisions [[201903041645]]
    • Offloading heuristic properties [[201903041650]]
    • Intrinsic meaning of next [[201903041708]]
    • Using space to simplify perception [[201903041713]]
    • Choice friction [[201903051126]]
    • Vernier acuity [[201903051139]]
    • Offloading to the world [[201903051149]]
    • Tightly coupled world [[201903051200]]
    • Expertise and Noticing [[202403200623]]
    • Expert Problem Solving [[202210271458]]
    • Experts and the Cognitive Apprenticeship [[202203181943]]
    • Experts focus their eyes on specific things [[202205301512]]
    • Expert perception [[201903041018]]


    1. Kirsh, David. “The Intelligent Use of Space.” Artificial Intelligence, vol. 73, no. 1, 1995, pp. 31–68, doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/0004-3702(94)00017-U. Thanks for this fruitful reference @Andy way back when! ↩︎

    Will Simpson
    My zettelkasten is for my ideas, not the ideas of others. I will try to remember this. I must keep doing my best even though I'm a failure. My peak cognition is behind me. One day soon, I will read my last book, write my last note, eat my last meal, and kiss my sweetie for the last time.
    kestrelcreek.com

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