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Using an engineering notebook
121–130 of 161 posts
Re: Using an engineering notebook
#122This "it has to be handwritten" stuff is nonsense. Do that if you enjoy it, but also you should acknowledge the downsides to it. I started keeping a work journal a few years ago and it has changed how I work for the better. It is just a text file. The main value of it is that I can search it! When I'm figuring something out for the first time, and I have a lot of trail and error, I write down what I did. And then I m…
Writing things by hand leads to better retention, but if you can't remember it...yeah you'll have a fun time finding it again if you have a nontrivial amount of notes and haven't spent a significant amount of time indexing them. I guess you could OCR them. Best of both worlds.
You can't OCR handwriting. There are some AIs that do claim handwriting recognition, but I've yet to find a single one that can read my notes.
Re: Using an engineering notebook
#123The patreon plug for the image really tickled me.
Not because it's wrong per se but it's such an irrevant image of text.
Has the author used electronic notes then he wouldn't be paying the bandwidth to show me a photo of the screen of his eink device!
Re: Using an engineering notebook
#124Earlier quoted context omitted.
Writing things by hand leads to better retention, but if you can't remember it...yeah you'll have a fun time finding it again if you have a nontrivial amount of notes and haven't spent a significant amount of time indexing them. I guess you could OCR them. Best of both worlds.
You can't OCR handwriting. There are some AIs that do claim handwriting recognition, but I've yet to find a single one that can read my notes.
Yeah I was talking about Google Vision or similar. Though USPS has been doing handwriting recognition since the 80's. I don't it got very good until the late 90's though.
Re: Using an engineering notebook
#125I was given this advice at university, but what I was always missing was what I was supposed to write down in them. The post here mentions hypotheses, but I don't do experiments for the most part. It mentions writing down in the notebook before writing code, but I can't test my notes, I can't really send my notes for code review. I guess you could use it for design, but you'd lose all the advantages of word processin…
Where do you write down your ideas for programs, lists of useful libraries/software, approaches to solving different problems, articles to read later?
Once in a while I hear a programmer say they don't keep notes of any kind and I have to assume they were blessed with photographic memories and perfect recall, because the rest of us are not so fortunate.
Re: Using an engineering notebook
#126Earlier quoted context omitted.
For me, it helps to slow down my thoughts and aides deep work. I draw diagrams, connect blurbs with arrows, and “link” to other page numbers.
This is still missing the "what" for me. What do you write down about the work? Is it a plan for what you're about to work on? Is it a breakdown? Is it facts you learn as you work through something? Is it a minute by minute journal of what you've done? Is it just interesting details? Is it to-dos? Is it opinions you're trying to clarify? Diagrams I get, my desk is covered in scribbled diagrams to help me visualise so…
I always try to write what I did. Somehow the act of writing has a magical effect on my retention.
Re: Using an engineering notebook
#127[flagged]
Re: Using an engineering notebook
#128This "it has to be handwritten" stuff is nonsense. Do that if you enjoy it, but also you should acknowledge the downsides to it. I started keeping a work journal a few years ago and it has changed how I work for the better. It is just a text file. The main value of it is that I can search it! When I'm figuring something out for the first time, and I have a lot of trail and error, I write down what I did. And then I m…
Writing things by hand leads to better retention, but if you can't remember it...yeah you'll have a fun time finding it again if you have a nontrivial amount of notes and haven't spent a significant amount of time indexing them. I guess you could OCR them. Best of both worlds.
I stopped using my Remarkable because I couldn’t read my own writing on it. I have have no problem reading my writing when I write in a physical paper notebook (well, fewer problems). But the resolution either for capture or display on the remarkable makes my somewhat messy writing impossible to read.
So, it’s not only if you can’t remember it… you also have to be able to read it!
Re: Using an engineering notebook
#129This "it has to be handwritten" stuff is nonsense. Do that if you enjoy it, but also you should acknowledge the downsides to it. I started keeping a work journal a few years ago and it has changed how I work for the better. It is just a text file. The main value of it is that I can search it! When I'm figuring something out for the first time, and I have a lot of trail and error, I write down what I did. And then I m…
I handwrite notes because it commits it to memory and I don't have to search it later (most of the time). Important stuff goes in electronic notes, but 90% of things aren't that important.
Re: Using an engineering notebook
#130This "it has to be handwritten" stuff is nonsense. Do that if you enjoy it, but also you should acknowledge the downsides to it. I started keeping a work journal a few years ago and it has changed how I work for the better. It is just a text file. The main value of it is that I can search it! When I'm figuring something out for the first time, and I have a lot of trail and error, I write down what I did. And then I m…
I handwrite notes because it commits it to memory and I don't have to search it later (most of the time). Important stuff goes in electronic notes, but 90% of things aren't that important.
Most of what I write in my journal I don't want to need to remember (that is why I am writing it down). I also don't know what will be important or not important later, so I want it all to be searchable.