2nd Edition of the book (German) gets rewritten

Sascha

@Massimo_Curatella said:
I want an ebook version. I love trees when they are alive. Thanks.

Please, don't make me cry.

Massimo_Curatella

Nice, luscious, shiny, green trees... producing the oxygen you breathe...

Nick

I feel reticent to recommend stuff because I feel that it could lead to the book version of software feature bloat. So this may be more appropriate as one of your small videos.

Basically a video or book section on the biggest misconceptions people have about the zettelkasten. Or what do people get wrong about it or misunderstand?

Sascha

@Massimo_Curatella said:
Nice, luscious, shiny, green trees... producing the oxygen you breathe...

I like how book smell.

I get your point. I have yet to do the research. I am very much a Cradle to Cradle guy. I don't see it possible with electronic devices.

@Nick said:
I feel reticent to recommend stuff because I feel that it could lead to the book version of software feature bloat. So this may be more appropriate as one of your small videos.

Basically a video or book section on the biggest misconceptions people have about the zettelkasten. Or what do people get wrong about it or misunderstand?

Mh. I am really unsure how to implement that. I think the Collector's Fallacy is example of what you mean?

But do not worry. I am an anti bloater.

zk_1000

the biggest misconceptions people have about the zettelkasten. Or what do people get wrong about it or misunderstand?

my thoughts on this:

• too many different subjects in your Zettelkasten cannot be maintained
• everything goes into a Zettelkasten
• ZKM has a standardized workflow
• ZKM can be automated
• ZKM doesn't work for my use case
• rich text is better than plain text
• you can get ZKM right on the first try

Sascha

I surpassed the first half of editing. The book is coming its way.

Even though I closed the second edition content wise I am hesitating to postpone some of the newer content. Until a couple of weeks ago, I teached the Zettelkasten Method mostly to people I know quite well and could base my coaching on already built trust and adapt it to the individual temperament of the people. Now, I am teaching the ZKM to more and more people who I don't know. There is quite some difference in the process.

Since, the book is much more similar to coaching people I don't know I could bake in some of the newer material I develop. Some is already included (exercises and mental models).

So, I am adding another round for reviewing. This are the next four rounds:

1. Incorporate practical examples/demonstrations (wanted by quite many people)
2. Incorporate exercises (with a "how would I do it and why?") at the end of the book at the right places to make the book an active learning experience.
3. Incorporate flow diagrams where possible
4. Review the new coaching material and its relevance for the book.

Massimo_Curatella

Thanks for these updates, I am really enjoying listening to you working aloud. What do you think about creating a digital text, paid only, that could be updated easily? I am referring to creating one digital document per chapter or per section and making all of them available to paying users. You could have the benefit of not needing to print it, to review it, and print it again. You could have contributions by a vivid community which you have already available, right here, right now. Why setting words on paper with the need to wait so much time to be released? I don't know if I would buy the printed book but I would definitely be interested in being part of such next-level community. Thanks!

Sascha

Haha. I really like your persistence. However, this is not a problem if I self-publish. Then I could update the book as frequent as I like.

But you are poking at something that is still an open question regarding the publishing process. As I update the book an early buyer would not have access to to the latest material. This wouldn't be an issue with a digital version since I could co-deliver a version commentary on what is added and/or changed with every new edition (or rather iteration, digitally speaking).

However, there would be no incentive for me to update the digital book frequently or at all if I wouldn't frame it as some kind of lifetime access to my work which would drive the price way higher. I don't care if a administrator with a six-figure income moans about a high price about a book. But there are poor people (some students, PhDs, quite some areas of the world) who wouldn't be able to afford a life-time access to my work, but to by a book is within reasonable scope.

