logseq/pages/How to Take Smart Notes%3A One Simple Technique to Boost Writing, Learning and Thinking – for Students, Academics and Nonfiction Book Writers.md

last_sync:: 2023-08-31T14:27:31.960Z source-book-ids:: 938ddf90b1e25a7a55091be5124c52b7b1f27d675ad3a5043433b079

• ❓ This book aims to fill this gap by showing you how to efficiently turn your thoughts and discoveries into convincing written pieces and build up a treasure of smart and interconnected notes along the way. You can use this pool of notes not only to make writing easier and more fun for yourself, but also to learn for the long run and generate new ideas. But most of all, you can write every day in a way that brings your projects forward. highlight_id:: 5a18d9be8f65e7e9ff586af2704285a2a96488e8d810082556dc4bd7
• ❓ Just having it all in your head is not enough, as getting it down on paper is the hard bit. highlight_id:: 18a1a9451e97298162cb41fa39e19e61760923d432d6b0972da29ecb
• ❓ productive writing is based on good note-taking. highlight_id:: dd9302708a231eb4d920b656a5a5ce995e3d868543f0f90bda0ac0e6
• ❓ there is no measurable correlation between a high IQ and academic success – highlight_id:: 7bb36f5da56e8fd80f968f05c3730483467066815ce83a6a22d5896d
• ❓ a superior IQ will neither help you to distinguish yourself nor protect you from failure. highlight_id:: 0d14c0dd3e0033f312d7c6aab87f8a1e6faed7363604bf15bf0f6169
• ❓ how much self-discipline or self-control one uses to approach the tasks at hand highlight_id:: 40b728869222cfed1e1f9b167f2aa97ba951803562654b7f33ded394
• ❓ The bad news is that we do not have this kind of control over ourselves. Self-discipline or self-control is not that easy to achieve with willpower alone. highlight_id:: 9f9f3316f2634a68ae163c05bd006b79e85b906ffa6d2beb797dc4ed
• ❓ Every task that is interesting, meaningful and well-defined will be done, because there is no conflict between long- and short-term interests. highlight_id:: 058037a732cea449eada5c1a8e270fa1b461ab9bd34016be2001bcd5
• ❓ “I never force myself to do anything I don’t feel like. Whenever I am stuck, I do something else.” highlight_id:: 63c36a828e5cec8cf20f9131672adcfaf7062fd8d65667a3e309a0af
• ❓ The challenge is to structure one’s workflow in a way that insight and new ideas can become the driving forces that push us forward. highlight_id:: 705b154bb577178a6f35acf92213dc8d0a0f88c1e466c50a5d930ee4
• ❓ Experts, on the other hand, would not even consider voluntarily giving up what has already proved to be rewarding and fun: learning in a way that generates real insight, is accumulative and sparks new ideas. highlight_id:: e8c33e4d515597fc9997d22761e993cbc4037536c9789a1d139cf0fc
• ❓ Having read more does not automatically mean having more ideas. Especially in the beginning, it means having fewer ideas to work with, because you know that others have already thought of most of them. highlight_id:: 36b18e23cadf11432c62099cd9ca15e0c3d4c888d948c3493bdf5cda
• ❓ All that means is that a system is needed to keep track of the ever-increasing pool of information, which allows one to combine different ideas in an intelligent way with the aim of generating new ideas. highlight_id:: 6c1c3ab05becd0491853c4d9d51ea6bac6d021ce12faf852f3abb8fe
• ❓ those who are not very good at something tend to be overly confident, while those who have made an effort tend to underestimate their abilities. highlight_id:: e64e89414cf1841e07283a376de2824cfb4fc7837b32d85386e8a2fa
• ❓ This is why high achievers who have had a taste of the vast amount of knowledge out there are likely to suffer from what psychologists call imposter syndrome, the feeling that you are not really up to the job, even though, of all people, they are (Clance and Imes 1978; Brems et al. 1994). highlight_id:: 2c0de31eebb2d4f8f539a1551b3ee53b9930bb21cc508663e6004359
• ❓ “GTD” and that is for a good reason: It works. The principle of GTD is to collect everything that needs to be taken care of in one place and process it in a standardised way. highlight_id:: 8055fd206676c58e1d1dccac70a0d4518c9bf5639247b3aed8f51902
• ❓ Just amassing notes in one place would not lead to anything other than a mass of notes. highlight_id:: 81b099d104ba77365234552febcea934222eb6b2509bc0d6648eb428
• ❓ The only thing that really is a nuisance is the lack of time.” highlight_id:: c18e6c7a997ab93186e08d01ca424c0f759e68f7e852ba03e3533b9f
• ❓ “I only do what is easy. I only write when I immediately know how to do it. If I falter for a moment, I put the matter aside and do something else.” highlight_id:: dc81cb1ec190941431f4dc1c4fbd76b79bb861a37dcc76de39992e71
• ❓ The problems arise when we set up our work in such an inflexible way that we can’t adjust it when things change and become arrested in a process that seems to develop a life of its own. highlight_id:: d3e990a045e870d8ac079162ae1ea8be63bcf821f4668ddea341a097
• ❓ Luhmann was able to focus on the important things right in front of him, pick up quickly where he left off and stay in control of the process because the structure of his work allowed him to do this. If we work in an environment that is flexible enough to accommodate our work rhythm, we don’t need to struggle with resistance. highlight_id:: 86666e6064ccc6a491680a2707bb5a1885041b94da5ca9e47281c415
