Tinderbox Meetup - May 7, 2023: A Discussion with Sönke Ahrens, author of How to Take Smart Notes

In this session, Sönke Ahrens, the author of How to Take Smart Notes, joined us for a lively discussion. This was a lively discussion on how writing is thinking and the role of note-taking; it is NOT a discussion about any other particular tool or method, but rather a general approach to generating value for yourself through note-taking. The community provides tons of useful references and resources
# Agenda
* Have a chat with Sönke Ahrens
## Taking Notes From Readings
If you read something and don't take the proper notes, thank you're wasting your time. Taking a good note is putting it in your own words, to put discipline in yourself.
* First, realize that not all source material warrants the same attention. Don't treat is all the same. The art is knowing how much effort to dedicate to a piece.
* When the material is new, you try to understand, so you may use "fleeting notes," "literature notes," and "commentary notes," which you then may convert to "permanent notes" if needed
* Your goal is to frame the arguments being made, summarize the perspective
* With unfamiliar text, you'll take literature notes, with familiar text you'll just grab what you need to support/contradict your argumentt
* Sometimes writing by hand helps, it slows you down, which is good for thinking; it also helps you be clearer but also less forgiving with errors -as the errors are not as easy to fix as they are with digital.
* How does one avoid overwhelm? Fidel Asn: It is a problem. When you feel that you are overwhelmed, create a concept note; try to reduce the complexity again.
* Question to ask yourself
- how is this related to my work?
- how is this important?
- what is the counter-argument?
## On Teaching Thinking
We don't teach this in school very well, but we need to teach students,
* how do they develop their own thoughts
* Ask and quasar their own questions
* Be comfortable with "making up their own mind." They are the decision maker of what a note goes, how it is take, and links; where or not something is the same ideas, an extension of an idea, or new idea, or a contraction
* the process of collecting, deconstructing, constructing, and reconstructing your thinking.
## Concepts
* Different kinds of notes
- Fleeting/Quick note
- Literature Note, e.g., " "I’m getting that literature notes are more about capturing *your* understanding than transcribing -? the author’s ideas." Jorge Arango
- Development note
- Commentary note
- Prominent/Permanent/Fixed Note
- Laboratory notes
- Index notes
- Concept Notes, notes that point you in different directions.
- Entry notes, a top down/bottom up approach to align on concepts.
- Note sequences
* Extended mind is different than the second brain
* The tools will be different for different studies
* * Different kinds of links agree, disagree, clarify, example, exception
* Pen and paper work well with "note sequences"
* Zettelkasten is a research tool/method
* When something is new, everything feels/appears useful. -
* The overwhelm occurs when you feel that you must close all loose ends. This is impossible. Don't try.
* Thinking, ask a bunch of questions...how is the relevant to what I'm thinking about.
* Incremental formalization -this was a new term for Sönke.
* MAYA concept — go for the Most Advanced, Yet Acceptable solution.
## Quotes/Paraphrased Comments
See the forum for several quotes and paraphrased comments: https://forum.eastgate.com/t/tinderbox-meetup-sunday-may-7-2023-video-connect-with-sonke-ahrens-live-the-author-of-how-to-take-smart-notes/6659
# References
See the forum for tons of references: https://forum.eastgate.com/t/tinderbox-meetup-sunday-may-7-2023-video-connect-with-sonke-ahrens-live-the-author-of-how-to-take-smart-notes/6659

Видео Tinderbox Meetup - May 7, 2023: A Discussion with Sönke Ahrens, author of How to Take Smart Notes канала Michael Becker