Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Those writing extensively on note-writing rarely have a serious context of use

notes.andymatuschak.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 66 posts

Re: Those writing extensively on note-writing rarely have a serious context of use

#21

Post by redisman »

bedobi wrote: post #5

Very refreshing to see content like this. Personally I'm VERY sick of the whole productivity hustle and the people who spout it. They prey on insecurities, make you feel like unless you're employing some kind of productivity system, you're cheating yourself or your employer. In reality however the very systems they tout steal away more productivity to maintain the productivity system itself than any benefit for actua…

It’s also a procrastinators trap. Hey I’m getting stuff done - I’m looking for the ideal app and format to take notes!

Re: Those writing extensively on note-writing rarely have a serious context of use

#22

Post by brunellus »

bedobi wrote: post #5

Very refreshing to see content like this. Personally I'm VERY sick of the whole productivity hustle and the people who spout it. They prey on insecurities, make you feel like unless you're employing some kind of productivity system, you're cheating yourself or your employer. In reality however the very systems they tout steal away more productivity to maintain the productivity system itself than any benefit for actua…

Totally. All of this crap mounts up to being a form of prosperity gospel.

Re: Those writing extensively on note-writing rarely have a serious context of use

#23

Post by Jeff_Brown »

analog31 wrote: post #12
bedobi wrote: post #5

Very refreshing to see content like this. Personally I'm VERY sick of the whole productivity hustle and the people who spout it. They prey on insecurities, make you feel like unless you're employing some kind of productivity system, you're cheating yourself or your employer. In reality however the very systems they tout steal away more productivity to maintain the productivity system itself than any benefit for actua…

I'm reminded of a story. This is going to date me. When I was in graduate school, the university computer store put out a pamphlet, to help you decide if you should get your own computer. The one memorable comment was: Don't expect your computer to organize you. If you have a messy desk, you will have a messy computer. It probably also applies to note taking, to-do lists, etc. I am living proof of this.

Whether my desk or my computer is messy is not obvious to me. I mean it's clearly both. It almost always works perfectly for what I need, and it's ... kind of a mess.

Both in reality and on my computer there is a top surface, and things get bounced from there to lower-priority spots when they deserve less attention. Some folders are very specific, others are as specific as "things I've done with money" or "Downloads".

But I do vastly prefer org-roam (or when I'm in the mood, Semantic Synchrony) for letting me put things in more than one place, and keeping all relevant backlinks correct.

Re: Those writing extensively on note-writing rarely have a serious context of use

#24

Post by henning »

I just need to optimize my life and my brain. Then I will get the job I want, the partner I want, the life I want, and I will truly be happy when I have those things. The emptiness within me will go away. There is a solution to all my problems: work harder and be better. If I just figure out the right notetaking system, I can stop forgetting the important parts of all these books I'm reading (I read 80 last year, but I'm on track to do 120 this year). The problem isn't that deeply understanding a complex subject takes a lifetime and every domain of human knowledge has limits beyond which no one really has any answers, it's that I'm not "learning actively enough." If I take notes, then I will be learning actively and I will actually be thinking better, thanks to my second brain I've built in Roam Research/Org Mode/whatever. Fitter, happier, more productive.

Re: Those writing extensively on note-writing rarely have a serious context of use

#25

Post by brezelnbitte »

Tangentially I always found it rather confusing that on YouTube so many tech reviewers call themselves creators when they only “create” recycled videos such as unboxing/what’s in my bag/office tour/new office tour/new new office tour video.

Re: Those writing extensively on note-writing rarely have a serious context of use

#26

Post by Jeff_Brown »

eachro wrote: post #9

Best model of this I have is math professors from undergrad. I never saw any notes on their desks during office hours. Just pages and pages of scribbles everywhere, crumped on the ground, in the trash bin, etc. I remember asking one how he retained any of the info when reading dense papers, and he said "Oh I never do. I just figure out the details again each time and eventually it sticks."

Math seems like the discipline best suited to such a process. Experimental sciences are less so -- the quintissential example perhaps being medicine / biochem.

Re: Those writing extensively on note-writing rarely have a serious context of use

#27

Post by Jeff_Brown »

version_five wrote: post #3

I think this idea applies to diet, fitness, career coaching, basically all forms of self improvement (getting career advice from someone who became a career coach is especially ironic). I think there are benefits for some people in having a system, or having external motivation. My wife goes to a personal trainer for example, which I'd reflexively say is unnecessary but I've seen how it makes her stay focused on what…

There's a quadriplegic motivational speaker who ties that knot especially well.

Re: Those writing extensively on note-writing rarely have a serious context of use

#28

Post by Gatsky »

Another aspect of this is the problem of aspiring to some goal other than actually doing work... for example, having a large and impressive note graph, or making content (youtube videos, blog posts etc) about note taking.

I'm always interested to see the broader phenomenon where people leave a job to create content/educational courses about the job full time instead. I have seen cases in finance, programming, wood working and in university students thus far. What is particularly interesting is when they make more as a content creator than they ever would have doing the actual job.

Re: Those writing extensively on note-writing rarely have a serious context of use

#29

Post by [deleted] »

version_five wrote: post #10
raman162 wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, everyone is unique and needs to find out what works for them. When my fiancee and I went to the beach this morning, she claimed she missed her swimming group class because she gets a better workout with them versus when she's by herself. For me, I definitely get a better workout with a group that pushes me to the edge but I don't need a group to get a good workout

Group workouts can definitely push you (well me anyway) harder than individual. I like running alone, but I used to occasionally run on a track with a friend that was faster than me, and would end up going way harder than I could possibly make myself on my own. I suppose the analogy to note taking is something like you're better finding someone to discuss the material with, because it can help you internalize better…

[deleted]

Re: Those writing extensively on note-writing rarely have a serious context of use

#30

Post by Jeff_Brown »

version_five wrote: post #10
raman162 wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, everyone is unique and needs to find out what works for them. When my fiancee and I went to the beach this morning, she claimed she missed her swimming group class because she gets a better workout with them versus when she's by herself. For me, I definitely get a better workout with a group that pushes me to the edge but I don't need a group to get a good workout

Group workouts can definitely push you (well me anyway) harder than individual. I like running alone, but I used to occasionally run on a track with a friend that was faster than me, and would end up going way harder than I could possibly make myself on my own. I suppose the analogy to note taking is something like you're better finding someone to discuss the material with, because it can help you internalize better…

In graduate school (economics) I was part of a small* group that took and shared extensive notes. It really felt like a Voltron-esque superpower. We were way smarter and more capable together than we were on our own.

That experience is part of the flame that keeps me passionate about shared knowledge graphs.

* We were 3 to 7 people (depending on the night), meeting one to three hours a night, maybe three or four nights a week.

Post reply on HN