• ❓ Studies on highly successful people have proven again and again that success is not the result of strong willpower and the ability to overcome resistance, but rather the result of smart working environments that highlight_id:: f424f8b77283fc58247a9b0be03e24fcd4d0f34fd3ae5b8f75219bf0
• ❓ He did not just copy ideas or quotes from the texts he read, but made a transition from one context to another. highlight_id:: 70d73e4c730bae6f581b4fa359213c6f19bf66aa28645e95165e3fd5
• ❓ The trick is that he did not organise his notes by topic, but in the rather abstract way of giving them fixed numbers. highlight_id:: ed03da5ed5824cb4b801806bb9f33675f2da5876ea3ffa34119b28e2
• ❓ Assemble notes and bring them into order, turn these notes into a draft, review it and you are done. highlight_id:: e87d88024078f9c65e32e9047caf9e39b5fddffff7e96b302485dfb9
• ❓ Writing is, without dispute, the best facilitator for thinking, reading, learning, understanding and generating ideas we have. highlight_id:: 59125d03291cea9af0e92f456c958c1bbc1c7eac3d1cad0e13ec552c
• ❓ If you want to learn something for the long run, you have to write it down. highlight_id:: 808e196ec456f076248996313fc297fa65847d8a4336ce19d7e3df74
• ❓ “Notes on paper, or on a computer screen [...] do not make contemporary physics or other kinds of intellectual endeavour easier, they make it possible,” highlight_id:: 9b97f0ab972a123b167dc85b106d97f307e0cefe114a0a6d2e197a3f
• ❓ You have to externalise your ideas, you have to write. highlight_id:: a321ae73400b779b101f7ee1d8e8b2fcced6f2ae2d5927888a895357
• ❓ If we write, it is more likely that we understand what we read, remember what we learn and that our thoughts make sense. highlight_id:: 84f325f09476a461cd2fd57f9ae98e377f80f7d539f518103b616951
• ❓ Thinking, reading, learning, understanding and generating ideas is the main work of everyone who studies, does research or writes. highlight_id:: 28dd5e9d34a28e8d5fe648232791aed269114cdc8d639d1dd6c498aa
• ❓ If you take your notes in a smart way, it will propel you forward. highlight_id:: d73211818cc4ba713c76a3f35eec7f766a54d5cd4b53cb29a087a844
• ❓ Always have something at hand to write with to capture every idea that pops into your mind. Don’t worry too much about how you write it down or what you write it on. highlight_id:: 8cbb39eff714cb520794dda93290e0c44a1a5d8218bbd815ac059af1
• ❓ Put them into one place, which you define as your inbox, and process them later. highlight_id:: 12520bf6babfca3bdac8eebac915f40b7c7dc6fd586c2a0f46cbd60b
• ❓ If your thoughts are already sorted and you have the time, you can skip this step and write your idea directly down as a proper, permanent note for your slip-box. highlight_id:: 7c7682f1597ae9ce1a4dad65781ac6b711f38969d87a8468b6a04f80
• ❓ Keep it very short, be extremely selective, and use your own words. Be highlight_id:: 72c249ba7985246b04fd8e737bf5cda89446a7f062e6266ca42d662e
• ❓ Make literature notes. highlight_id:: f7a71b5b549ee896c4ff02e4a46a6c00d712ca6b82519ba4a05a70d7
• ❓ in one place – your reference system. 3. Make highlight_id:: 1dee6bb71f568d91eaf4f353098a605d7213a27beb18c1f774d7236a
• ❓ Make permanent notes. highlight_id:: e15a499aef6eb04e5fb6f1d7f8164f88b6376ec244d8144d6a45bd14
• ❓ The idea is not to collect, but to develop ideas, arguments and discussions. highlight_id:: 2f83677f17f83c748623682f0dfbeb074c14091b8e310ea30ab159d5
• ❓ Write exactly one note for each idea and write as if you were writing for someone else: Use full sentences, disclose your sources, make references and try to be as precise, clear and brief as possible. highlight_id:: 145c416244ec04abe4de350501121aa6c65a2f9a59559ec2ced18453
• ❓ Develop your topics, questions and research projects bottom up from within the system. highlight_id:: 83b90d46ee3ce0a8f7bd03b38d85bf7290a925a1e5d8bd638a690eee
• ❓ Read more to challenge and strengthen your arguments and change and develop your arguments according to the highlight_id:: e3e38b26ea12b599be1dd9de79652c3155601694fbc361e76dddf1a3
• ❓ Just follow your interest and always take the path that promises the most insight. highlight_id:: 593ea77a967503f1825936fdd0371f03c2ef208eb9ed8e9333ba3945
• ❓ you will have developed ideas far enough to decide on a topic to write about. highlight_id:: 2a59b87db594f7aaf07fdda3ace78f1d2fb02150dcab805684b13957
• ❓ Gather what you encounter along your way and don’t let any good idea go to waste. highlight_id:: 34fc3cb115565c1596f17a0cb87a3b53b191d4ba62c2a9e07a9dd14f
• ❓ Imagine if we went through life learning only what we planned to learn or being explicitly taught. highlight_id:: 28d626969525eb0a30058f67025e73cb28b1a6235752763b9f044428
• ❓ Each added bit of information, filtered only by our interest, is a contribution to our future understanding, thinking and writing. And the best ideas are usually the ones we haven’t anticipated anyway. highlight_id:: 8ecd0f98fad3db11fb6cc4027ef5e81d1d84daaa956970c0fc483918
• ❓ According to this story, the Russians faced the same problem. So they used pencils highlight_id:: 0f1184c03825cbdc785b89d9d34eb900f7e771919f23b02b3b745456
• ❓ NASA developed a fully functional gravity-independent pen, which pushes the ink onto the paper by means of compressed nitrogen. highlight_id:: 462846258e87f33fd7f72b24d6171e3785f6e38217e608902fb7132d