Massimo_Curatella

Hope is the last to die.
Thanks for implying that I have a six-figure income, really, I am flattered.
While I am not sure about that, I am pretty sure that the benefits of a live, interactive document sharing your knowledge are much more convenient than an old dear book.
Let's see if dripp-p-p-p-pp-pp-ing can really dig valleys.

zk_1000

... and if that admin had a seven-figure income he/she'd moan that it's not a free download. I don't know how rich people do it but i usually don't buy a new hard copy every time a new release comes out. Buy the book, make use of it for a life-time and never look back. Regardless of hard copy or digital keeping track of the changes is very frustrating for the reader. I stopped comparing book releases because of it. Your out take is far better and more rewarding if you move on and grab a book you're interested in.

When providing life-time access to your work, aren't you implying that the area of interest of the reader remains unchanged for a life-time?

For example, comparing "how to take smart notes" and "Die Zettelkastenmethode" is much more fun than comparing two copies of the same book. You can make much more connections in your ZK!

Sascha

@zk_1000 said:
... and if that admin had a seven-figure income he/she'd moan that it's not a free download. I don't know how rich people do it but i usually don't buy a new hard copy every time a new release comes out. Buy the book, make use of it for a life-time and never look back. Regardless of hard copy or digital keeping track of the changes is very frustrating for the reader. I stopped comparing book releases because of it. Your out take is far better and more rewarding if you move on and grab a book you're interested in.

I wouldn't just change the editions and send a updated copy. I'd release a second document that distills the changes.

When providing life-time access to your work, aren't you implying that the area of interest of the reader remains unchanged for a life-time?

No. If you use the Zettelkasten Method you are using it and can benefit from new insights. So,... yes, I do imply it but I think I am right to do so.

Sascha

Shoot! I need to make major changes on how I tackled the part "How to use tags". At least it is a rather short subsection (1769 words; reading is 9300 in contrast).

Sascha

This is the first step of restructuring. I like to do it on paper.

Sascha

In the light of the second edition, I want to highlight a tweet:

It is re-occuring theme that people struggle because they are over-educated. Like building a automated laser to cut a pepper instead of using a knife.

I really hope that I get the point across that you can summon devils from the details. But they are merely imps you have you basics in place.

Sascha

While I am thinking about synaesthesia and metaphor I had the following observation: I don't make extended use of metaphors in the book. Partly, because I don't like the effect metaphors often have: Instead of giving the reader another, more tangible, perspective on a matter the authors rely on metaphors to pretend that they understood something that they don't and disguise this lack of understand. The reader will have the feeling of having understood some things even if they don't have any applicable knowledge about the thing.

But I am suspicious that I overshoot with my approach. But I hope that with more practical examples and more use of imagery I will make up for that.

Massimo_Curatella

@Sascha said:

It is re-occuring theme that people struggle because they are over-educated. Like building a automated laser to cut a pepper instead of using a knife.

I really hope that I get the point across that you can summon devils from the details. But they are merely imps you have you basics in place.

It happens to us humans when we fall in love with the tool while avoiding to think.
A good cure, I've found frequently, is to have clear and motivating goals: what do I want to do? Why do I need this? So a method or a set of tools becomes what they're supposed to be: a means to an end.

What do you think about educating your readers to think, first, and then falling into the black holes of techniques?

Sascha

@Massimo_Curatella said:

@Sascha said:

It is re-occuring theme that people struggle because they are over-educated. Like building a automated laser to cut a pepper instead of using a knife.

I really hope that I get the point across that you can summon devils from the details. But they are merely imps you have you basics in place.

It happens to us humans when we fall in love with the tool while avoiding to think.
A good cure, I've found frequently, is to have clear and motivating goals: what do I want to do? Why do I need this? So a method or a set of tools becomes what they're supposed to be: a means to an end.

What do you think about educating your readers to think, first, and then falling into the black holes of techniques?

I hope that I present my view in a simple enough manner that I at least don't put gasoline into the fire. The rest is part of ones personal responsibility and journey. My task at hand is to present a toolkit.

I think this is partly an issue of the education medium. When I teach I can show actions which are far more simple than the theoretical explanation behind the action. Seeing leads to more simplicity than thinking about something.

---

Finally, finished the section on tagging.

