Take better notes, by hand
91–100 of 103 posts
Re: Take better notes, by hand
#92Paper is just too inconvenient to use for long term storage and revisiting imo. It's better suited as a transitive storage medium, either for short lived stuff like tasks, checklists, or acting as a writing inbox that you later capture into a digital medium. Even with the capture downside, I don't think that I can do away with paper and pen. There's something invigorating about using paper that no keyboard or screen…
I totally agree, I own a few fountain pens and Midori notebooks and for my lecture notes I just enter flow state using those.
I've recently gotten an iPad and the most effective use case for it is to open up an infinite canvas and do active recall by drawing everything from (mostly) memory allowing me to find more connections, avenues to explore, and debate an idea.
Eventually, I have to put those connections back into prose but I haven't gotten to that yet.
Re: Take better notes, by hand
#93Earlier quoted context omitted.
I recently started journaling by hand and was somewhat frustrated with the excruciatingly slow speed versus typing. Eventually, I realized that the slowness was, as you said, a feature. It forces you to think . You have no choice but to take time with your words. Sometimes brevity is a gift (one I usually don't have). I migrated to fountain pens and haven't looked back. Partially, it's because I enjoy the experience…
Same principle applies to, e.g., Leica cameras. Yes, they're pricey (absurdly so), but the lack of features, the slow speed, and the lack of configuration contributes to me improving my photography. It doesn't make me a better photographer, but it gives me the time and space to focus on being one, rather than just firehosing my camera at whatever is in front of me. It makes my photography intentional rather than reac…
Or get an Canon 5d MKI or MKII. Not many features and great kit and can be bought for less than $500.
Re: Take better notes, by hand
#94I wonder if this is age dependent. Do young (15-25) people take notes by hand?
If I do anything to do with math, I need paper; anything else is in markdown.
Recommendation: There are folders that you can add pages to; that way you do not worry about space.
Re: Take better notes, by hand
#95Earlier quoted context omitted.
I am aware that people don't trust the Chinese. Which brands do you trust? As another poster mentioned about the ReMarkable, the Boox works just fine offline. I do use mine online, e.g. for reading HN as I prefer the E-Ink screen for text. But as for note-taking, everything I do is offline, including moving the PDF documents to the desktop via ADB.
It's not about their Chineseness. They're notorious, unapologetic GPL violators with a poor track record when it comes to privacy and general integrity (paying for reviews, etc).. See: - https://www.mozillafoundation.org/en/privacynotincluded/onyx... - https://www.reddit.com/r/ereader/comments/13e8bw3/psa_onyxbo... - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23735962 - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31247982 - https…
Thank you. The GPL violations are a long-term problem, most agreed, but the lack of a privacy policy is an immediate problem. What frustrates me is that I'm usually not complacent about such matters, but I purchased the device during a period of extreme time pressure so I never got around to checking that. In fact the device was specifically purchased to help me better reduce my cognitive load - which it does.
I just wrote to the company in the Feedback feature of the device, asking about where the privacy policy can be found and giving an example of where the privacy policy is found in my Samsung device.
Thank you for making me aware of the issue. I was vaguely aware that there were GPL concerns with Boox, but I did not realize that there is no stated privacy policy - technical potential for exploitation aside.
Re: Take better notes, by hand
#96anyone try e-ink style tablets (like remarkable?) the form factor/ability to backup is attractive to me but the price tag is a bit nuts...
I have the Onyx Boox Max Lumi (or something like that) and after a few abortive attempts, went back to paper. Paper just cannot be beaten.
Re: Take better notes, by hand
#97Earlier quoted context omitted.
> This is all good advice but one thing it doesn't touch on is: which pen and notebook? In what way could it possibly be relevant? Do you actually believe that the author could suggest a universally suitable pen and paper type? What if he'd had his best results with toilet paper, a sugar thermometer and a soot/diarrhea/lemon juice blend for the ink? Would his advice be any more complete? The moment you lose sight of…
You can't separate the tools from the craft. Practical disciplines aren't just about doing things but also doing them well. The title of the piece was "take better notes, by hand" so you know, the tools I think are relevent. And come to mention it, the "by hand" part needs some attention too, because one complaint I often hear is that typing is less fatiguing than writing longhand. Ergonomics plays a big role here --…
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Re: Take better notes, by hand
#98Earlier quoted context omitted.
> This is all good advice but one thing it doesn't touch on is: which pen and notebook? In what way could it possibly be relevant? Do you actually believe that the author could suggest a universally suitable pen and paper type? What if he'd had his best results with toilet paper, a sugar thermometer and a soot/diarrhea/lemon juice blend for the ink? Would his advice be any more complete? The moment you lose sight of…
You can't separate the tools from the craft. Practical disciplines aren't just about doing things but also doing them well. The title of the piece was "take better notes, by hand" so you know, the tools I think are relevent. And come to mention it, the "by hand" part needs some attention too, because one complaint I often hear is that typing is less fatiguing than writing longhand. Ergonomics plays a big role here --…
> You will to explain to me how the concise note I scribbled a few moments ago would have been improved if I'd written it on a particular type of paper, using a particular type of pen and a particular shade of ink. Because on the face of it, your proposition is very silly.
Sure, if the type of paper was for instance toilet paper, it won't last for a long time. Usually with note taking the intent is to keep the notes for later, so if you want to archive your concise note for say 30 years, you might choose to write on something more durable.
Re: Take better notes, by hand
#99Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's not about their Chineseness. They're notorious, unapologetic GPL violators with a poor track record when it comes to privacy and general integrity (paying for reviews, etc).. See: - https://www.mozillafoundation.org/en/privacynotincluded/onyx... - https://www.reddit.com/r/ereader/comments/13e8bw3/psa_onyxbo... - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23735962 - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31247982 - https…
Thank you. The GPL violations are a long-term problem, most agreed, but the lack of a privacy policy is an immediate problem. What frustrates me is that I'm usually not complacent about such matters, but I purchased the device during a period of extreme time pressure so I never got around to checking that. In fact the device was specifically purchased to help me better reduce my cognitive load - which it does. I just…
I think the accepted remedy is to root the device, then use a root-level firewall to prevent it from phoning home. But Boox can of course snap their fingers and undo that any time, and rooting comes with its own set of security concerns. In any case, you're strongly advised to never enter a password on the device using the on-screen keyboard, and rotate any credentials you may have already entered.
Re: Take better notes, by hand
#100I have tons of different notebooks each designated for different purposes: notes on books I'm reading, my random thoughts, writing ideas, specific research projects, and many more. That leads to a lot of time spent trying to find and recall quotes, notes, and ideas, but with the system I laid out here, it's really no trouble at all.
This part takes the system beyond just needing ambient light to needing either to stay home or carry a backpack. Use perforated notebooks so you can tear out pages and sort them into binders. I prefer to categorize after filling a notebook for spaced repetition.