When you say "zettelkasten like note systems have you do a linear search for connections, that gets exponentially more expensive as your note body grows", I think you actually search your brain for connections, not the whole body of notes.
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I think what happens is your brain automatically filters by what's hot at that point in time. The good thing about the zettelkasten is, once you've reached that note you'll see others you had forgotten😊
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And, as with 's concept of "progressive summarisation", if you perceived some difficulty finding the note (that had sparkled in your brain in connection to the new addition), you'll alter the connections, edit or summarise so that's easier next time.
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In a way, in zettelkasten-like systems you're perpetually moving up (connecting, summarising) what's relevant, against a slow downwards pull caused by the weight of the whole body of notes ✨
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The error correction mechanism you describe is definitely key! But I disagree with your point about search. One primary purpose of the Z is to have it “communicate” as an independent agent, surfacing ideas that weren’t top-of-mind through the process of search.
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In “Communicating with slip boxes” Luhmann describes how it’s important that the Z is like *another person*; many key properties tuned for surprise.
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Exactly. But here’s how I understand it: A spark in your own mind tells you go search related card X. In the process of looking for it you’ll need to make at least a few jumps where you’ll find Y and Z. Which you hadn’t thought about! 😮 There’s the system talking to you.
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Likewise, you can summat/rewire for the future you to have a reasonably fast experience next time you happen to be in that area of the zettelkasten. This could be equal to building a highway between A and E to avoid doing ABCDE each time. You’re effective reducing retrieval time.
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Now it clicked for me. Luhman's ritual with his zettelkasten is similar to what SRS for attention programming could do. Only that in the ZK it's the connectedness of a thing that makes it pop up more often!
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I don't know if Luhmann was doing this, but he could very well pick a random card from one of his slip boxes and, if it resonated, index it to pop up more often. Leitner box + zettelkasten in one!
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Yes! Some rough notes on this:
Exactly. One aspect that intrigues me though is, SRS for attention management and SRS for memorisation may only be related in their ability to push away material exponentially.
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In a sense, SRS for attention management might not be more efficient than a zettelkasten + some random card picking because it doesn't relate to the testing effect.
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