Conversation

Open challenge for a live "notes tool utilization" contest. I'll represent

, someone can represent

Audience chooses a topic we agree on, then we have 30 minutes to put together the best outline possible on the topic using only our tool.

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Robert Haisfield

@RobertHaisfield

Apr 7, 2020

@andy_matuschak

representing yourself and whatever it is you're using :)

Andy Matuschak

@andy_matuschak

Apr 7, 2020

Sorry: mu. I'm not interested in using my notes this way. This fitness function isn't uncorrelated with my goals, but it's a poor basis vector. I really don't identify with the goals of almost anyone who writes about notes. More and more I feel I need to abandon the term "note."

Andy Matuschak

@andy_matuschak

Apr 7, 2020

(This sounds a touch uncharitable, but please interpret it charitably) The most common goal for note systems (particularly e.g. BASB) seems to be "I want to be able to rapidly write a short Medium essay from excerpts and jottings." That's fine! It's not my goal.

Andy Matuschak

@andy_matuschak

Apr 7, 2020

My goal is: "I want to produce novel, powerful ideas." A computer-supported thinking system is helpful insofar as it supports that. But it's hard to evaluate those systems empirically because such ideas are rare. People who blog about note-taking systems don't produce them.

113

Replying to

That's a notch too strong a generalization as stated. But only a notch. I don't think it's an accident that Luhmann wrote "Communicating with slip boxes" near the end of his career.

7:20 PM · Apr 7, 2020Twitter Web App

Replying to

There are some rare exceptions.

@waxpancake

and

@simonw

come to mind.