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Paper is the real 'killer app'

bbc.com

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Re: Paper is the real 'killer app'

#111

Post by abakker »

peatmoss wrote: post #86
peatmoss wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I capture on paper. If I'm at a meeting or something, I simply write to paper, then transcribe my daily notes to org-mode at the end of the day. I don't particularly worry about structure when spooling to paper. Sometimes I'll capture to paper even if I'm sitting in front of my computer. If I've got something complex to reason through, I like the free-form nature of paper. I pretend it's an auxiliary scratch buffer w…

I'll add that I've used Mobile-org and even tried Evernote on mobile. I cannot for the life of me figure out how people use mobile note-taking apps. Even with a bluetooth keyboard the UX is so slow / inflexible compared to paper. I've seen people apparently use them to reasonable effect though, so I'm going to assume that people capable of note-taking on mobile are just a more evolved kind of human than I am :-)

As someone who writes for a living, I can appreciate mobile note taking. Flexibility of the app is not really the important part - I frequently use apple's notes app. But, in those cases what I'm really doing is "pre-writing" not note taking. I'm not capturing ideas, I'm already interpreting them before I write them down, adding structure as I go.

In paper, I tend to really note-take. I like note-taking on paper for things I don't really understand yet. I prefer pre-writing in an app for situations where my understanding of the topic is good, and I want to skip steps (e.g. writing a blog post about a presentation, where the topic is already familiar)

Now, in fairness, I have recently started using SimpleMind for mind-mapping real-time. I find it does a good job at doing both things. It helps me build a narrative structure in one branch, while capturing notes in others. It also gives me a lot of nice flexibility on-screen to rearrange branches, relocate topics and do other general house-keeping.

Re: Paper is the real 'killer app'

#112

Post by karmajunkie »

I have started two new note taking practices recently: learning shorthand and sketchnotes. Sketchnotes I've seen fairly frequently around here, but not much mention of shorthand.

My goal with both is that A) I hate taking notes on a computer; B) I'm trying to increase retention, which I'm finding the sketchnotes definitely helps with; C) I need a better way of keeping up in meetings, and writing longhand just isn't cutting it. I'm not far enough along with the shorthand, but I'm curious if anybody else around here uses it.

Shorthand method: https://www.amazon.com/GREGG-Shorthand-Manual-Simplified/dp/...

Sketchnoting: https://www.amazon.com/Sketchnote-Handbook-illustrated-visua...

Re: Paper is the real 'killer app'

#113

Post by PetitPrince »

I use an erasable notebook [1] for my scribbling. I find it quite good for sketching a quick diagram /prototyping, short-term todos, mindmapping and brainstorming. I don't think it's good for long term journaling (a proper notebook would be better).

Having an erasable pen solves my problem of making tons of stupid spelling mistakes, being guilty of wasting paper and losing them in a giant pile of worthless annotation. For me it's more helpful to have some of my working ideas physically in front of me instead of hidden behind another window or virtual desktop.

My particular brand of erasable notebook (Whynote) also have detachable sheets, so I'm not bound to the linearity of a conventional notebook (I not super fan of constantly having to turn pages).

[1] http://www.whynote.ch or http://www.wipebook.com or http://www.magicwhiteboard.co.uk/category/magic-notebook

Re: Paper is the real 'killer app'

#114

Post by Ajedi32 »

mattferderer wrote: post #98

I've been thinking about this a lot lately. Does anyone have a workflow for using paper to take notes & then transferring them to an online notebook (OneNote, Evernote, etc)? My current process is read a chapter, then take hand written notes trying to recall what I just read. A day or more later I revisit material by putting notes into a OneNote or Evernote. I've been weighing pros & cons of this vs doing freehand us…

Well, you could use something like a smart pen to automatically mirror everything you write on paper to Evernote. Here's one: https://www.livescribe.com/en-us/smartpen/ls3/

Re: Paper is the real 'killer app'

#115

Post by Zigurd »

The article if a mixed bag. I use a combination of paper and electronic note-taking. Being dogmatic about paper is as nearsighted as trumpeting some specific software solution.