Sascha

Sample image: It merges the design of a Zettel, a sequence of the overall workflow and the mental benefit of the Zettler using it.

1. "Verdichtung des Inhalts" = "consolidation of content"
2. "Zetteltitel" = "Note title"
3. "Einsatzzusammenfassung" = "One sentense summary"
4. "Zettelinhalt" = "Note Content"

Sascha

Some talk about feelings (Wall of text alert):

As I progress with the second edition I start to develop warm feelings for the book. At this point in time,

• I published three books (all three using the Zettelkasten Method),
• finished three more drafts (technically five if you count two drafts that I ditched and decided to re-write them),
• and layed the groundwork for three dozen other books.
• I do not count articles, short stories, collections of aphorisms or similar smaller writing projects.

My relationship with my own writing material is not consistent.

I am satisfied with the outline and strategy of the first two books ("Write more!" and the first edition of the Zettelkasten Method), but not with their execution. I am ok with the outline, the strategy and the execution of the third book ("Way of life - Reflection and Analysis").

The difference between the first two and the later is that the first two are pretty straight forward technically but were my first publishing projects with me being very experienced. I rushed through all stages to learn about every stage of a writing project with great enthusiasm for applying the Zettelkasten Method. But I was very conscious about the flaws in their execution.

The last book (Way of Life) however is very different. It is the result of more than seven years of work. It is not strictly technical (like lists of exercises, methods and plans) but an explanation of how different factors of ones life interact with each other. I included many passages that were designed to have cathartic effects. I am not happy but ok because I wrote the book on the edge of my capabilities compared to the goals I set for this book. The feedback was mixed (overwhelmingly positive, but few were very critical). Some expected just another "How to stretch" and "This is the daily limit for carbohydrates" type of book and therefore were disappointed. But I received quite some letters (both digital and physical) of people that were open to the different approach I took. Some reported that they felt less lonely and there was even a letter of someone who contemplated suicide who then did a complete make over.

I am happy about the effect the book has and had on people. But just ok with the book itself. The reason is that I am very aware of the discrepancy of my vision for the book and my limits in making the vision reality. The reality of the matter is that seven years of work is mostly not enough to make such a vision reality. If you study great creations the process of giving birth to it very often spans over decades. The writer needs practice in writing, in publishing, honing the skills ("10k hour rule"). The groundwork begins even with even more fundamentals of life: Processing childhood experiences, the identy work in puberty and incorporating it into ones life and writing.

Example: The introduction of the third book is titled "Principle of unconditional responsibility". I wouldn't have written it without my relationship to my grandparents. Sample story: My grandmother didn't knew anything about my grandpa. On their second or third date, they walked down a street in the middle of nowere in Kyrgyzstan. A truck pulled over and four guys approached them with obvious evil intent. Before my grandma knew what was happening my grandpa pulled her behind him and grabbed his knife (rumors were that he was more feared than a Chechen which was quite a statement in their area). Luckily, they confused them with their actual target and did not engage them. My grandma asked my grandfather if he didn't fear them. He just answered laconically: "I would have butchered them." (Direct translation).

There are many stories and lectures about responsibility in my family. My relationship to this principle is neither guided by my enthusiasm for Jocko Willink or Jordan Peterson, nor is it an abstract philosophical concept. It is part of my upbringing and my heritage with which I had a very difficult time to come to terms with. It is mixed with the lived reality of my grandpa and my father and lectures on the will to kill.

I feel a responsibility to preserve this hidden wisdom that was created and the reality in which such wisdoms are created.

This one part of my project to create a map of life.

Transition to the Zettelkasten Method (finally..): Let's start with a quote.

