Obsidian Zettelkasten

[lizardmenfromspace]

2 - Zettelkasten, at least according to Google translate stands for “note box” in German. I’ve read online that the practice of keeping a note box goes back a long way and technically isn’t unique to sociologist Niklas Luhmann. Other than Luhmann’s note box, I haven’t been able to find any of these (Note 1A - Alternative Note Boxes) online to study, so for the purpose of this thread I will be talking about his note box exclusively.

• Further Research
• Starter Kit (work in progress, will start writing once I feel this zettelkasten has reached critical mass, will probably be around 500-1000 notes)

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Zettelkasten is about adding structure to your notes that helps you develop knowledge

Obsidian Zettelkasten

4 - Zettelkasten & Structure - Note Taking is about storing information for later retrieval because we have a limited memory. Inherent in the process of storage is structure. In the case of a [paper zettelkasten], the base structure would take the form of writing notes on paper and just putting them in a giant pile. The point of structure is to add order so that you can repeat tasks such as retrieval of a note. The above example would be an undesirable structure as it would take a long time to r…

You can structure your notes to make retrieving all the relevant notes on a topic easier

Obsidian Zettelkasten

7 - Structuring for Retrieval - An important aspect of the zettelkasten to understand is that Luhmann’s method of structure facilitated his end use case (writing). He created sequences of notes (1 - 1a -1b - 1c), which allowed him to easily pull out all the notes on a given topic when he needed them. Otherwise he could have just used a numbered list for notes (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, new note 6) where the newest note is just the highest number. What all this suggests is that you should keep in mind how …

Layers of Structure in a Physical Zettelkasten

Obsidian Zettelkasten

62 - Layers of Structure in a Physical Zettelkasten - When you build a zettelkasten you are adding layers of structure to facilitate note retireval. The first layer is creating a unified medium of storage such that it makes physical storage of the information manageable. Since paper is the most common form of writing, that is a good starting point. I could technically implement it using crayons and the walls of my house but that’d be subpar (still better than chaos). The second layer is havi…

Layers of Structure in a Digital Zettelkasten

Obsidian Zettelkasten

93 - Layers of Structure in a Digital Zettelkasten - When you build a zettelkasten you are adding layers of structure to facilitate note retireval. The first layer of structure is having a single storage mechanism. In this case it is plain text files using markdown syntax. The reason for this is it helps makes your notes future proof. Luhmann used his zettelkastens over a 46 year period, so you want something that lasts the test of time. The second layer of structure for a digital zettelka…

Rules that help facilitate a successful zettelkasten

Obsidian Zettelkasten

99 - Zettelkasten Model (a.k.a Zettelkasten Principles) - Set of Rules (Model) that best facilitates the four functions within a zettelkasten. Storing / Sorting / Selecting / Summarizing - #todo Zettelkasten is geared towards Knowledge Development Zettelksaten is about Knowledge Development

Zettelkasten differs from other notes systems because it promotes knowledge development

Obsidian Zettelkasten

113 - Levels of Development make a Zettelkasten - What is the difference between zettelkasten and other note taking methods? Using Obsidian as the Software Implementation, you can think of the different levels of development to better understand what a zettelkasten is: Referential System - would be creating notes without any links between them. When you want to “reference” a note, you pull it up through search or the note list. Wiki System - would be well written full notes on topics with…

Other note boxes (zettelkasten) in history

Obsidian Zettelkasten

8 - Alternative Note Boxes - there is discussion going on about how Luhmann wasn’t the first to create a zettelkasten. In a perfect world, what I would want to do is study all of the ones created by prolific writers and apply the process of generalization to discover the underlying rules they all share. While that isn’t possible, it is still interesting to see some of the different manifestations talked about throughout history. To do this I will be looking into several resources. Paper Machi…

Niklas Luhmann

Obsidian Zettelkasten

100 - Niklas Luhmann was a German sociologist during the 20th century who is known for his prolific writing and work towards creating a theory of society. He created two zettelkastens over his career, starting the first one as a response to the need for an effective way to organize notes for the long term (Johannes F.K. Schmidt, 2018). The reason he is so popular among the zettelkasten community is because his zettelkasten is public, the focus of a long term university research project, was pa…

Design of a Perfect Zettelkasten App

Obsidian Zettelkasten

130 - Design of Perfect Zettelkasten App - what would be the features of my ideal zettelkasten application? One way to approach this question is to think about what software features facilitate knowledge management and knowledge development. What information can you include in the storage process that will make note retrieval easier? What information can you include in the storage process that will facilitate knowledge development? How can you sort your notes to make information retrieval easi…

Simple Zettelkasten Guide

Obsidian Zettelkasten

133 - Simple Zettelkasten Guide - this post over on Zettelkasten De forum made me realize I should probably work on creating a very simple zettelkasten guide. Once I’ve filled out all the notes listed below, then I will combine them all in the forum post. Outline Evolution of Note Taking Core Note Taking Functions Enter the Zettelkasten What Knowledge Development Means Features of a Physical Zettelkasten Restrictions of a Physical Zettelkasten Features of a Digital Zettelkasten Zettelkasten P…