• ❓ The slip-box follows the Russian model: Focus on the essentials, don’t complicate things unnecessarily. highlight_id:: 41ef592a021a2e89cf7f8a8c4c891c03bb613b6d7a1c49245cf2f9d9
• ❓ That is why the slip-box is not introduced as another technique, but as a crucial element in an overarching workflow that is stripped of everything that could distract from what is important. highlight_id:: 521d69c2bfee778801ded63bb0e766584f9ed085afc63cfc5792fcf2
• ❓ zettelkasten.danielluedecke.de highlight_id:: dfeb6657afdf9a25e53622b780dd29ff3625711c872d840086d8dd63
• ❓ First, the task to write is given, then there is the challenge to find a topic or a specific angle on a problem, the research to do, starting with the collection of the relevant literature, followed by reading the material, processing it and coming to a conclusion. highlight_id:: f9f7fe93ac98e38af622e4ef378f36c0a473b9b5907dd945526ec376
• ❓ Studying does not prepare students for independent research. It is independent research. highlight_id:: 798e0e63bd1372ae381fed5c8d879e270e0fa004ee62fbab2fd0b085
• ❓ An idea kept private is as good as one you never had. highlight_id:: 0a7c5a4bbd556db5b5ad9d8f9bea57894aa719a6268e3583a64029a1
• ❓ And a fact no one can reproduce is no fact at all. highlight_id:: 6de775ac7162b9441995abff5fe69c41a75fbdb141c8be73e0a104bd
• ❓ Everything within the university aims at some kind of publication. highlight_id:: 6cf6a9668fc382782705213a364764292e77e60e1b77f88d7d44b682
• ❓ It is public because in the discussion, it does not matter anymore what the author meant, only what is there in writing. highlight_id:: 0ae3e78d87a74b1b21eb9585106b4a5ed2c0b76ab35242e1de0743e6
• ❓ If writing is the medium of research and studying nothing else than research, then there is no reason not to work as if nothing else counts than writing. highlight_id:: b42d7ec4228c2fba80f41aa445089a4715479f310d662218a979acde
• ❓ Having a clear, tangible purpose when you attend a lecture, discussion or seminar will make you more engaged and sharpen your focus. highlight_id:: 3ca64308356e099fd2f95c6388965c033a8363a2b291b092b397fe6f
• ❓ You will read in a more engaged way, because you cannot rephrase anything in your own words if you don’t understand what it is about. highlight_id:: 53544a2f6282578cb5e65d9522a8a9690f7e8c93cf553ceb24eaf04c
• ❓ You will become more focused on the most relevant aspects, knowing that you cannot write down everything. highlight_id:: be46492585880ca93fcf09c8e2f8ce58bbf578ceb5cfdea8320b8f46
• ❓ you will elaborate on the meaning, highlight_id:: 0cb8e50c596b7df62cc51f9d60179ccb893d24adc5a237b04f2bf5ab
• ❓ Even if you decide never to write a single line of a manuscript, you will improve your reading, thinking and other intellectual skills just by doing everything as if nothing counts other than writing. highlight_id:: a950f2fa27c1f6790c0b2598845ac76b8c0d4835063738925d529151
• ❓ self-reinforcing positive feedback loop. highlight_id:: 9e81390636eac30d91e15507f7c2ca074cbd60159376a0fe96bc6cb5
• ❓ In the old system, the question is: Under which topic do I store this note? In the new system, the question is: In which context will I want to stumble upon it again? highlight_id:: cb21677ed894b4e68d9219b8ae12ed24b3f0950cce8b75cb1a93364f
• ❓ -box becomes more and more valuable the more it grows, instead of getting messy and confusing. highlight_id:: 57c9484ca8130dc25fd00a0723bd0500f7fb5d8b3ff00e469bbb3e94
• ❓ The slip-box is designed to present you with ideas you have already forgotten, allowing your brain to highlight_id:: 9db277cc336d1dd6e70d3c723b4343574735ccd103974197fde45f4d
• ❓ focus on thinking instead of remembering. highlight_id:: 791bbc7e3996ddfd1d60622e853ed18edfd48d7129588205f2d435d0
• ❓ Fleeting notes, highlight_id:: 64f758db638b394ed309a6985f3f04fd6f0c7de8d5abc3236520ad6a
• ❓ Permanent notes, highlight_id:: ce294e69b98c16ca6e59b45638aa108e38ce01c848465ca5db87df3f
• ❓ Project notes, highlight_id:: fb4f08589a8eb3502554c0a0ae513f7386b999007fe240782749f808
• ❓ Just collecting unprocessed fleeting notes inevitably leads to chaos. highlight_id:: 95f3622044938e3fc99dd9cca21348c87760e3b291706756dfc64903
• ❓ benefit of note-taking decreases with the number of notes you keep. highlight_id:: 1cee81645fdc5f5d36ded3966a69f158c125f524df826367e1fafbe4
• ❓ The more you learn and collect, the more beneficial your notes should become, the more ideas can mingle and give birth to new ones – and the easier it should be to write an intelligent text with less effort. highlight_id:: 905690ff6920d338f74cb0fb26a98c317414f9e68818f80f31426215
• ❓ Fleeting notes are only useful if you review them within a day or so and turn them into proper notes you can use later. highlight_id:: c80ebc9ca52b88dcb399a5d40c010e530c5d56fe0a9a8b63aa277832
• ❓ haven’t had the time to elaborate on yet. Permanent highlight_id:: 178ccecfe32fc5e56dcd8ee1a00a958e7d546bd11c34fd68f011c4f5
• ❓ Permanent notes, on the other hand, are written in a way that can still be understood even when you have forgotten the context they are taken from. highlight_id:: ab522b86ae9cb69148b367fa87ee11753e82f63f68b5a5d7349e71b8
• ❓ In contrast to the fleeting notes, every permanent note for the slip-box is elaborated enough to have the potential to become part of or inspire a final written piece, but that can not be decided on up front as their relevance depends on future thinking and developments highlight_id:: ff3332a70f06fbfafbe57d186c7722e7dc1ff2e80549300440b8f996
