Woke up to a great paradoxical notion from : sometimes the main benefit of non-linear authoring (whiteboard, hypertext, Muse) is actually linear thought! These envs offer a “release valve” for tangential stuff so you can focus on your “main” idea.
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One thing I really like about this is that it subverts the usual narrative around e.g. densely-linked note systems: maybe the value of non-linear writing isn’t (just) in the future value of the embedded links to you/readers—but rather in helping you focus in the moment.
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In this framing, the tangential stuff and non-linear associations are ephemeral chaff, not durable future working material!
Too strong as stated, I think (see notes.andymatuschak.org/z2HUE4ABbQjUNj for args in favor of future value of links), but a useful angle, I think.
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This angle asks: what if the root cause is formality in UIs?csdl.tamu.edu/~shipman/forma
Paper notebooks and whiteboards provide this release valve; we lost it with digital word processors; we could solve with a new formal primitive (linking)—or maybe just by toning down formality?
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It can be useful in that regard, but in my experience, the opposite is true. When I’m writing for my digital garden, I often find that hypertext writing puts me into a more expansive state, with unfinished pieces along the way. Sometimes I need to just force myself to be linear.
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I’ll try it with that framing though and see how it works for me.
When I have to write about something complex, I feel that dumping my thoughts non-linearly — I use Muse btw — often helps as a first exploration step.
Friction should be very low to make it work
Later I look back at these drawings and find the way to put things down linearly
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💯. This is what I'm working on kanopi.io
Linear/non-linear, structured/unstructured, evergreen and ephemeral all belong in one integrated system. We must support the feedback loops between different modes of thought.
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Reminds me of the “Garbage heap” section that inevitably accrues at the bottom of every GDoc I’m involved in…
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What about using tangential stuff to decide what is the "main" idea? Something like progressive brainstorming. You keep a tree of ideas\thoughts and then you trim it to have the best sequential thought. You eliminate dead end. You "replant" branches for further exploration.