I recently started applying the principles of Andy Matuschak’s Evergreen
Notes <https://notes.andymatuschak.org/Evergreen%20notes>, which is based
on Zettelkasten
<https://notes.andymatuschak.org/Similarities%20and%20differences%20between%20evergreen%20note-writing%20and%20Zettelkasten>,
but the same principle can also be found under the name digital garden
<https://www.mentalnodes.com/a-gardening-guide-for-your-mind>. The main
principles of this type of methodologies are roughly the same:
-
- Make notes so that thoughts and experiences are not lost, in addition,
the wording helps to understand
- Add a unique ID to your notes (in TiddlyWiki, it’s simply that two
notes can’t have the same title)
- There should be only one well-defined idea on a note
- Link related notes frequently because links are more expressive than a
table of contents or text search
A non-linear, link-centered collection of notes is much closer to your own
thinking than any book divided into chapters and subchapters because the
links follow your line of thought rather than the notes being related to
each other in a predefined grouping.
Reading a book gives us the information in a predetermined order. When you
read your notes that are linked to each other, you determine the order in
which topic you want to learn more by clicking on the link of the topic. If
you are interested in another area of a particular topic, you are following
a link to the "parent" of that note.
The hierarchy corresponding to the table of contents in the book is given
by the index notes (glossary or a table of contents of only one topic), but
they do not necessarily form a tree structure where one list is subordinate
to another, but rather should be thought of as a "view": collecting notes
that are related in some way so that you can see the topic.
It follows that using a link-based note collection, we can search for a
topic by following links and backlinks instead of full text search, because
we can find results that are more accurate and follows our mind as opposed
to having to search a list of notes that contain the searched words.
Store meta information (tags, unique attributes) in the text of the note
instead of entering it in different software-dependent fields (eg
TiddlyWiki fields) because
- those who are unfamiliar with the use of the software can also view
these values
- text search can find them too, you don’t have to use a unique search
solution
- when refactoring the note, you also move the metainformation together
with the text, you do not need to copy them from the fields of the original
note
- if you use the value of a custom field as a link, it may not appear in
the backlinks of the link's destination
- it can cause an error when renaming a note if you can't find all
the links to it
Why are links important?
- Everyone knows how to use them, there is no need to explain where to
click
- Notes are an integral part of the text, so they can mostly be used
independently of software (plain text, wiki software, task manager, etc.).
- An index note can also contain links to a structured list that is a
software-independent table of contents
- We see all the connections in one place, we don’t have to jump back
and forth between the table of contents and the text of the note
- If software allows it, we can actually display a kind of table of
contents below the note (eg a view template in TiddlyWiki that shows a
list
of <<list-tagged-draggable>>)
- Links can be recursive without hassle and can easily connect any
distant notes
- At first it may seem that link-based navigation is slower, but if we
combine the right topics, thoughts, experiences and basically use a lot of
links, we can connect directly between relevant notes and this navigation
is faster like anything else
- The text surrounding the link adds shade and weight to the link, the
relationship between the two notes, which cannot be marked otherwise (eg
"read the details in *Note X* and you can find a counterexample in *Note
Y*", "Attention! Also read the *Note Z*!")
- It follows that links can understandably link even minimally
related topics (e.g., "a *Builder pattern* is similar to *Designing a
house*")
- In addition, listing backlinks helps you recall already forgotten
links
- You can also give weight to the link by formatting the text (e.g.
highlighted in bold)
- If we want to rename the note and our note taker does not support
automatic renaming, it actually helps us because we need to rewrite all the
links to the new name by hand, so we will also check that the link is still
required, valid with the new name.
I think it is more expedient to increase the usability of the note
collection by building notes in the right way instead of technical
solutions.
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