Andy
When writing,add notes to outline notes. This will naturally create an outline of sorts. This outline can be a base for further (article-)writing or research.
When creating the outline, don’t ask difficult overall questions,just compare two links (to a note), and ask, which of these two comes first(pissig)
Other reading on outline notes:
- https://notes.andymatuschak.org/Create_speculative_outlines_while_you_write
- https://notes.andymatuschak.org/Executable_strategy_for_writing
Literature notes
- Add other two sources from Andy
Ahrens, S. (2017). How to Take Smart Notes: One Simple Technique to Boost Writing, Learning and Thinking – for Students, Academics and Nonfiction Book Writers.
Developing arguments and ideas bottom-up instead of top-down is the first and most important step to opening ourselves up for insight.
Steven Johnson, who wrote an insightful book about how people in science and in general come up with genuine new ideas, calls it the “slow hunch.” As a precondition to make use of this intuition, he emphasises the importance of experimental spaces where ideas can freely mingle (Johnson 2011). A laboratory with open-minded colleagues can be such a space, much as intellectuals and artists freely discussed ideas in the cafés of old Paris. I would add the slip-box as such a space in which ideas can mingle freely, so they can give birth to new ones.
“When I am stuck for one moment, I leave it and do something else.” When Luhmann was asked what else he did when he was stuck, his answer was: “Well, writing other books. 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.”
How to Write a Book – Without Even Trying (so hard) • Zettelkasten Method
When I create a Zettel, I search through the folder for an outline that could make use of this Zettel. If I don’t have an outline in my folder that fits, I create one.
Now I can see articles, books, and other writing projects emerge as a consequence that I read texts and create Zettels without any specific intention in doing so.
The book on writing I mentioned came to be in the same manner. I work on a book on nutrition, so I decided to research how to write a book and writing in general. Each note I turned into a Zettel got its place in an outline. After a while, I satisfied my need for readings on that topic. When I looked at the outline I realized that I had notes worth a book already. I replaced the IDs with the content of the Zettels. Voilá. A manuscript was ready.
Pirsig, R. M. (1991). Lila: an inquiry into morals. New York: Bantam Books.
Instead of asking Where does this metaphysics of the universe begin? — which was a virtually impossible question -all he had to do was just hold up two slips and ask, Which comes first? This was easy and he always seemed to get an answer. Then he would take a third slip, compare it with the first one, and ask again, Which comes first? If the new slip came after the first one he compared it with the second. Then he had a three-slip organization. He kept repeating the process with slip after slip.
Fleeting notes
Related notes are added to an index. The combinations will slowly look like a theme, which can be further explored.
If the list Order is not too strict, surprising themes can emerge
Related to
Branches
- PKMs need limited chaos to flourish substance is more important then form
- insights or originality occurs at the juncture of two before unrelated concepts
- there is understanding in the combination of ideas
- There is freedom in letting go of assumptions and limits. These less traveled paths will be more fulfilling and adventurous