• ❓ notes are no longer reminders of thoughts or ideas, but contain the actual thought or idea in written form. This is a crucial difference. highlight_id:: 2882ca37115953b8427bd528c2bf0db8006ed69e0e99d1bdf2b6c9c1
• ❓ It accompanies everything: We have to read with a pen in hand, develop ideas on paper and build up an ever-growing pool of externalised thoughts. highlight_id:: 94c6bb15c88dfb4db3053c6f16d9889afb07d6743a266848955bcbb9
• ❓ We will not be guided by a blindly made-up plan picked from our unreliable brains, but by our interest, curiosity and intuition, which is formed and informed by the actual work of reading, thinking, discussing, writing and developing ideas highlight_id:: ded6a04f95a1a7c7eb234a84bd57c63a1ef65a7a2401604d5b6286bd
• ❓ every question that emerges out of our slip-box will naturally and handily come with material to work with. highlight_id:: e141fe6fa0f20ae053966c4b2948401202cc1e87f51e445828f714e9
• ❓ slip-box to see where clusters have built up, we not only see possible topics, but topics we have already worked on – highlight_id:: 3818f95171e477852d486046fb24b04aaa75ab97ad2f49d1c20438b8
• ❓ The things you are supposed to find in your head by brainstorming usually don’t have their origins in there. Rather, they come from the outside: through reading, having discussions and listening to others, through all the things that could have been accompanied and often even would have been improved by writing. highlight_id:: 2cf5df9d89bdf1f63b5bb6dac9154be199affb5bbc8c8663a06b1352
• ❓ There is one reliable sign if you managed to structure your workflow according to the fact that writing is not a linear process, but a circular one: highlight_id:: 03b981a560b817e240f047d698014aa6398bfd06437705f7c9b8ad92
• ❓ problem of finding a topic is replaced by the highlight_id:: 366caaa42adf0ddfd13ad704c5e8b4e83b89ba6e2208acb411826b64
• ❓ problem of having too many topics to write about. highlight_id:: f846e9362f9b9ae43a5fc952f93cc154763f9e3a2ea74c190a51fe95
• ❓ wrong attempt to rely heavily on the limitations of the brain, highlight_id:: 2f41ff95815b876e2d5db5deaedcd82849efe5df36d773392b955982
• ❓ If you on the other hand develop your thinking in writing, open questions will become clearly visible and give you an abundance of possible topics to elaborate further in writing. highlight_id:: a3a0029aa6f8bffdcbd6e4f983f2ea2285f613577eba6f35d59929d9
• ❓ And how can anyone be surprised that students feel overwhelmed with writing assignments when they are not taught how to turn months and years of reading, discussing and research into material they can really use? highlight_id:: b5b5031a7cb99189e3f4e134a7ae9e53afd90ddd52698ea85ada9725
• ❓ lower your expectations on quality and insight). highlight_id:: 7726e6b47de89b74de9587fe78cf1c0e6266fe3f5ffa87d8866a81d6
• ❓ Instead of spending your time worrying about finding the right topic, you will spend your time actually working on your already existing interests and doing what is necessary to make informed decisions – reading, thinking and writing. highlight_id:: 68ecc61e0b7e86b23d4fce62066c5ec2b19c349d9220335c441d874a
• ❓ don’t need to), but you highlight_id:: 73760674d93d4066d983a104779d83ba64d16423bcc3e95913623a54
• ❓ you can’t force insight into a preconceived direction anyway. highlight_id:: 9cc874297d5c72820a54f55ef12cfe6bf9d86dbe5a6a9741bde47d6f
• ❓ Having been praised for what they are (talented and gifted) rather than for what they do, they tend to focus on keeping this impression intact, rather than exposing themselves to new challenges and the possibility of learning from failure. highlight_id:: 9acbdfbc4870d878e67d6e782fd2a3f308c78d04cb3a046f3a610dbe
• ❓ . To seek as many opportunities to learn as possible is the most reliable long-term growth strategy. highlight_id:: 7075826d8bbd39309195bb0502708d52870e0f7b5813b95254c710a4
• ❓ maybe the fact that the fear of failure has the ugliest highlight_id:: bfdfbbcfb3e366e4c5b2a00add4ea0a9a2c63184b5d046d8e3ae2aae
• ❓ And if growth and success are not reasons enough, then maybe the fact that the fear of failure has the ugliest name of all phobias: Kakorrhaphiophobia highlight_id:: 5e08f75286f72ae218d8a253050df326972b7650a29dd7a5860dead7
• ❓ The ability to express understanding in one’s own words is a fundamental competency for everyone who writes highlight_id:: 4b22dce9e9b7b977c41afc7d7ec29540765030b8e6983e93d5264da1
• ❓ the better we become at it, the more effective our reading will become, the more we can read, the more we will learn. highlight_id:: 6666295687af19a9e5c4dc391c4a05a169af197ae590e9603fe2c910
• ❓ According to a widely cited study, the constant interruption of emails and text messages cuts our productivity by about 40% highlight_id:: 33bb8eeeb176cfffe9795bb56efc081de36c7e4a1e46b06924ad2df8
• ❓ Trying to multitask fatigues us and decreases our ability to deal with more than one task. highlight_id:: 5d48b62bf36e2116055d67044e2c2e741a56942221f41ce0eb79a916
• ❓ We unfortunately tend to confuse familiarity with skill. highlight_id:: 59e58c516e10b2e666d2074973188f806b7b543314cc5c0b21e0bdff
