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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?

#181

Post by hughrr »

Farbklex wrote: post #73
anon2020dot00 wrote: post #67

A lot of people think that traditional note-taking can be improved (me included). As evidence, below is a short list of note-taking companies that YC has recently given money to. Clover: https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/clover Athens: https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/athens-research Dendron: https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/dendron Heptabase: https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/heptabase My current f…

Whenever I feel like I don't have great enough ideas to become a software millionaire, I just think about the guy who made "Wunderlist" [1], sold it to Microsoft (Microsoft discontinued it) and is now making "Superlist"[2]. Clearly, it is not the lack of great ideas that is holding me back... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wunderlist [2] https://superlist.com/

All you need to succeed in tech are sucker investors and a sucker to buy you out. The idea is almost irrelevant.

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

#182

Post by leavenotracks »

Farbklex wrote: post #73
anon2020dot00 wrote: post #67

A lot of people think that traditional note-taking can be improved (me included). As evidence, below is a short list of note-taking companies that YC has recently given money to. Clover: https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/clover Athens: https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/athens-research Dendron: https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/dendron Heptabase: https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/heptabase My current f…

Whenever I feel like I don't have great enough ideas to become a software millionaire, I just think about the guy who made "Wunderlist" [1], sold it to Microsoft (Microsoft discontinued it) and is now making "Superlist"[2]. Clearly, it is not the lack of great ideas that is holding me back... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wunderlist [2] https://superlist.com/

All the animation in the second link as you scroll down is very swanky, but super-distracting!

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

#184

Post by jimmyvalmer »

Programming, like writing, is deliberating over several rabbit holes. If you don't write down why you did or didn't do something, you're doomed to repeat the deliberation a week from now. Also worth recording are throwaway code snippets and gnarly awk-sed invocations.

A plaintext file is sufficient. I noticed every programmer who even mentions zettlekasten produces bad, verbose code. Fortunately, obsessing over note taking naturally limits how much bad code he produces.

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

#185

Post by unfocussed_mike »

ramblerman wrote: post #137
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…

This is the 'official' explanation, and definitely true. But most of it is selling that next productivity upgrade that we communally all seem to obsess over here. People sharing their note graphs is the same as the guy on youtube with a sixpack promising a new and revolutionary 5 minute ab routine. And while the 5 minute ab routine certainly won't harm you, that body was built from months of discipline and required a…

> Just like actual productive note taking and creative thinking is about spending time with your notes every day, and not the software.

This is the key thing, I think, and it's why most methodologically-heavy notes apps fall by the wayside, because they get in the way.

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

#186

Post by rasulkireev »

I think this plays to two human traits. One is the need to remember and thus right something down. Humans have been doing this for years. Second is trying something new.

And you are right, trying something new is exciting. I remember when I first discovered Evernote, I thought it was super cool, then Roam, then Obsidian.

But I think the following will happen at some point in your journey (at least it happened to me). You will find a system/approach that works for you and you will not want to try other things. The workflow that I have configure for myself with the use of Obsidian, Readwise, and a couple of other tools, that the hustle of moving it to some other stack is just too big. It is so big in fact, that it trumps the novelty card completely.

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

#187

Post by falcolas »

codeptualize wrote: post #100
jlkuester7 wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Tooling wise; I like handwriting, as I can draw arrows and quick sketches. If you ever decided you want to go full digital, I highly recommend checking out the tablets from https://remarkable.com/ . My wife has the same approach to handwritten notes and loves it! I can confirm that when writing on the reMarkable 2 tablet, you can forget that it is not pen and paper. I particularly enjoy being able to take notes on…

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…

It's worth noting that the Remarkable2 has placed a lot of the best features (namely, syncing via the internet) behind an $8 a month subscription. It pushed me away from it.

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

#188

Post by falcolas »

simias wrote: post #22

My deep dark secret is that I never take notes. Not for lack of trying, I just don't know how to do it. I never did it at school, never did it at work, never did it outside of work. I'm in my mid-thirties now, I just gave up on the concept. Every time I see a post on HN about how somebody manages to organize their lives around a personal wiki or org-mode or whatever I get a bit jealous.

FWIW, like everything else in life, you only learn how to do something, and get good at doing something, by doing that something. You say you tried, but then follow up with "I never did it at X".

Take notes. Fuck it up. Figure out why your attempt wasn't useful to you. Take more notes. Rinse, repeat, and you too can eventually take notes that are valuable to you.

EDIT: One thing I forgot - taking and reviewing notes takes time. Dedicate time to both steps, and to identifying how to improve.

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

#189

Post by sysadm1n »

Look up the term Exobrain[0]. It's related to externalism[1], defined as: "Externalism, the philosophy of the mind's existence outside of the brain and body".

> The extended mind model suggests that cognition is larger than the body of the subject. According to such a model, the boundaries of cognitive processes are not always inside the skin. "Minds are composed of tools for thinking" (Dennett 2000,[23] p. 21). According to Andy Clark, "cognition leaks out into body and world". The mind then is no longer inside the skull, but it is extended to comprehend whatever tools are useful (ranging from notepad and pencils up to smartphones and USB memories). This, in a nutshell, is the model of the extended mind.

Note taking is my 'other brain' that I use to get things done. I casually glance at past notes, and am often shocked how much progress I've made all due to these notes. I don't get everything done, but that's not the point. The point is to get thoughts out of your system and into notes so you can organize your life better.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exobrain

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Externalism

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