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Incremental note-taking

thesephist.com

61–68 of 68 posts

Re: Incremental note-taking

#61
post #35

My personal note taking system is based around plain text files in Git repositories. I edit with NeoVIM and use ripgrep (and other shell tools) to recall. I started out (in 2014 or 2015) with a wiki-like style, but I switched to a time-based/append-only style (in 2019) when I realized that not everything that I wanted to write down needed its own name. I still use some remnants of the old wiki style, but I mostly use…

I have started with a similar approach but my deal breaker were math symbols and pictures. Do you have any need to include drawings to illustrate some of the concepts? How do you manage the math symbols and graphs, if you have any?

For math symbols I use Unicode characters, I have XCompose shortcuts [0] to easily insert them. I'm currently using WinCompose to use the same shortcuts on Windows. This works fairly well for my use cases (programming language theory and undergrad math), but doesn't support the fancy layouts that LaTeX does (fractions, large sub/superscripts).

I don't have a good solution for graphs/pictures/drawings. I don't think I've ever needed to, if I did I think I would just put the image in a folder alongside the note (`YYYY-MM-DD-ext`).

[0] https://github.com/CoderPuppy/.files/blob/master/XCompose

Re: Incremental note-taking

#62
post #43

Anyone here using Joplin for note taking? I hate using proprietary apps/services for essential thins, and that's so far the best self-hosted and open source note application I found. There are a few very simple features missing (which could totally be implemented via plugins) 1. A daily note page. When opening Joplin I would like to start typing, and not create a new page first 2. A button for adding Notes on top of…

obsidian might be of interest but it's not open source (imo this doesn't matter because the data is plaintext and can be stored in Git).

Re: Incremental note-taking

#63
post #62
post #43

Anyone here using Joplin for note taking? I hate using proprietary apps/services for essential thins, and that's so far the best self-hosted and open source note application I found. There are a few very simple features missing (which could totally be implemented via plugins) 1. A daily note page. When opening Joplin I would like to start typing, and not create a new page first 2. A button for adding Notes on top of…

obsidian might be of interest but it's not open source (imo this doesn't matter because the data is plaintext and can be stored in Git).

Oh wow, thanks a lot for the tip.

I love that Obsidian just stores plain markdown files, which means zero vendor lock in. And just after playing around for a few minutes I see so many things they do better than Joplin.

I can actually use it in parallel with another markdown editor (VS Code with Markdown Preview Enhanced or Typora)

Re: Incremental note-taking

#64
post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

(The expanded and updated version of the parent's first referenced article is [1].) I'd say on-topic. The core of incremental reading is a highly configurable mechanism of distributed exposure to your notes over time, which is an activity the article advocates for. In addition to letting the user walk the revision path through the note maze, the SuperMemo implementation walks the extra mile in suggesting an optimal s…

This is fascinating. I’ve come across SuperMemo and use spaced repetition for self-created decks. However, incremental reading is something new to me, like a missing piece. Seems like it’s a process of turning any linear material into a deck. Have you or anyone else use it? And could comment on results / issues?

Hey how cool to see others still finding out about SuperMemo! I’ve been using it for 15 years, it’s super great, incremental reading is an awesome game changer, basically it’s like a book emulator with lots of extra features. I started making YouTube videos about it, I just uploaded three today about incremental reading: https://youtube.com/channel/UCpkWsnAPl-rhGwUOqdi2Vow

Re: Incremental note-taking

#65
post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have started with a similar approach but my deal breaker were math symbols and pictures. Do you have any need to include drawings to illustrate some of the concepts? How do you manage the math symbols and graphs, if you have any?

For math symbols I use Unicode characters, I have XCompose shortcuts [0] to easily insert them. I'm currently using WinCompose to use the same shortcuts on Windows. This works fairly well for my use cases (programming language theory and undergrad math), but doesn't support the fancy layouts that LaTeX does (fractions, large sub/superscripts). I don't have a good solution for graphs/pictures/drawings. I don't think I…

Very interesting! Thank you very much for your reply. I will try this approach. It would work very well with FZF for searching.

Which key are you using as Compose key?

Re: Incremental note-taking

#66
post #43

Anyone here using Joplin for note taking? I hate using proprietary apps/services for essential thins, and that's so far the best self-hosted and open source note application I found. There are a few very simple features missing (which could totally be implemented via plugins) 1. A daily note page. When opening Joplin I would like to start typing, and not create a new page first 2. A button for adding Notes on top of…

I'm a long-time user of Quiver and feel that it's just about perfect. It is MacOS only though, and I haven't found a suitable equivalent for Linux or Windows (work). However Joplin comes really close. If you're a fan of Joplin but are using MacOS, give Quiver a try. They also have an iOS app, and someone made Quaver for Android.

https://happenapps.com/

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.andrewt.qu...

Re: Incremental note-taking

#67
post #5

Is any of this influenced by How to Take Smart Notes by Sönke Ahrens, or the increasingly trendy personal knowledge management scene? It seems there's been a mini-renaissance surrounding some of these topics.

The system Ahrens describes is more: it has indexing system and an approach to generate new ideas.

github + markdown + cross-page linking works really great with his system.

Re: Incremental note-taking

#68
post #7

>The tragedy of Apple Notes is that it’s an idea black hole. I don't quite understand what's the problem here. You capture ideas digitally, and later, you can revisit them just the same as you revisit paper notebooks.

Revisit your note later, right...But what if you forget about those notes in the first place? :p

I'm sure problem most people face with digital note is discoverability, things that digital Zettelkasten method want to solve. Once it inside your app, it rarely comes out. You forget about it completely except from some of most-used notes or unless you have a strong system in place(which most people don't)

Also, what paper has and digital notes lack, is spatial connection between you and your note. You can guess or estimate where or at what position your note is in your notebook, complete with time context, while digital notes live in abstract oblivion...

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