Folgzettel Debate

Obsidian Zettelkasten

211 - Folgzettel Debate Folgzettel translate to “follow-up slip” in english. It represents a note that is an elaboration on the note in front of it. If you had notes “1, 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d” then 1a, 1b, 1c, and 1d would be considered follow up slips. They can either be expanding on the note that comes before it (e.g. 1b expands on 1a) or it expands on the idea at the start of the sequence (e.g. 1d expands in a new way on the idea in 1 not 1c). Luhmann allowed notes to branch off arbitrarily. So of…

Examples of Output from Zettelkasten

Obsidian Zettelkasten

220 - Zettelkasten Output Examples Luhmann and his prolific writings - “Luhmann published a bewildering wealth of articles and books year after year and at the time of his death, his list of publications comprised more than 500 titles on diverse topics, mostly part of his central research interest: a theory of society” Source - Johannes F.K. Schmidt Paper Near-Perfect Score on an Exam, thanks to my Zettelkasten - Zettelkasten De Forum Post What have you gotten OUT of your Zettelkasten? - Ze…

Zettelkasten Exploration Analogy

Obsidian Zettelkasten

218 - Zettelkasten as a Knowledge Explorer One way to better understand and think about the purpose of a zettelkasten is to compare it to an explorer. You are an explorer who has reached a new and magical world! The first thing you do is set up “the index”. The index is your original port city, the biggest hub where information is located and a place to branch off from. You aren’t just any explorer though, you also happen to be a cartographer. Setting up outposts for further exploration Refi…

Zettelkasten Word of Caution

Obsidian Zettelkasten

229 - Zettelkasten isn’t a Catch All I think how successful a zettelkasten user is depends on the person and how they communicate with their zettelkasten. Luhmann published prolifically with his zettelkasten. His output was a byproduct of the interaction between what he put in the zettelkasten, his default brain, and how the two communicated with each other. Just because you create a zettelkasten, doesn’t mean you’ll somehow create great work. It is just a tool. Some people suck at using tools…

Outstanding Questions

Obsidian Zettelkasten

238 - Questions for Johannes F.K. Schmidt who is one of the scholars working on publishing the Luhmann Archive online. He seems to be the most knowledgeable, so thinking about questions I’d have for him is a good way to get at what I don’t quite understand about the zettelkasten. Department Level How did Luhmann’s department level categories work? Did he create them beforehand or did they emerge overtime? By the numbering system, it sounds like he created them beforehand. See 1 - Subject area …

[Dor]

@lizardmenfromspace

the practice of keeping a note box goes back a long way and technically isn’t unique to sociologist Niklas Luhmann.

Goes back to ‘The Art of Note Taking’ by Beatrice Webb, and her use of it goes back well before that. She’s rather more famous than Luhmann, and probably more prolific. One of founders of the London School of Economics, amongst many other things.

[lizardmenfromspace]

4 - Zettelkasten & Structure - Note Taking is about storing information for later retrieval because we have a limited memory. Inherent in the process of storage is structure. In the case of a [paper zettelkasten], the base structure would take the form of writing notes on paper and just putting them in a giant pile. The point of structure is to add order so that you can repeat tasks such as retrieval of a note. The above example would be an undesirable structure as it would take a long time to retrieve the note you are looking for. It would still be better then chaos, where your notes are scattered across a city, written in random places and mediums (chalk on ground, spelled out in someones mowed lawn, stored on a bubble gum wrapper in the dump).

Instead we add layers of structure that facilitate retrieval. Zettelkasten, in a sense, is just a very particular set layers. Part of the issue with the discussion around zettelkasten is that the term (note box) is very broad and the set of layers differs depending on who you talk to. For teaching others zettelkasten, I take what I see as the core layers of structure used by Luhmann and either adopt or adapt them for a digital medium.

[scmwiz]

@lizardmenfromspace

I’ve read online that the practice of keeping a note box goes back a long way and technically isn’t unique to sociologist Niklas Luhmann. I haven’t been able to find any of these online to study

You can find Luhmann’s ZettelKasten here:
https://niklas-luhmann-archiv.de/bestand
Some slips have been transcribed (you can use google translate on these notes).

[greasemonkey]

@Dor Beatrice Webb in 1926 but the ideas were well established by others. 1898 “Introduction to the Study of History” by Charles Langlois and Charles Seignobos suggest the best way of proceeding is to make notes on separate pieces of paper with each showing it’s origin. Prior to that in 1638 Thomas Harrison explained to Charles I about writing excerpts on small pieces of paper and hanging them on hooks with alphabetized subject headings. Fascinating discussion here: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v32/n11/keith-thomas/diary

[lizardmenfromspace]

7 - Structuring for Retrieval - An important aspect of the zettelkasten to understand is that Luhmann’s method of structure facilitated his end use case (writing). He created sequences of notes (1 - 1a -1b - 1c), which allowed him to easily pull out all the notes on a given topic when he needed them. Otherwise he could have just used a numbered list for notes (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, new note 6) where the newest note is just the highest number.

