Zettelkasten

#capture A Zettelkasten is a personal tool for thinking and writing. It has hypertextual features to make a web of thought possible. The difference to other systems is that you create a web of thoughts instead of notes of arbitrary size and form, and emphasize connection, not a collection.

https://zk.zettel.page/examples

How it is helpful

  1. Links need to be as effortless as possible. If there are barriers to making the links, or worse, following them then it will be hard to adopt them.
  2. The more connected, the better. It is important to focus on the hypertextual nature of the method.
  3. The method needs to be programmable. Steps are clear and succinct.
  4. Commit time to administrative duties. Try 10-30mins after a study session with the sole purpose being the organization of the notes you just made.
  5. All knowledge is relevant eventually. Collect notes not because you need them now, but because you might need them later. Make a paper trail or documentation as you go.
  6. Break down complex problems into smaller modules. Create a separation of concerns. This encapsulates each problem into distinct sections.
  7. Executive function Private or Broken Links
    The page you're looking for is either not available or private!
    is a taxing process.

The Fixed Address of Each Note

If you want to refer to an individual note, it needs to have a fixed and unique address by which you can identify the note. It is necessary to make the actual lookup possible. In our digital age, we rarely think of this problem unless we are software developers. We are used to performing a search on the web, and in a fraction of a second, our search presents us with the results. When you deal with a bunch of paper notes, however, you need to make it possible and bearable to get anywhere at all. Luhmann’s approach was a clever numbering system.

Luhmann’s numbering system allowed to make sequences and intersperse notes between adjacent notes through adding another character to the end

Important Traits

  1. It's hyper-textual
    • This means texts that refer to each other, expand, and explain each other.
    • Hypertext focuses more on forming relationships.
    • Connections take priority over collections
  2. Adheres to Principle of Atomicity Private or Broken Links
    The page you're looking for is either not available or private!
    • Each Zettel contains only one unit of knowledge.
    • Phase 1 - Pull the notes into one pile
    • Phase 2 - Organize the notes by topic
    • Phase 3 - Write notes from clusters
  3. It's personal
    • Links need to be as effortless as possible. If there are barriers to making the links, or worse, following them then it will be hard to adopt them.
  4. The more connected, the better. It is important to focus on the hypertextual nature of the method.
  5. The method needs to be programmable. Steps are clear and succinct.
  6. Commit time to administrative duties. Try 10-30mins after a study session with the sole purpose being the organization of the notes you just made.
  7. All knowledge is relevant eventually. Collect notes not because you need them now, but because you might need them later. Make a paper trail or documentation as you go.
  8. Break down complex problems into smaller modules. Create a separation of concerns. This encapsulates each problem into distinct sections.
  9. Executive function Private or Broken Links
    The page you're looking for is either not available or private!
    is a taxing process.

A Zettelkasten is a personal tool for thinking and writing. It has hypertextual features to make a web of thought possible. The difference to other systems is that you create a web of thoughts instead of notes of arbitrary size and form, and emphasize connection, not a collection.

Further Reading

https://github.com/bramses/bramses-highly-opinionated-vault-2023