Knowledge systems which display contextual backlinks to a node open up an interesting new behavior. You can bootstrap a new node extensionally (rather than intensionally) by simply linking to it from many other nodes—even before it has any content.
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I first noticed this watching use Roam. As he took notes on our chats, he made certain noun phrases (e.g. my name, named theories) into node links. Those nodes had no content of their own, but after a few days, they developed an implicit definition through the backlinks.
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Those backlinks provide kindling for writing the "proper" content of the node later. Seems important for the system to display the backlinks' *context:* a simple list of backlinks won’t implicitly define a node very effectively. Gotta see the context around the link.
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Sounds a lot like the initial pass one does when learning by analogy.
A is like X.
A is bigger than B.
(A doesn't have full content, yet we can already say much about it from those links)
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"There is generality in the specific, and that is of far reaching importance"
steve-yegge.blogspot.com/2008/10/univer
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Had the same exact “aha” moment after using it for a week. Backlinks should really be more common.
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Could the system somehow automatically make certain phrases into notes?
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We already have that
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