• ❓ Writing a paper involves much more than just typing on the keyboard. It also means reading, understanding, reflecting, getting ideas, making connections, distinguishing terms, finding the right words, highlight_id:: 87ff846defb49ae82488051cdb336c2567258cd40659f76290a69fdf
• ❓ structuring, organizing, editing, correcting and rewriting. All highlight_id:: 5fff9d0bfc07876c10af7c1ede8830c498687495916bf14d9c47ce79
• ❓ focused attention – something that requires willpower to sustain. highlight_id:: 365837120e28ef3dd90f8d82eaf7d1f89cabf51bd14b0d90de33d026
• ❓ Focused attention is different from “sustained attention,” which we need to stay focused on one task for a longer period and is necessary to learn, understand or get something done. highlight_id:: 01c46f48558870e0b4fd6b2076b9d60932263b852631817b2d31b81c
• ❓ We tend to call extremely slow writers, who always try to write as if for print, perfectionists. highlight_id:: 22c608efdb46b9e243b8662f88bf30a9b28b3b507a8539f4bc519fa5
• ❓ While proofreading requires more focused attention, finding the right words during writing highlight_id:: 94b3356250842d39d39cb911021ca5b0fa95673f4dabce0faad81721
• ❓ It is also easier to focus on finding the right words if we don’t have to think about the structure of the text at the same time, which is why a printed outline of the manuscript should be always in front of our eyes. highlight_id:: 900e2b8602a23702c6b5945653d97b701eb9014841ebd8edf1ae1a89
• ❓ specific concepts and playful exploration of ideas. This highlight_id:: 3b76b7027220bf573347c7d183d6b2361cfb896f450fb7c700c2e3f9
• ❓ concepts and playful exploration of ideas. This highlight_id:: ad29736b44188ff8dec5c7e9f648b8c54d4405570b7b8a8396415b2e
• ❓ concepts and playful exploration of ideas. This suggests highlight_id:: 8f288fa2956c505fcba588b16b36ee0ad3eac8e27a735316cd763b5a
• ❓ ideas. This suggests that successful problem solving may be a function of flexible strategy application in relation to task demands.” (Vartanian 2009, 57) highlight_id:: 3e7e6a944f976c152ebcfda41530d3ce448d44f55288a6e19fa707a5
• ❓ conundrum is that creative people need both … The key to creativity is being able to switch between a wide-open, playful mind and a narrow analytical frame.” highlight_id:: 233bfdc81e54b15bc98c03319af393661613aacb687561a320d12944
• ❓ acquired intuition for which task will bring one closer to the finished manuscript and what is only a distraction. highlight_id:: 223815dd0f3d5ecaa686a702785f404cdbc045bd5552a6f16df16324
• ❓ gaining insight and making it public. highlight_id:: a473dc0e4b7fffa7fa0e2d341c12e9e643ad8869291e9bfb432d9ece
• ❓ Experts, on the other hand, have internalised the necessary knowledge so they don’t have to actively remember rules or think consciously about their choices. highlight_id:: 70cf6fd9d28a7a7150f90478473239b5ba2f15b9628d2c254e1ed4d3
• ❓ They have acquired enough experience in various situations to be able to rely on their intuition to know what to do in which kind of situation. highlight_id:: 93b1d6755669bcff4f7cdeb597ad2c0eae5a42a3904f0757b82a4e59
• ❓ gut feeling is not a mysterious force, but an incorporated history of experience. It is the sedimentation of deeply learned practice through numerous feedback loops on success or failure. highlight_id:: e3c7a23a0b3a4816dab589f13aba4c49b9a390763ff7937178fae10b
• ❓ becoming a professional by acquiring the skills and experience to judge situations correctly and intuitively so you can chuck misleading study guides for good. highlight_id:: 82930e39bf920f6297f0982865e0cd07b822ef60a78c3e5c5c8dbeb4
• ❓ We can hold a maximum of seven things in our head at the same time, plus/minus two (Miller highlight_id:: c40e720b2e23193918b6d46a40217c4249e2062014d3d277482c9d6d
• ❓ Open tasks tend to occupy our short-term memory – until they are done. highlight_id:: f2ce7e5bbc98e183a899693073a54ac26ae0a0c854d574e64a73dc0d
• ❓ All we have to do is to write them down in a way that convinces us that it will be taken care of. highlight_id:: 65fa6c989761346beb295a0be968eeedd4041145c23b442c4fc64073
• ❓ To be able to focus on the task at hand, we have to make sure other, unfinished tasks are not lingering in our head and wasting precious mental resources. highlight_id:: 45fb879a6425517347eee950e87e84ace036c38a5f29bcac9243dc70
• ❓ That is one of the main advantages of thinking in writing – everything is externalised anyway. highlight_id:: 787e96d42faa26efc32280abd9d520c9f8c6e09e0c6aea9e8d0db2b2
• ❓ focusing on them gives our brains the opportunity to deal with problems in a different, often surprisingly productive way. highlight_id:: 5c55180d5069360738ff001f4fbc10bc0ae469cd9151e71a0dfef49a
• ❓ Next to the attention that can only be directed at one thing at a time and the short-term memory that can only hold up to seven things at once, the third limited resource is motivation or willpower. highlight_id:: d3643a539c9f6721ea95087de21616c553b57a7b4002ec0564e7d24b
• ❓ willpower is compared to muscles: a limited resource that depletes quickly and needs time to recover. highlight_id:: 68be92e06ff822adc73985ca315e2e6bba869335f994285fcd24e970
• ❓ ego depletion to refer to a temporary reduction in the self’s capacity or willingness to engage in volitional action highlight_id:: 74d0b7bbf7e5ade16c16d5cf6b3427339c82823fd72d7f5e307dae18
