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Emac’s Org Mode will improve your software engineering

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Re: Emac’s Org Mode will improve your software engineering

#21

Post by jaster »

tunesmith wrote: post #12

I don't know why so many people make the point that hierarchical structures are how the brain works. Graphical structures are how the brain works. The hierarchical structure is how the physical world works (you can't put the same shirt in two closets), and we have an unfortunate habit of trying to force our brain to work the same way, but it's an impedance mismatch. Unless I'm the only one that is frustrated that you…

I agree with you that emacs org-mode is definitely not very graphical !

Regarding non-hierarchical information organization however, keep in mind that this article was only a very quick intro to the most basic possibilities of org-mode.

Org-mode actually provides a pretty powerful set of non-hierarchical structuring functionalities by using tags.

Within org-mode you can add arbitrary tags to your items, you can define custom sets of tags for auto-completion, you can get a filtered view based on a tag search across multiple documents and so on (see for example http://sachachua.com/blog/2008/01/tagging-in-org-plus-bonus-...).

In addition to tags, org-mod provides a second similar mechanism with properties (searchable key/value pairs annotations to your items).

So org-mode definitely does not restrict you to a hierarchical organization. It is a very cool tool box that, coupled with the programmability of emacs, offers a lot of flexibility to adapt to your own way to do things.

Re: Emac’s Org Mode will improve your software engineering

#22

Post by lolidaisuki »

tunesmith wrote: post #12

I don't know why so many people make the point that hierarchical structures are how the brain works. Graphical structures are how the brain works. The hierarchical structure is how the physical world works (you can't put the same shirt in two closets), and we have an unfortunate habit of trying to force our brain to work the same way, but it's an impedance mismatch. Unless I'm the only one that is frustrated that you…

It doesn't really have much to do with how brain works. Graphical way of arranging stuff is just something you are accustomed to. I find graphical ways of organizing information harder to use and much prefer hierarchical structures.

Re: Emac’s Org Mode will improve your software engineering

#23

Post by xerophyte12932 »

cyphar wrote: post #15
kleiba wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I didn't get it. It's a super powerful outliner with scripting... At its very heart, yes. And that alone is cool, I think (the scripting part). But it's also a lot more: org-mode supports a simple form of task management (TODOs, Agenda views,...), it has a built-in spreadsheet editor (with formula support, all in ASCII), you can export contents to various backends (HTML, Beamer, ...) -- it really is a beast!

Pencil and paper is much better for me for making quick notes to be honest. I actually don't like writing my brain dumps on a computer because it makes it harder for me to think about them. I find that physically using a pencil helps me develop my ideas more because I have to reiterate what I'm writing while writing it. It's definitely a personal preference, maybe it comes from the fact that I always draw things on p…

Personally, if I am dumping thoughts out, keyboard and screen works well, especially if it's text heavy and long (like a blog post or story chapter). On the other hand, if am trying to understand something, I prefer a pencil and paper and writing it down and perhaps drawing things makes me understand it better.

Re: Emac’s Org Mode will improve your software engineering

#24

Post by cel1ne »

Toenex wrote: post #14
tunesmith wrote: post #12

I don't know why so many people make the point that hierarchical structures are how the brain works. Graphical structures are how the brain works. The hierarchical structure is how the physical world works (you can't put the same shirt in two closets), and we have an unfortunate habit of trying to force our brain to work the same way, but it's an impedance mismatch. Unless I'm the only one that is frustrated that you…

Yes I tend to agree. I still see people at work hunting for the correct folder to store email. Showing them how to use labels (in whatever client they are using) is often something of a revelation. Seeing the freedom you have just handed them can be quite surprising as well as a great way to get a free pint! I'm a avid command-line and vim user and for a long time made use of text based todo and note taking tools. Wh…

Central todo-systems never worked for me. I use a combination of calendar entries, mails in my inbox, reminders, post-its, physical notes and text-files. I'm not a chaotic person, mind you, i just feel that forcing every task into the same shape (a line of text) tend to distort real priorities.

Re: Emac’s Org Mode will improve your software engineering

#27

Post by naveen99 »

tunesmith wrote: post #12

I don't know why so many people make the point that hierarchical structures are how the brain works. Graphical structures are how the brain works. The hierarchical structure is how the physical world works (you can't put the same shirt in two closets), and we have an unfortunate habit of trying to force our brain to work the same way, but it's an impedance mismatch. Unless I'm the only one that is frustrated that you…

Emacs / Orgmode can be graphical with tables and inline images: http://orgmode.org/manual/Images-and-tables.html

Orgmode tables have let me finally ditch excel for most uses, and bring tables to my Git based workflow.

I also like to keep picture mode on, but I am not allergic to trailing white space https://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/PictureMode

Re: Emac’s Org Mode will improve your software engineering

#28

Post by duaneb »

tunesmith wrote: post #12

I don't know why so many people make the point that hierarchical structures are how the brain works. Graphical structures are how the brain works. The hierarchical structure is how the physical world works (you can't put the same shirt in two closets), and we have an unfortunate habit of trying to force our brain to work the same way, but it's an impedance mismatch. Unless I'm the only one that is frustrated that you…

I believe gestalt theory disagrees with you.

Re: Emac’s Org Mode will improve your software engineering

#30

Post by Toenex »

cel1ne wrote: post #24
Toenex wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes I tend to agree. I still see people at work hunting for the correct folder to store email. Showing them how to use labels (in whatever client they are using) is often something of a revelation. Seeing the freedom you have just handed them can be quite surprising as well as a great way to get a free pint! I'm a avid command-line and vim user and for a long time made use of text based todo and note taking tools. Wh…

Central todo-systems never worked for me. I use a combination of calendar entries, mails in my inbox, reminders, post-its, physical notes and text-files. I'm not a chaotic person, mind you, i just feel that forcing every task into the same shape (a line of text) tend to distort real priorities.

Yes this too. I think I read GTD as too prescriptive and sought a single system. It took me a long time to realise that that wasn't necessary.
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