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Paper is the real 'killer app'

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Re: Paper is the real 'killer app'

#331

Post by jdc0589 »

bluGill wrote: post #246
falcolas wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They are - you simply have to do the extra bit of indexing work yourself. Create a high level topic for each note, and put that in the front of the notebook, with a page number. Once you're beyond one book, keep a separate index book and update it periodically with a book/page number from the indexes in the individual books. If you find yourself referring to a particular topic frequently, take some time and re-write…

I would argue that anything you refer back to even once should be translated into digital. Note I said translated, not transcribed. When converting to digital you should fix things: check the facts, make the diagrams pretty, fix the grammar. Paper is great for a rough draft. Rewriting your rough draft to the final is always good practice.

agreed. the main thing i use pencil & paper for is sketching out designs for some physical stuff I make. I always start on paper, but if it's a design I'm actually going to use more than once, it gets drawn up on the computer.

Re: Paper is the real 'killer app'

#332

Post by rhelsing »

I use paper everyday but am getting tired of buying expensive notebooks and taking pictures of my pages. Interesting that this would be on the front page today. I just impulse preordered a remarkable tablet: (https://getremarkable.com). I was experiencing some buyers remorse. Seeing this article lifted my spirits substantially.

Re: Paper is the real 'killer app'

#333

Post by mattferderer »

marchenko wrote: post #253
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…

Your current workflow is actually quite good for information retention and organisation. You have the benefit of manually entering your notes and organising them in physical space in a notebook (remember to doodle in the margins for even better retention!). Then you revisit them later to optimise them for indexing and search in a digital folder. Moving data from short-term to long-term storage in the brain is hard wo…

Thank you. On your last sentence, I am debating that. I'm going to try the photo/OCR features in Evernote/OneNote. I feel there is a lot to gain by me doing the work instead of outsourcing it in terms of revisiting the information to help build long term memory.

Re: Paper is the real 'killer app'

#334

Post by pbhjpbhj »

erikbye wrote: post #329
pbhjpbhj wrote: post #219

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What proportion of planting is for paper, I'd expect wood used in construction to be a greater demand?

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), globally around 40 percent of the annual industrial wood harvest is processed for paper and paperboard. The pulp and paper industry is the fourth largest industrial user of energy, consuming 6.4 EJ in 2005, and a significant emitter of greenhouse gas (source EIA report 2008). Paper consumption has risen by 400% in the past 40 years. 35% o…

Thanks for that. Crazy 'cups' statistics.

Re: Paper is the real 'killer app'

#335

Post by QuarterReptile »

fmoralesc wrote: post #318
e2e4 wrote: post #305

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've tried iPad Pro; but went back to using frixion (erasable) pens: http://frixion.jp/lineup/ my favourite being the 4-color (w/ variety of colors to choose from) with very fine line 0.5 mm: http://www.pilot.co.jp/products/pen/ballpen/gel_ink/frixionb... p.s. could be combined with even finer line 0.38 mm from this pen costing ~ $1.5 : http://www.pilot.co.jp/products/pen/ballpen/gel_ink/frixionb... For more official…

0.5/0.38 a very fine line? I'm using Staedtler pigment liners which are 0.05. The downside is that my handwriting has become positively tiny...

0.5 is pushing it, but for normal size writing 0.38 is a sweet spot of fine for most people. I use a 0.3, and I immediately notice bad paper because it becomes somewhat scratchy. This is in gel pens.

Looking at jet pens, yours seems to be a marker pen, which generally needs to be thinner so it won't bleed. Similar to how ball points need to be fat (0.7mm is called fine) to write smoothly and make a dark enough line.

Re: Paper is the real 'killer app'

#336

Post by dredmorbius »

yrio wrote: post #8

For writing text, I prefer to type on a computer because I can easily rearrange / edit things. You can't do that on paper. I prefer paper for drawing though (diagrams / flowchart / etc). Has anyone tried using drawing tablet like Wacom? How does it feel compared to drawing on paper?

For rearranging paper: index cards.

3x5 or 4x6 (US) for concepts and notes. Date 'em and stick 'em in a box.

Riffle through them, find the sense and order, stack them that way, then fill in the blanks (or additional references, or whatever).

