I am pretty sure you hit the spot. I do not even write notes these days. I just work and if it is important enough for me, I trust my brain to recall. If it can't recall, I search the web. However, this time I have different context so each new search is unique. I discover different ways of doing things. Sometimes, it's better than what I used to do. As a result, I only focus on high level problem solving. This way, I don't care about small details and remain faithful to general context. What do I gain from this? Long term ability to solve problem. Each problem I solve, makes me think more on my thinking process. As a result, I optimized surroundings in a way it helps me think and reason rather than note and forget.
Unbundling Tools for Thought
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Re: Unbundling Tools for Thought
#12[dead]
Re: Unbundling Tools for Thought
#13[dead]
Re: Unbundling Tools for Thought
#14[flagged]
Re: Unbundling Tools for Thought
#15The value in bundled "Tools for Thoughts" isn't just that you can interconnect everything - unless you actively research and want to synthesize something new, that's in fact overvalued.
The true value (at least to me) lies in the fact that all my information is stored in a human-readable and interchangeable format. It makes you independent of vendor whims. It enables the creation of custom tools if and when you need them.
The fact that I can click on shiny links just satisfies my desire for toys :)
Re: Unbundling Tools for Thought
#16I use Logseq currently. I just simply write in my Journals or a page, then I add the backlinks on a whim, and leave it be. Whenever I need that information again, it will be found by using the backlinks, if I don't remember what I'm even searching for.
That's all I do. It's simple, convenient, and doesn't break my flow with unnecessary complexity. I just write and link.
That kind of Zettelkasten note-taking workflow is what caught my attention and it's currently the only way I can take notes.
People who create complicated note-taking workflows using databases and such, they're very bizarre people to me. I can't do any of that without recoiling. But I can dump information into my graph and link it all together all day if I got into the flow. It's just "natural".
Re: Unbundling Tools for Thought
#17[dead]
Re: Unbundling Tools for Thought
#18Part of the appeal for "Tools for Thought" is that by using them we feel we are taking action towards being productive, regardless of whether that turns out to be true of not.
The falacy comes, I believe, from the combination of two facts: 1. much of the intellectual work we do these days simply takes time. No amount of writing can accelerate that beyond our biological limit of learning, so we might as well just sit and think. 2. Just sitting and thinking is considered unproductive and regarded as lazyness, so we believe we should be writing even more instead.
In that regard, using tools for thought may be pointless, since all we need is time to think. But perhaps that pointlessness serves a purpose. Like a guardrail in a highway, tools for thought are not something we "really need", but they're there to at least keep us on track in case we were to drift away while our minds move forward.
Re: Unbundling Tools for Thought
#19Part of the appeal for "Tools for Thought" is that by using them we feel we are taking action towards being productive, regardless of whether that turns out to be true of not. The falacy comes, I believe, from the combination of two facts: 1. much of the intellectual work we do these days simply takes time. No amount of writing can accelerate that beyond our biological limit of learning, so we might as well just sit…
Sorry to be cliched but do you think AI could make a difference here by thinking for us ?
Re: Unbundling Tools for Thought
#20Part of the appeal for "Tools for Thought" is that by using them we feel we are taking action towards being productive, regardless of whether that turns out to be true of not. The falacy comes, I believe, from the combination of two facts: 1. much of the intellectual work we do these days simply takes time. No amount of writing can accelerate that beyond our biological limit of learning, so we might as well just sit…
Thinking with paper is very obviously better than keeping all the thoughts in your head.