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Knowledge Management in the Age of AI

ericgardner.info

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Re: Knowledge Management in the Age of AI

#41

Post by bob1029 »

I've been using pen & paper lately.

The context switch between digital and analog is compelling. There is something satisfying about throwing a piece of physical paper away after pushing your commits.

I tend to hoard information, so having a medium that is highly constrained keeps me honest with what I hold onto over time. Not being able to do full text search over my notes means I prefer to keep no more than ~one legal pad active at any given time.

I also tend to get distracted with shiny technology tools. I can take my notes anywhere. I don't need an internet connection. I can fold the piece of paper and store it in my wallet.

Re: Knowledge Management in the Age of AI

#42

Post by al_borland »

exiguus wrote: post #18

I looked into Obsidian a few years ago but decided against it due to the lack of encryption and self-hosting options. Are there now any workarounds or solutions available that provide encryption and self-hosting capabilities?

Not sure on encryption, but the notes themselves are just files and folders, you can host and sync the files with anything you want. Unless you're talking about wanting it as a self-hosted web app?

Re: Knowledge Management in the Age of AI

#43

Post by treetalker »

bob1029 wrote: post #41

I've been using pen & paper lately. The context switch between digital and analog is compelling. There is something satisfying about throwing a piece of physical paper away after pushing your commits. I tend to hoard information, so having a medium that is highly constrained keeps me honest with what I hold onto over time. Not being able to do full text search over my notes means I prefer to keep no more than ~one le…

Lindy effect. I'm in the same boat, albeit in the legal realm.

Re: Knowledge Management in the Age of AI

#44

Post by leakycap »

ebiester wrote: post #20

AI isn’t quite good enough for organizing your notes yet. However, the biggest issue with our notes is that we make them for us, not another person, so the context is lacking for search.

I recently searched "starbuck" in Apple Notes and it didn't find the note because the phrase in the note was actually "Starbuck's"

I add plaintext keywords to the notes I write myself, but sometimes the note app is truly the problem when search implementation/tokenization doesn't make sense.

Re: Knowledge Management in the Age of AI

#45

Post by leakycap »

ta988 wrote: post #28
crashabr wrote: post #11

Crazy coincidence as I just started setting up my PARA system on Logseq.

Yeah PARA is the new hype in knowledge management, those come and go (Zettelkasten, atomic notes...) I don't find PARA particularly useful. Using links and tags with no directories at all work much better for me. But I think that's the nice thing (and also the curse) of all of those you can spend your time biie shedding with the different versions of yourself in time instead of using it for your life.

Took me a minute to understand you meant bike-shedding, which was an interesting rabbit hole - thanks for your typo!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_triviality

Re: Knowledge Management in the Age of AI

#46

Post by exiguus »

al_borland wrote: post #42
exiguus wrote: post #18

I looked into Obsidian a few years ago but decided against it due to the lack of encryption and self-hosting options. Are there now any workarounds or solutions available that provide encryption and self-hosting capabilities?

Not sure on encryption, but the notes themselves are just files and folders, you can host and sync the files with anything you want. Unless you're talking about wanting it as a self-hosted web app?

My primary concern is the lack of encryption for the notes. This absence of encryption leaves them exposed and vulnerable. Relying on third-party services like Dropbox, iCloud, or similar platforms to sync notes across devices only heightens the potential for data exposure. There is also a Obsidian forum thread about that [1].

I believe the primary issue with nearly all note-taking tools is the lack of genuine encryption. Many claim to use end-to-end encryption, but I find this misleading. End-to-end encryption secures communication, not the data itself.

I wouldn't recommend a tool to anyone that doesn't encrypt the data itself to maintain private notes. Its like storing your passwords in plain text.

[1] https://forum.obsidian.md/t/local-file-encryption-of-obsidia...

Re: Knowledge Management in the Age of AI

#47

Post by leakycap »

al_borland wrote: post #40
crashabr wrote: post #11

Crazy coincidence as I just started setting up my PARA system on Logseq.

I couldn't wrap my head around PARA. The waters were too muddy between projects, areas, and resources. Take travel for example. I have travel resources (packing lists, loyalty reward numbers, etc). I would presumably have a travel area, as it's something I'd like to be a semi-major part of my life long-term. But I'd also think whatever trips I'm currently planning are "projects". Does this mean 3 travel folders, in 3…

I look at these systems like I look at templates or Lego instructions... here's what you can do! Now go do you.

GTD from the days of Palm PDAs still works fantastically if you just use it.

The key is just to choose a system that seems like it will work for you based on the published "way to use" it ... and then make it your own and stop looking.

You basically need a monogamous relationship with blinders on so you can actually become a deep expert in your own productivity tool and be able to rely on it and refer to it without thinking.

Re: Knowledge Management in the Age of AI

#48

Post by aerhardt »

al_borland wrote: post #37
greymalik wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It doesn’t matter if Obsidian dies. The files are standard markdown you control and there is no lock-in. You can simply move on to another tool.

This depends how deep down the rabbit hole someone goes. At a basic level, yes, this is true. However, if someone has built a complex system around properties, data views, and various other plugins, they're going to have a hard time. There is a lot to be said for the value of simplicity, if one of the goals is portability.

I use Obsidian with very few plugins, most of which only affect rendering. The UI is clean, minimalistic, beautiful. I came to it because I was looking for a text editor with a Vim plugin. All in all it's the best text editor I have ever used in my life.

Re: Knowledge Management in the Age of AI

#49

Post by fluidcruft »

awinter-py wrote: post #36
layer8 wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

“Some years ago” isn’t a Moby Dick-ism, it’s perfectly normal English to open an anecdote with.

'some years ago I went through a phase' in an introduction is plausibly a moby dick reference

Is there something you want to tell us about having read Herman Melville's classic American epic novel Moby Dick (1851)?

Re: Knowledge Management in the Age of AI

#50

Post by xxpor »

exiguus wrote: post #46
al_borland wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure on encryption, but the notes themselves are just files and folders, you can host and sync the files with anything you want. Unless you're talking about wanting it as a self-hosted web app?

My primary concern is the lack of encryption for the notes. This absence of encryption leaves them exposed and vulnerable. Relying on third-party services like Dropbox, iCloud, or similar platforms to sync notes across devices only heightens the potential for data exposure. There is also a Obsidian forum thread about that [1]. I believe the primary issue with nearly all note-taking tools is the lack of genuine encryp…

This is such a trivial problem to solve. Full disk encryption, or something like https://github.com/tejado/obsidian-gpgCrypt
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