For example, the article states, correctly, that whiteboards dominate workplace collaborative text and drawing. It is also true that electronic whiteboards are a repeated failure over multiple product generations. But this ignores the ubiquity of smartphone cameras. Now people take pictures of whiteboards and share the images and transcribe the important text.

Cameras have mostly superseded dedicated document scanning machines. Checks, receipts, signed NDAs, etc. are often managed using document imaging, but the document imaging product category has largely dissolved into our smartphones and apps.

I'm not picky about software. I used to use any text editor to make lists, and have settled on Keep for electronic lists. Having reusable shopping lists makes Keep a winner over paper for that application. But I also keep a pocket pen and a small notebook in my pockets. There are times I can't keep up with note taking. There are also times when I need to extract a short list of tasks to be done in a morning, and doing that on paper is usually the easiest way to do it.

Re: Paper is the real 'killer app'

#116

Post by jurassic »

amelius wrote: post #12

It lacks a good undo/redo feature. Unless you scan your work, erase stuff on your computer, and then print it.

I like working on index cards because if I screw up a note I can just throw it out and start again without impacting any other notes. Notebooks give me anxiety; my fear of somehow "messing up" the notebook causes me to underuse it. And the sortability/filterability of cards sometimes comes in very handy as well.

Re: Paper is the real 'killer app'

#117

Post by gtk40 »

noir_lord wrote: post #107
ivansavz wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you work on the computer until late? You should consider trying this app that removes the blue hues from your monitor after 9pm: https://justgetflux.com/ (Apparently, blue coloured light is a cue our brain uses to know when to wake up—morning light has more blue than evening light)

If you are a linux user gtk-redshift does the same thing, I've also found it be very reliable with ATI's binary drivers (though these days I use the open source drivers anyway).

Flux supports Linux.

Re: Paper is the real 'killer app'

#118

Post by losteverything »

From my genealogical perspective use paper, please!!!

Writing is a true anchor.

Future generations will enjoy your handwritten, authentic writing.

If ancestry .com is bad now for linking generations (where blind faith can often lead to incorrect trees) wait till all our electronic words is available 100 years from now. Writing will be greatly appreciated by your yet unborn great great grandchildren.

Re: Paper is the real 'killer app'

#119

Post by efdee »

falcolas wrote: post #93
tambourine_man wrote: post #77

I hate paper. No searching and highly losable. I'm also way faster on a keyboard than with a pen/pencil. In fact, I had to fax a hand written letter (yeah, don't ask) the other day and realized I'm now almost illiterate with this thing. I could draw very well as a kid, but my handwriting was always pitiful. But after years of neglect, the thing was illegible. I pity the poor person that would have to decifer the hier…

Adding an index takes care of the searching problem. Just a bit of extra effort that the computer normally takes care of for you.

I would say it takes care of the categorization problem. Searching, not so much, unless you spend an unholy amount of time maintaining your index.

Re: Paper is the real 'killer app'

#120

Post by paulmd »

mrob wrote: post #48
criddell wrote: post #39

So, what's your favorite notebook and pen combination? I ordered a bunch of pens from Jet Pens a year ago and my favorite also ended up being one of the cheapest - the Pilot Hi-Tec-C. My favorite notebook used to be an engineering notebook. It had a grid on one side of the page and college-ruled lines on the other and had a spiral bound spine. Not sure if I have a favorite any more. I do use a lot of index cards.

Favorite pen: Lamy Safari fountain pen with EF nib, and Noodler's Black ink. I've been using this for many years and it's always reliable. The grip is comfortable and the construction feels solid (it's survived being dropped a few times with no real damage). It's reasonably priced and meant as a practical tool, not a fashion statement like some fountain pens. And Noodler's Black ink is waterproof and will write on th…

I've settled on virtually the same thing. Safari, medium nib, Noodler's Black. The Lamy pens can be had very cheaply and write well. I have several of the Safaris in various nib sizes as well as an AL-STAR, which is virtually the same thing but with a slightly larger metal barrel (which looks a little nicer).
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