The problem of reading theoretical texts seems to consist in the fact that they do not require just short-term memory but also long-term memory in order to be able to distinguish between what is essential and what is not essential and what is new from what is merely repeated. [...]
Perhaps the best method would be to take notes—not excerpts, but condensed reformulations of what has been read. The re-description of what has already been described leads almost automatically to a training of paying attention to “frames,” or schemata of observation, or even to noticing conditions which lead the text to offer some descriptions but not others. [...]
This leads to another question: what are we to do with what we have written down? Certainly, at first we will produce mostly garbage. But we have been educated to expect something useful from our activities and soon lose confidence if nothing useful seems to result. We should therefore reflect on whether and how we arrange our notes so that they are available for later access. At least this should be a consoling illusion. This requires a computer or a card file with numbered index cards and an index. http://luhmann.surge.sh/learning-how-to-read

and reduce it to:

The problem seems to consist that they require long-term memory in order to be able to distinguish between what is essential and what is not essential. Perhaps the best method would be to take note. [R]e-description leads to a training of paying attention to “frames,” or schemata of observation. [W]hat are we to do with what we have written down? [W]e have been educated to expect something useful from our activities and soon lose confidence if nothing useful seems to result. This requires a computer or a card file with numbered index cards and an index.

There are several aspects:

1. Long-term memory is required.
2. Distinguish the essential from the non-essential
3. Writing is necessary for it.
4. The process of writing (correctly) leads to awareness to frames or schemata (= core ideas or philosophically speaking: access to the platonic world)
5. Create a note system

To condense it even further and marry it with my research and experience:

1. To create something good you need to be able to work on it for a very long time. Even seven years is rather short (according to my own research and my personal experience). (1)
2. Writing (write-thinking) a lot aiming to towards both the deep roots and the high abstractions (2,3,4)
3. Work with a Zettelkasten (5).

Or just express it in one metaphor by C.G. Jung:

No tree, it is said, can grow to heaven unless its roots reach down to hell.

This leads to some practical implications to the Zettelkasten Method:

1. Don't write just technically on a matter. Incorporate yourself, lived experience. And connect everything. If you write on dog training, also connect it to the frustration, the anger and disconnect from your dog when it runs off ignoring already established rules.
2. Don't fall short on research. If you wrote on your frustration, anger and disconnection when dog ran of write a lot about management of frustration and anger. Use all sources from religious wisdom to scientific research and applied techniques from high level performers.
3. Connect everything! The tree, your thought process, needs to be whole. You can't disconnect the roots from the tree and expect it to stand. Neither can you cut of the trunk and expect the rootes to live on their own.
4. Take your time. Whatever you want to be good at, it takes years.

Final transition to the book "The Zettelkasten Method":

I start to develop warm feelings for the book because I think it meets all the criteria I have for my books:

I spent more than a decade on the matter directly using the Zettelkasten Method, doing experiments, testing it (with Christian and some of my clients), writing about it, teaching it, and doing it a lot. I even incorporated my earliest experience with creating a system of knowledge (not as anecdotal paragraph of course): When I was five I created a family tree and I remember well my frustration when I tried to figure out how to group the different families (with cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents etc.). Well, I just was five and lacked some of the necessary mental models.

And it lies within my capabilities. The second edition of the Zettelkasten Method Book is not such a behemoth of a project that it confronts me constantly with feelings of being overwhelmed. It is rather technical matter and the range of feelings is very narrow compared to the overall range of feelings: Just a bit of patience, a bit of dealing with frustration and trust on the part of the user.

Lastly, I am happy with the outline and overall architecture. I designed it to be capable of absorbing future material so I don't need to re-write it again if I want to update it.

Shortly: Finally a book that I spent enough time on, which vision is within my capabilities to make it reality and decent enough outline and architecture.

tl;dr I begin to like the book instead of just being ok with it. To me, as a writer, a milestone achieved.

Sascha

I decided to create and additional subsection on different forms of structure notes. The following different forms are paradigmatic and can be mixed:

1. Flow
2. TOC
3. Commented TOC
4. Mindmap
5. Scheme
6. Work Bench / desk
7. Table

zk_1000

@Sascha said:
I decided to create and additional subsection on different forms of structure notes. The following different forms are paradigmatic and can be mixed:.

this is very inspiring, i was thinking about this recently.