• ❓ The smartest way to deal with this kind of limitation is to cheat. Instead of forcing ourselves to do something we don’t feel like doing, we need to find a way to make us feel like doing what moves our project further along. Doing the work that need to be done without having to apply too much willpower requires a technique, a ruse. highlight_id:: 9e80f86504cbdf4d3693a24699a1ee213cfe8019c121e16947d62515
• ❓ the theories, ideas and mental models in your head are also shaped by the things you read. highlight_id:: 36160b50d1e819c05e122f881bd6299d27b184ab2df19e6b5a492e55
• ❓ are part of a theory that isn’t ours or written in a language we wouldn’t use. This is why we have to translate them into our own language to prepare them to be embedded highlight_id:: 65bd8f5fc1881229507649ccaf621f49242b5698d8dd66f8b72b7348
• ❓ while in easier cases it might be sufficient to just jot down some keywords. highlight_id:: 06c8cdba14163103713755a2ed82eb6ce0e9b6a1312cceb83d625f07
• ❓ The only thing that matters is that these notes provide the best possible support for the next step, the writing of the actual slip-box notes. highlight_id:: 668b492ff99a0606bc737d01d8881b7cfb8e52b55c9984639f9ef7f5
• ❓ Sometimes the only thing that is done is underlining sentences and making some comments in the margins of a book, which is almost like taking no notes at all. highlight_id:: 0c81f17a98d1f7c8836fd34c65e61958682fa374eddd2699b37a26a2
• ❓ But all of this would be just an extra step before you do the only step that really counts, which is to take the permanent note that will add value to the actual slip-box. highlight_id:: 4d7f19295363c0824da211b0627aec6dc8a1addfce1a0d3876a05020
• ❓ Because students can’t write fast enough to keep up with everything that is said in a lecture, they are forced to focus on the gist of what is being said, not the details. highlight_id:: 04e59c1b313318eecca81af2baedabe1d732b505d678b9b865a82638
• ❓ Verbatim notes can be taken with almost no thinking, as if the words are taking a short cut from the ear to the hand, bypassing the brain. highlight_id:: ed58f744c0b46467ca05797608e474a91b15c23e612a171e947e4d28
• ❓ We look around and just cut out dis-confirming facts without even noticing what we don’t see, very much like the same city can one day be full of happy people and the other day full of miserable ones, depending on our mood. highlight_id:: d4f56e1ccb86087321677a728b1c2b407468bf435ed5821a17849fde
• ❓ It is so much easier to develop an interesting text from a lively discussion with a lot of pros and cons than from a collection of one-sided notes and seemingly fitting quotes. highlight_id:: cc703275f8f0bffb087e38b1974854f7537e1ea52b77e96db51bcb94
• ❓ Extracting the gist of a text or an idea and giving an account in writing is for academics what daily practice on the piano is for pianists: highlight_id:: 21f2a4e8c917b3ff22d9c9bd9bf254e99fa1f7dd0d475daef48db932
• ❓ The more often we do it and the more focused we are, the more virtuous we become. highlight_id:: 16d5d83cecba92e7390a813195b5140399fd871de9145748ef25cbe4
• ❓ Charlie Munger describes as worldly-wise someone highlight_id:: a4dee41effe4cb8393bee955dd5f56f493b95732f80e6cae52be7fe4
• ❓ Taking smart notes is the deliberate practice of these skills. Mere reading, underlining sentences and hoping to remember the content is not. highlight_id:: b019cdca3f292b32c4f9e7480496afe0901c1e758654da1e6bdacdea
• ❓ If we don’t try to verify our understanding during our studies, we will happily enjoy the feeling of getting smarter and more knowledgeable while in reality staying as dumb as we were. highlight_id:: 33c3d062cbe7176f0a83116ed7270eb03d1c680ef63bbe5d961c5366
• ❓ familiarity is not understanding, highlight_id:: 117d1b850ddb788e506d76674350a5449e5aafd47c7e8d1670b19715
• ❓ helps us to increase our understanding of the world, highlight_id:: 86b735d92f641ca2db6a8c090d5287497555d7b88e939ad0cb913913
• ❓ “The one who does the work does the learning,” writes Doyle (2008, 63). It is hard to believe, but in education that is still a revolutionary idea. highlight_id:: fcde1d4fe8ba1db0b0150775020de8be247cee6b95eb3212387c63a7
• ❓ 2013).[29] Instead highlight_id:: 7f11d979fd6f41f13be38cc1f346c33df16edac1557459a24962dc0c
• ❓ Instead of reviewing a text, you could just as well play a round of ping-pong. In fact, chances are it would help you more because exercise helps to transfer information into long-term memory (cf. Ratey 2008). highlight_id:: 43140f76923206fae26f126c2f0c4d6ba949d81a1abb1dc5aaba7111
• ❓ really thinking about the meaning of what we read, highlight_id:: 31eea5fd67d95aa98f58bab39e1cc35be281d276ebdace09b26572bf
• ❓ Writing, taking notes and thinking about how ideas connect is exactly the kind of elaboration that is needed to learn. highlight_id:: f6230b423bba1c2cb5fd6bdf6b2487f02410eeb84f4fcfcb8401b4cf
• ❓ Experienced academic readers usually read a text with questions in mind and try to relate it to other possible approaches, while inexperienced readers tend to adopt the question of a text and the frames of the argument and take it as a given. highlight_id:: a05b306b306864475f80c1457beb40cae9210355fad6b3193daf3d51
• ❓ Writing brief accounts on the main ideas of a text instead of collecting quotes. highlight_id:: 591d314c765cabf2d1a4735c99fae11391598f79e17c91d561f3e6b3
