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Ask HN: Why the obsession with note taking?

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Re: Ask HN: Why the obsession with note taking?

#141

Post by unfocussed_mike »

coldtea wrote: post #138
kkoncevicius wrote: post #28

My take - note taking is a symtom of ADHD. The fact these topics are popular on HN suggests there are quite a lot of ADHD people here. The counter intuitive thing is that these apps are thought of as something that helps with attention disorders. But wanting to "organize life", "track thoughts and ideas", "never forget what you learned", etc, are symptoms, not cures.

> But wanting to "organize life", "track thoughts and ideas", "never forget what you learned", etc, are symptoms, not cures. It's the inverse. Note-taking might be a symptom of OCD or autism disorders (that can make people compulsively take notes or enjoying collecting information in itself), but they are cures (or, rather, coping strategies) for ADHD. ADHD is not manifested as "tendency to take notes" for note-takin…

Note-taking is a really reliable route out of OCD rumination, actually.

My day can be ruined by positive and negative ruminations. Writing stuff down really helps me let go of them.

Re: Ask HN: Why the obsession with note taking?

#142

Post by ivolimmen »

I was expecting this question as some point and I was wondering myself the exact same thing. I started out takes notes a long time ago and it was helpful it was just not easy accessible so started my journey to find a better tool. I still have not found the best tool to do it in but the one I am using now is OKish. So each time the topic arises I really 'take note' (pun intended)

Re: Ask HN: Why the obsession with note taking?

#144

Post by coldtea »

kkoncevicius wrote: post #68
odiroot wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> My take - note taking is a symtom of ADHD It's not a symptom of ADHD. It's one of the coping strategies for people with ADHD who have problems memorising things.

If note taking is used to help with memory, it should be done under rules or supervision, in my opinion. The usual way to track knowledge and tasks is within a project. You come to a road block, do research, overcome, and continue. But many of those note taking posts talk about personal "wiki" projects and tracking _everything_. I suspect that with ADHD its hard to filter out the important things from background. And…

>The usual way to track knowledge and tasks is within a project. You come to a road block, do research, overcome, and continue.

That might be your personal experience/bias speaking.

For many creative endeavours there's not a "single project" where you do research, finish, wrap up and that's it. You need to track lots of pieces of information across many projects, domains, and across time.

Re: Ask HN: Why the obsession with note taking?

#145

Post by leokennis »

andybak wrote: post #97

I mostly abandonded keeping notes, bookmarks etc because I realised it became another "collecting" exercise and sucked up time far in excess of it's utility. I make specific exceptions (especially for things that may be of use to others) but I become too addicted to the act of collating and organising. Gmail with it's "search don't sort" was an eye opener back in the day. I stopped filing emails and realised with a d…

I’m much the same. I only keep note of:

- Stuff that has a lot of details that rarely change (all my insurance policies, what they cover, the policy numbers etc.

- Details that are “hot” in my mind right now that I might need in the same detail later (the steps to refill my boiler, the exact type of door handle I bought for my bathroom door when it broke, so I can purchase the same one once my kitchen door handle breaks)

With anything else (like, notes on books I read, notes on work I did) I either:

- Make too detailed notes which take too long - Make too short notes that don’t hold any value - Never feel a need to recall them - Never remember to recall them if a situation arises

Still interesting to read how other do it.

Re: Ask HN: Why the obsession with note taking?

#146

Post by unfocussed_mike »

kkoncevicius wrote: post #68
odiroot wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> My take - note taking is a symtom of ADHD It's not a symptom of ADHD. It's one of the coping strategies for people with ADHD who have problems memorising things.

If note taking is used to help with memory, it should be done under rules or supervision, in my opinion. The usual way to track knowledge and tasks is within a project. You come to a road block, do research, overcome, and continue. But many of those note taking posts talk about personal "wiki" projects and tracking _everything_. I suspect that with ADHD its hard to filter out the important things from background. And…

> If note taking is used to help with memory, it should be done under rules or supervision, in my opinion.

You're kind of implying that failing memory is unusual/exceptional and that it needs particular attention.

Here's the cold hard truth of memory: your memory isn't as good as you think it is. No one's memory is as good as they think it is. And nothing you remember comes back out of your memory quite the way it went in.

Writing good, complete notes that could be read by someone else (complete sentences) helps you design the prompts for your future recall of something complicated. Because one day you'll be that someone else.

When I write code, I try to write code and comments that a version of me that is ten years older and persistently two hours short of sleep will be able to cope with at 10pm. My tireder, older self. Because one day he'll have to read it, understand it, and change it.

I try to write notes the same way!

Re: Ask HN: Why the obsession with note taking?

#148

Post by codeptualize »

bodge5000 wrote: post #117
codeptualize wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was debating between that one and the iPad mini! Sounds like an awesome device, must be great for reading as well. The main reason I went for the iPad mini was the size (and apps maybe). Before I had an iPad Air 10.5 inch, and it was just too big for my use, it made it inconvenient. I'm still debating getting one anyway. It has that "coolness factor", and I want it haha. If they ever produce a smaller version I am…

If size was the only issue, there is also the Supernote A5X (and A6X for that matter) which I've been thinking about, but think I've decided against as it feels like a bit of a halfway house between real paper and an ipad But for you, it might be perfect

Oh wow! That looks really nice. For reading and such an e-ink display seems nicer. Very tempting haha, I might order one.

Can also recommend an iPad btw. Besides being an excellent note taking device it does all sorts of other cool stuff.

(If for note taking/drawing; I suggest get one that supports Apple Pencil 2, it's a big improvement.)

Re: Ask HN: Why the obsession with note taking?

#149

Post by dempedempe »

Timpy wrote: post #118
walterbell wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Memory can be improved with 2000-year-old techniques like memory palaces. This doesn't replace note-taking, but low-latency cache can improve synthesis and note quality.

I use a memory palace and a system of mnemonics all the time for things I want to commit to long term memory. I can speak Japanese and read 2,000 kanji thanks to memory palace techniques. Still, the cognitive load for scribbling down a grocery list is much smaller than trying to make a memorable grocery list in my memory palace. My memory palace also doesn't help me when I've mindlessly set my wallet down and can't f…

How did you use a memory palace to memorize 2,000 kanji and Japanese. I thought memory palaces were only good for remembering things in sequence, but I don't see how that fits with language or kanji.

Re: Ask HN: Why the obsession with note taking?

#150

Post by brnt »

ollysb wrote: post #75

It isn't about note taking, it's about supporting a brain that simply isn't capable of retaining the level of information that we have to deal with. The ultimate note taking device is actually an augmented human brain that has perfect recollection and organisation. In the mean time the note taking apps help with: Working memory - a page can hold far more information than I can retain in my working memory. Having a bu…

That, plus enjoying obsessing about our tooling, and perhaps a bit of fashion sense as well.

(Oh you can't query your notes for todos and have the result parsed into an agenda? How I moved from Zim to Logseq and back to Orgmode in an afternoon and became 20.6% more productive.)

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