SteveH1UK

Hey @Sascha how philosophical will this book be? I often get a German book when on holidays in Germany and can read a book on History or Sport without a dictionary but when I bought "Drive: Was Sie wirklich motiviert Kindle Ausgabe" I needed to get a dictionary and wished I had bought the English version.

Will you be posting any samples of the book to review before they buy?

Sascha

If you mean by "philosophical" throwing around big words and and trying to sound clever my answer is: Zero. I might fail to achieve this ideal. Then perhaps a five on a scale from 1-100.

SteveH1UK

In fairness to Daniel Pink who wrote the "Drive" book (and the German translator), he was not using big works and the like. It was the concepts that the covered which made me use the philosophical word. Also thinking of times where I have watched Richard Precht interviewing people (on ZDF Mediathek) and discusses concepts of this and that which challenged my German.

Of course if your English course comes out first then I will definitely take the easy route!

Sascha

Oh, ok. Then my answer is 15. So, it should be doable.

Sascha

First editing round is done. Moving on to include imagery and flow charts.

Sascha

If you have any wishes for specific aspects of the Zettelkasten Method to be put into images or flow charts, feel free to make a suggestion.

I think I will be done with this step next wednesday.

Massimo_Curatella

Ideas for aspects of the Zettelkasten Method to be visualized

• How notes are connected according to different criteria (topic, length, style, structure, etc)
• How clusters of notes form, how to interpret different configurations of connections
• How notes are structured: permanent, fleeting, evergreen, drafts, literature, comments, articles, sequences, etc
• How notes evolve during multiple editing iterations. What can be learned from the process?
• How different people have different Zettelkasten. How to compare? What's there to learn?
• How to spot notable notes: orphans, written once and never edited, never read, most connected, less connected, recurring topics, recurring patterns, etc.
• How to find notes. Where did I write about X? What was the sequence of steps, thoughts, implications I follow(ed) to find X?
• How to combine, contrast, compare different notes in different places.

(shall I continue?)

Sascha

@Massimo_Curatella said:
Ideas for aspects of the Zettelkasten Method to be visualized

• How notes are connected according to different criteria (topic, length, style, structure, etc)
• How clusters of notes form, how to interpret different configurations of connections
• How notes are structured: permanent, fleeting, evergreen, drafts, literature, comments, articles, sequences, etc
• How notes evolve during multiple editing iterations. What can be learned from the process?
• How different people have different Zettelkasten. How to compare? What's there to learn?
• How to spot notable notes: orphans, written once and never edited, never read, most connected, less connected, recurring topics, recurring patterns, etc.
• How to find notes. Where did I write about X? What was the sequence of steps, thoughts, implications I follow(ed) to find X?
• How to combine, contrast, compare different notes in different places.

(shall I continue?)

Thanks, Massimo. I think doable for me are

1. Finding notes
2. Oh, ok. That's all..

I have one major issue in finding places where flowcharts add value: The processes are so simplified that there is little room for illustrations. There are very few steps per processes and very view decisions once you have your basics down.

This is one of my sketches (processing books):

I rummaged the internet for examples but to this point I was not satisfied.

On the one hand, it is a good sign. It indicates to me that the method is very simplified. On the other hand, I am still unsatisfied.

However, since I started to accept coaching clients I getting more and more in touch with the beginner perspective. And until I accept a publisher to handle this book I have total control and can incorporate feedback quickly.

My focus slowly shifts towards the exercises (with suggested solutions) and demonstrations since it is moves the book from just a passive read to an active training resource.

GeoEng51

@Sascha said:

However, since I started to accept coaching clients I getting more and more in touch with the beginner perspective. And until I accept a publisher to handle this book I have total control and can incorporate feedback quickly.

My focus slowly shifts towards the exercises (with suggested solutions) and demonstrations since it moves the book from just a passive read to an active training resource.

Good to hear this; I think it's a useful direction/emphasis.