• ❓ to think hard about how they connect with other ideas from different contexts and could inform questions that are not already the questions of the author of the respective text. highlight_id:: 5d9e3d25c0e718b65eb45be12dd3107f02dea74c4267dacdced3185a
• ❓ We think about what they mean for other lines of thoughts, then we write this explicitly on paper and connect them literally with the other notes. highlight_id:: f3d63dae68d478a01b1e26252a3b2b9977edcdbd037d8e39255378bc
• ❓ Do we have the references, facts and supporting sources at hand? highlight_id:: cdb6dfd1f2acbe747582a6897a6d6f5ba845a51cffab9b7e3b66d3dd
• ❓ Any thought of a certain complexity requires writing. highlight_id:: f6b349d161dee4bf3488665465fb06abee4e400398cea2e5a42f9e95
• ❓ Only in the written form can an argument be looked at with a certain distance – literally. We need this distance to think about an argument highlight_id:: bf0a2af57c97aca2c6c1bd06412be855390f851ec8cab7e77d6f1545
• ❓ it is not possible to think systematically without writing highlight_id:: 3fad19a0fa72cb3e73b783f13a38316a81d270e79bb4b7c20e3ebcfe
• ❓ “No, no!” Feynman protested. “They aren’t a record of my thinking process. They are my thinking process. I actually did the work on the paper.” highlight_id:: 777999295072ec762b6784d6dad4d6d6bf9fb93db8365246515e9687
• ❓ It’s working. You have to work on paper, and this is the paper.” highlight_id:: 41b414b6f0d3765f2663135df55e2585a9d62f705e0a3bd3077f4e68
• ❓ that real thinking requires some kind of externalization, especially in the form of writing. highlight_id:: c86e1720feed4642f2f7688a6a757116f63e03d9a4d0412f78c5d9a8
• ❓ Why did the aspects I wrote down catch my interest? highlight_id:: aff0dc60f35cb3767d47ca2dfadc448863540ca18ac32b454ade580c
• ❓ The ability to forget systematically – to inhibit most irrelevant information from being remembered. highlight_id:: ff8dbc86cadb25201a077946603ef12c4435594bb0d41729c350bbe0
• ❓ Storage strength and highlight_id:: 89b59e4c5693530bf3d8d4e6dd82507c36669de2a5741b8add763a86
• ❓ retrieval strength highlight_id:: b791cf495d1a9a0b165c25684839783ac5a76e5f32ae4215d77ddafc
• ❓ retrieval strength highlight_id:: b791cf495d1a9a0b165c25684839783ac5a76e5f32ae4215d77ddafc
• ❓ “cramming:” highlight_id:: bbb498b4db711f465cdae1b8ce79928f0d59f125403d3c7809afeadc
• ❓ Feynman diagrams are primarily tools to make understanding easier and his lectures are famous because they help students to really understand physics. highlight_id:: b024642c704f7b144bc6b4be894c8d65c9f98ed47ae80317125d9ac3
• ❓ Because the slip-box is not intended to be an encyclopaedia, but a tool to think with, we don’t need to worry about completeness. highlight_id:: 369125c8ef7d6e4ec679f9ddedc2f1ca247ab00199c32b3ed42c880f
• ❓ We don’t need to write anything down just to bridge a gap in a note sequence. We only write if it helps us with our own thinking. highlight_id:: 03976a99fcdbeec90f9003ec2d308c27cb6a4d4cdb11c53450aa2611
• ❓ But liberating our brains from the task of organizing the notes is the main reason we use the slip-box in the first place. highlight_id:: d9765b574010340a084790f0b1240b85969bb5c4495a290d7064df36
• ❓ The organisation of the notes is in the network of references in the slip-box, so all we need from the index are entry points. A few wisely chosen notes are sufficient for each entry point. highlight_id:: b10a13e05588c153f3253d01ddc02b02cf0e8c992d7babb64eeffdba
• ❓ Every consideration on the structure of a topic is just another consideration on a note – bound to change and dependent on the development of our understanding. highlight_id:: 22850a2f36b74efbaaf770c07db1850f015ae416f37da8fac1e0ed02
• ❓ archivist or a writer. highlight_id:: f9f5aaef85e96d7dcefb2e44acb5586bfa83c08bad09111ca0497889
• ❓ writer asks: In which circumstances will I want to stumble upon this note, even if I forget about it? It is a crucial difference. highlight_id:: 2625d7f404a88e9fbf23d895125c3df67e538c1a0e330cd3ac12e0ed
• ❓ Keywords should always be assigned with an eye towards the topics you are working on or interested in, highlight_id:: 8b9c728903d38d18f3eca6f4d14842d19db794f44b1061df73187e65
• ❓ This is also why this process cannot be automated or delegated to a machine or program highlight_id:: 8727dd108086f29bc2545241356d9ae70872ed7a9b2a9a200e9ed218
• ❓ Assigning keywords is much more than just a bureaucratic act. It is a crucial part of the thinking process, which often leads to a deeper elaboration of the note itself and the connection to other notes. highlight_id:: 88b5be1c6f1cf5dc8f980b6568e95ad992401e218456042e7cb9dc81
• ❓ The first type of links are those on notes that are giving you the overview of a topic. highlight_id:: 817c8036081c608e765005d3d6028df0aa924a1ae1310a6d97b9aaad
• ❓ usually used as an entry point into a topic highlight_id:: 33df6129ea0b0ff7137f4f3d9221ce529085119a62fbf3633e9e48a9
• ❓ being relevant for a topic and how we structure it will change over time. highlight_id:: c3c42ba2bd596c5c53185b6a77bb88dc0b25e202e2644191d3cb2a3d
• ❓ All we have to do is to change the entry in the index to this new note and/or indicate on the old note that we now consider a new structure more highlight_id:: 50ce70b3f185a4f00c55e7b972dc01d63a1085bb10deb543a0e8ec27
