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Nototo – Build a unified mental map of notes

nototo.app

101–110 of 134 posts

Re: Nototo – Build a unified mental map of notes

#101

This is very cool. Relatedly: I often run while listening to podcasts. When I do, I remember much more of the material. And when I revisit certain blocks around the neighborhood, I find myself recalling what I heard during the run. The spacial encoding of memories seems very potent and under-investigated.

It's called the Method of loci: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Method_of_loci Another term for that is the "memory palace". BTW, I wonder if anyone here in HN used it to learn significant things using this method?

Hans-Lukas Teuber[1] was the head of the psychology department and my professor for the intro psychology class at MIT. He gave one two-hour evening lecture per week, which were delivered without notes. The lectures were riveting, they were given in MIT's largest lecture hall; it was standing room only to hear him speak--many students and faculty would attend even though not enrolled. I don't remember ever hearing a better live lecture than those that he gave (and I've heard many lectures--I spent more years at university than Belucci's character in Animal House).

He used the memory palace method to remember his lecture's organization.

[1] http://www.nasonline.org/publications/biographical-memoirs/m...

Re: Nototo – Build a unified mental map of notes

#102
post #72

Finally, I can stop taking my notes in Minecraft.

I don't if this was totally a joke, but I use a mincraft world I made years ago as my "memory castle" - and have pretty detailed notes about making a voxel world "memory scrapbook" like Nototo!

Re: Nototo – Build a unified mental map of notes

#103
post #97

Definitely going to give it a shot. The way I study math usually (actually not usually, because it's not very pracrical, but the most productive way I found) is by locking myself in a classroom, laying all my notes spread on different tables, and using the chalkboard as a temporary playground to redo demonstrations and exercises, and sometimes explore ideas on my own. Theorems and objects end up having a literal spac…

> Maybe a virtual one like that can work.

That to me sounds like a key thing. This app looks neat and probably will work for some, but I think it will only fully click for me if I ever would get a VR equivalent of it where I can have a full embodied experience of walking around. It's one more reason why I really hope Dynamicland will "escape" out of its experimental lab setting

Re: Nototo – Build a unified mental map of notes

#105
post #70
post #18

Suggestions from an old side-project: automate land management. - Placing a note automatically creates an island around it with a recognizable landmark nearby. Add a tree after each addition. Add or enlarge a pond after each deletion. - Dragging a line between two islands/hills either merges the two or moves them closer, depending on the size of the islands/hills involved and the population of the area. Locations, di…

I was thinking of using an old game one was addicted to for the memory palace. I still remember a lot of the maps in Doom, which I played as a student, for instance.

Interesting! I spend quite some time sim-racing, so I know some track layouts very well. I might try and use them as a memory palace.

As a trial, I'll map all James Bond movies in chronological order to the track while I drive through it and see whether I'll be able to recall them more easily than I can now.

Re: Nototo – Build a unified mental map of notes

#106

I've been using visuospatial techniques like the method of loci (i.e. memory palaces, but I don't call them that) to enhance my memory for about 10 years - here are a few reasons why I think this particular solution won't really improve your memory, at least compared with normal diagramming/outlining techniques. 1. How you navigate through the environment matters. A lot. Let me use an example to try to illustrate how…

Replying to my own comment cuz, well, I wrote this long post at 3 AM and one is apt to write some incoherent stuff at 3 AM. So, forgive me for any parts that don't make much sense :P Would be happy to elaborate on anything for anyone interested.

Re: Nototo – Build a unified mental map of notes

#108

This is very cool. Relatedly: I often run while listening to podcasts. When I do, I remember much more of the material. And when I revisit certain blocks around the neighborhood, I find myself recalling what I heard during the run. The spacial encoding of memories seems very potent and under-investigated.

Two effects working here: - The recall effect when you see the same areas again. [0] - The effect of running itself. Your ARAS (or Ascending RAS, or Ascending Reticular Activating System -- not everyone uses the same acronym) in your brainstem is hurling a whole lot of neurotransmitters (like adrenaline and dopamine) towards your hippocampus. Long story short: you'll be able to remember better for the next 30 to 60 m…

There's a lot more to this. E.g. there's is constant neurogenesis (new neurons being born) but most of those die before they can attach themselves. Aerobic exercise tends to improve their attachment (exact mechanism is not clear) so a lot of new brain cells find their place during sports activities.

Re: Nototo – Build a unified mental map of notes

#109
Slick. I’ll be following the project.

I’ve been tracking the Munx VR [0] app which is similar, but unable to try it out without a VR headset. They just announced desktop version support so going to give that a go soon along with this Nototo app.

[0] https://linguisticator.com/p/munxvr

Re: Nototo – Build a unified mental map of notes

#110

Hey! I'm actually one of the makers of Nototo. I'm quite surprised to find my own project trending on HackerNews! If anyone has questions feel free to ask me here! or at chen@nototo.app

Great idea, I totally get it! Your graphics are beautiful, and the layering and gridding look helpful. It reminds me of some experimental user interfaces with pie menus I designed for creating and editing memory palaces: "iLoci" on the iPhone for notes and pictures and links and web browser integration in 2008, and "MediaGraph" on Unity3D for organizing and playing music in 2012, both of which I hope will inspire you…

As soon as I saw Nototo's demo vid, I immediately came here to say "This reminds me of Don Hopkins' MediaGraph!" It seems I am late to the party, however. :)

MediaGraph has a special place in my heart. Back in 2014 I built a zoomable UI prototype that very much embraced the concept of real-world objects as metaphors, which I think is vastly underappreciated. An antithesis to traditional graph visualization techniques of sorts, and it even had radial pie menus!

That project grew in scope and work on that prototype was discontinued in 2016 pending a major redesign.

The funny part is, I didn't discover MediaGraph until just a couple years ago, so it blew my mind to learn I was unknowingly on a very similar path back then, long after I had mothballed the thing.

As a solo founder, to find out my thinking was even in a remotely similar neighborhood as you and Will, was incredibly meaningful. It was and still is one of the few tiny little kernels of hope I hold on to that keeps me going. Thank you.

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