An index card is, roughly, a full thought.

Keep a small stash on you for notes-on-the-road.

Re: Paper is the real 'killer app'

#337

Post by refset »

keithpeter wrote: post #321
JulianMorrison wrote: post #165

"Paper" used to mean endless soul-destroying reams of office printout, or before that, typed memos. And thank goodness, that seems to be receding. The new "paper" isn't really the same thing. Like handwriting, woodblock printing, and the making of books from hand-inked parchment, it is receding into a handicraft.

Yes, but in the era before the reams of printout, we had notebooks produced by local stationery printers in styles that varied shop to shop. I miss that local choice and small scale production. UK: anyone remember the hard backed board notebooks with marbled covers and canvas spines in around 10 by 8 inch format?

> anyone remember the hard backed board notebooks with marbled covers and canvas spine

Yes! Although my only encounter with them was when they were handed out for use as "lab books" during university. They certainly felt like a night-and-day upgrade over whatever was given out in school classrooms. Tuition fees well invested...

Re: Paper is the real 'killer app'

#338

Post by dkersten »

nomel wrote: post #229
throwaway26960 wrote: post #184

The advantage of paper is that you can be more creative and use slow thinking[1]. Just take a look at Newton's[2] or DaVinci's[3] notebooks, how would they think so freely on a computer? Sure for a work task list, a computer is fine, but I find a computer too limiting on my creativity for myself. Added bonus: no ads, bugs, or distractions. People that create apps create them to make money, not because they make you m…

For me, the benefit comes from two limitations: - The slow and physical aspect allows you to think about and consider the idea, as you're writing it. - The negative reinforcement, for that slow consideration, caused by from the permanence of your mistakes or a tired hand. But, I don't think paper has to be involved. I see it as an indication of a lack of good stylus input in most devices. I now use a large iPad Pro,…

I agree completely. I bought an iPad Pro (although the smaller one for convenience of carrying it with me wherever I go) and an Apple Pencil and love it. I use it for sketching ideas, diagramming, note taking and brainstorming. And if I want to write a lot of text, I can type with a physical keyboard too (I'm a faster typist than I can hand-write).

Re: Paper is the real 'killer app'

#339

Post by dkersten »

futureisbright wrote: post #287
nomel wrote: post #229

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For me, the benefit comes from two limitations: - The slow and physical aspect allows you to think about and consider the idea, as you're writing it. - The negative reinforcement, for that slow consideration, caused by from the permanence of your mistakes or a tired hand. But, I don't think paper has to be involved. I see it as an indication of a lack of good stylus input in most devices. I now use a large iPad Pro,…

I, too, possess an iPad Pro with Apple Pencil, but I opted for the smaller 9.7" one. It was a mistake, the bigger one would have been better, but I love it anyway. for note-taking. It's a godsend to be able to shuffle text around, resize it, undo my errors etc. I wrote something on paper lately and automatically searched for the undo button when I made a mistake and was frustrated when I realized I have to use my era…

I tried both the 9.7" and 12" before I bought my 9.7". For me, while the 12" is fantastic for the available space (and the side by side tile feature is also awesome on the bigger screen), I found the size and weight meant I wouldn't want to carry it around with me wherever I go and is harder for me to hold eg on a bus. The 9.7" is small and light enough to be portable, which was important to me.

Re: Paper is the real 'killer app'

#340

Post by dkersten »

joshboles wrote: post #330
futureisbright wrote: post #287

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I, too, possess an iPad Pro with Apple Pencil, but I opted for the smaller 9.7" one. It was a mistake, the bigger one would have been better, but I love it anyway. for note-taking. It's a godsend to be able to shuffle text around, resize it, undo my errors etc. I wrote something on paper lately and automatically searched for the undo button when I made a mistake and was frustrated when I realized I have to use my era…

That's interesting. I've got the larger iPad Pro that I take to meetings for notes. My coworker has the 9.7" and his seems more manageable / not as cumbersome. Perhaps it's due to our meetings being in large community rooms without tables, but there's something that's not sitting right with me. The grass is always greener, I guess. As far as apps, GoodNotes is where I landed. It's handwriting recognition / search is…

I also use GoodNotes. I chose it because it's relatively low input latency and has handwriting recognition.
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