• ❓ Therefore, working with the slip-box is disillusioning, but at the same time it increases the chance that we actually move forward in our thinking towards uncharted territory, instead of just feeling like we are moving forward. highlight_id:: acac6d3a1b46a920996ec962901e11a166536bc091e4d381e1a47b2e
• ❓ contradictions, paradoxes or oppositions highlight_id:: 2eb007e7db4cbac4f003336eb86e3015bf9bb18f63c2f94c49d99978
• ❓ am surprised how often the addition of one note leads to a correction, a complementation or an improvement of old ideas. highlight_id:: c10a221767344856b55a065c4bebea53571c39ebbff832d8a8559ecc
• ❓ The slip-box constantly reminds us of information we have long forgotten and wouldn’t remember otherwise – so much so, we wouldn’t even look for highlight_id:: def2dec2e02583d211deb00e089c366fef33929911ff93d4557d83d6
• ❓ Science and everyday life are in this regard not so different; both are intertwined. Scientific work is much more pragmatic and less determined by theory than outsiders would expect highlight_id:: c321cc2ca32737f76f63a1183d49cd62cfe496d031c32ca5b96a8cde
• ❓ but gain what he calls “worldly wisdom.” The highlight_id:: 6fa29b2f81420d8b17c83c7b158c4c0222f57fb724df58b79984a494
• ❓ The importance is to have not just a few, but a broad range of mental models in your head. Otherwise, you risk becoming too attached to one or two and see only what fits them. You would become the man with a hammer who sees nails everywhere highlight_id:: cb80015415aadfc5e0434a803fb1187986a167376c8d16d87a22ddc5
• ❓ A truly wise person is not someone who knows everything, but someone who is able to make sense of things by drawing from an extended resource of interpretation schemes. highlight_id:: 0eb9e4ed7102b90009b010ef2201e9582fa67b49f31503bdc1e0eaaa
• ❓ If we practice learning not as a pure accumulation of knowledge, but as an attempt to build up a latticework of theories and mental models to which information can stick, we enter a virtuous circle where learning facilitates learning. highlight_id:: bac8c2bddc595525af7a0a8cbec674eaff14064938d0ab48a2133d3c
• ❓ Pay attention to what you want to remember. highlight_id:: 9c782cf74ada98aaa4f70a4983543a38b16b60115c20d97765811d99
• ❓ Properly encode the information you want to keep. highlight_id:: 6828f9e08b9945bb144ac63d5fefe0252d8633062d4c69c2360fb892
• ❓ “[C]reative people are better at recognizing relationships, making associations and connections and seeing things in an original way—seeing things that others cannot see“ highlight_id:: 74f3943dd7d8170e773ae6b648de04699989c81476eca45d3e3d09b7
• ❓ liberate them from their original context by means of abstraction highlight_id:: 889217151ae05f5d50fc8e3c4d5038ea2a428d989078df0aad6eb2c0
• ❓ Abstraction is also the key to analyse and compare concepts, to make analogies and to combine ideas; this is especially true when it comes to interdisciplinary work highlight_id:: 60e3a97fb115949c1002df589e2472cd5a4413db6ce6655d3fbc6bed
• ❓ Creativity cannot be taught like a rule or approached like a plan. highlight_id:: 6ca3374fbfd9967ac4ff59f74075f164cc2b8c8a1e069687e18da225
• ❓ The scientific revolution started with the standardization and controlling of experiments, which made them comparable and repeatable (cf. Shapin, 1996). Or highlight_id:: 388a51d5a3623f6b27966efc5ff3d03064d944b339cb26b53a690aba
• ❓ The biggest threat to creativity and scientific progress is therefore the opposite: a lack of structure and restrictions. highlight_id:: 034099ddb50be5e1775764a4911ed7664c4354827a9362f06bfaaf77
• ❓ More people in a brainstorming group usually come up with less good ideas and restrict themselves inadvertently to a narrower range of topics highlight_id:: 9951006e1ad4e65824e47293f4316204726436b382cb0c0110dca881
• ❓ What, for example, are the conditions that will lead autonomous choice to enhance people’s motivation for new tasks? highlight_id:: 00492f0dd0832e41c9b9605d4f92692c162aba98df13d7a24fa799bb
• ❓ I always work on different manuscripts at the same time. With this method, to work on different things simultaneously, I never encounter any mental blockages.” highlight_id:: 1c25bd153e479a1d8445afb1fe57e03e41a1e014a22241f2edc8f97e
• ❓ If you encounter resistance or an opposing force, you should not push against it, but redirect it towards another productive goal. highlight_id:: c8d8a370be2ef7bc1d0705de7e827df0d9d6f74229405cf577718604
• ❓ every kind of work tends to fill the time we set aside for it, like air fills every corner of a room highlight_id:: e16820f9da2cd8487e6fd4e788eee8c669137c473a6b0b6855dd83a4
• ❓ Civilization advances by extending the number of important operations which we can perform without thinking about them.” highlight_id:: 76efa57707913cbdb35f339684613c1184e1c68f55a71defe758029c
• ❓ Learning, thinking and writing should not be about accumulating knowledge, but about becoming a different person with a different way of thinking. highlight_id:: f411eb00b6dfbe96bee2d20e02309e660c3c8c0c18a88bd2e628d5ba
• ❓ The slip-box is as simple as it gets. Read with a pen in your hand, take smart notes and make connections between them. Ideas will come by themselves and your writing will develop from there. There is no need to start from scratch. Keep doing what you would do anyway: Read, think, write. Just take smart notes along the way. highlight_id:: f67efa23ea146b772de46d30cee3107ed5c26c4c21de1810ceefd3bf