176 - Luhmann and Multiple Contexts - Luhmann had individual small notes because it was necessary for him to be able to reference notes in multiple contexts in a physical system. Because digital systems are more flexible, it only becomes advantageous to create note chains when you want to be able to reference a section of information in multiple contexts.
What does multiple contexts mean? Lets take a hypothetical person, named Bob Loblaw. I know him through work as a co worker. I typically think about him within the work context (context 1), when in reality he exists in multiple contexts.
- Context 2: He has a home life, where he exists as a father and husband.
- Context 3: He volunteers for the local wildlife as an expert in bird law.
- Context 4: He is part of a handball team, which he participates in weekly
He exists in all these different contexts, and it is limiting to only see him existing in one of these contexts.
Same for Ideas within books. They often can contribute to multiple contexts, so when you take an idea out of a book and create a note around it, you want it to be able to contribute to many different contexts. This is part of what allowed Luhmann to be so prolific, his ideas could mix and help enrich each other.
See Literature Notes vs. Permanent Notes #to-do