Something heretical: the smartest people I know don’t take very good notes.
I do not know why this is.
Conversation
Replying to
I have noticed this but I think it's cherry-picking. I think seeing a very smart person not taking notes is memorable. I also observe it more in engineer types. And their intelligence is often more "available". Interesting topic
1
2
Replying to
I've seen a few not taking *any* notes, but more commonly I see them creating transient documents — sort of like a staging area for their thinking. Then they throw it away.
2
5
Show replies
Replying to
My own experience has shown, than often times when we take notes - we mentally check out because "the notes are always there".
By forcing yourself to listen and form conclusions in real time, often times you retain much better.
1
Replying to
Define good notes? My notes are written for myself to parse, not others.. once I'm done 'staging' the information it's in my brain.. 😅
1
Replying to
Exactly! Most really smart people I know seem to do this. By ‘good notes’ I mean notes that people keep around, that build on each other.
1
Show replies