What all this suggests is that you should keep in mind how you plan on using your zettelkasten when you start to add layers of structure. Do you plan on using it for writing like Luhmann did? Or do you strictly want to use it as a reference system? Or are you using it to build external models, that once finished, become mental models?

[lizardmenfromspace]

8 - Alternative Note Boxes - there is discussion going on about how Luhmann wasn’t the first to create a zettelkasten. In a perfect world, what I would want to do is study all of the ones created by prolific writers and apply the process of generalization to discover the underlying rules they all share.

While that isn’t possible, it is still interesting to see some of the different manifestations talked about throughout history. To do this I will be looking into several resources.

• Paper Machines: About Cards & Catalogs, 1548-1929 (History and Foundations of Information Science)by Markus Krajewski PhD

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Obsidian Zettelkasten

Goes back to ‘The Art of Note Taking’ by Beatrice Webb, and her use of it goes back well before that. She’s rather more famous than Luhmann, and probably more prolific. One of founders of the London School of Economics, amongst many other things.

Obsidian Zettelkasten

@Dor Beatrice Webb in 1926 but the ideas were well established by others. 1898 “Introduction to the Study of History” by Charles Langlois and Charles Seignobos suggest the best way of proceeding is to make notes on separate pieces of paper with each showing it’s origin. Prior to that in 1638 Thomas Harrison explained to Charles I about writing excerpts on small pieces of paper and hanging them on hooks with alphabetized subject headings. Fascinating discussion here: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-pap…

[lizardmenfromspace]

9 - Note Size - A common question people have regarding the zettelkasten and note taking in general is one of note length. A good way to think of this is through the concept usability of information. We structure information such that it can be used repeatedly. You can think of notes in the same way.

a - smallest unit of usability is the letter. As you see I repeatedly make use of the letter a in this sentence.

word- is the next largest unit

phrase - can be used in multiple contexts

sentence - can be used in multiple contexts but is a bit awkward because it isn’t as usable as a word or phrase but not as robust as a paragraph. A good example of a reusable sentence is a quote. See 2A

paragraph- is often seen as the smallest unit of thought as it is usually what is necessary to get an idea across, with sentences being the parts that support or explain the paragraph (Shore 2016, pg 28).

section - can be thought of as multiple paragraphs.

Because one of the key ideas behind a zettelkasten is to remix ideas such that a note can contribute to multiple sequences of thought, an ideal note length is between a paragraph and a section. If you find yourself wanting to reference a sentence then it is fine to spin it off into its own note. But it’d be a waste of time to do so before that becomes necessary.

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Obsidian Zettelkasten

11 - Example of a Note Size - Andy’s Working Notes - Source for this particular note Evergreen note-writing helps reading efforts accumulate It’s important to Write about what you read, but instead of just writing about the specific book you’re reading, you can (and should) write your notes such that your reading observations accumulate over time as they interact with each other and with your own ideas (see Evergreen note-writing helps insight accumulate, Knowledge work should accrete). This …

Obsidian Zettelkasten

13 - Example of a Note Size - Luhmann Note Sequence - Source for this particular note Note Sequence on The System as a Research Tool

[lizardmenfromspace]

Bibliography

Blair, Ann. Too Much to Know: Managing Scholarly Information before the Modern Age. New Haven London: Yale University Press, 2010.

DK Publishing, Inc. How the Brain Works. , 2020.

Myers, David G., and C. Nathan DeWall. Psychology . Twelfth edition. New York: Worth Publishers, Macmillan Learning, 2018.

Newport, Cal. So Good They Can’t Ignore You Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love . New York: Business Plus, 2012.

Newport, Cal. Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World . First Edition. New York: Grand Central Publishing, 2016.

Shore, Zachary. Grad School Essentials: A Crash Course in Scholarly Skills. Oakland, California: University of California Press, 2016.

Susskind, Richard E., and Daniel Susskind. The Future of the Professions: How Technology Will Transform the Work of Human Experts . First edition. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press, 2015.

[lizardmenfromspace]

11 - Example of a Note Size - Andy’s Working Notes - Source for this particular note

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Evergreen note-writing helps reading efforts accumulate

It’s important to Write about what you read, but instead of just writing about the specific book you’re reading, you can (and should) write your notes such that your reading observations accumulate over time as they interact with each other and with your own ideas (see Evergreen note-writing helps insight accumulate, Knowledge work should accrete).

This is also why we write Evergreen notes: so that if we encounter a book which discusses a concept we’ve already written about, we’re pushed to integrate new ideas with our prior conception. Certainly, we normally do this when we read, but we’re limited to our faulty memory of other works which might be related. The externalized note-taking system substantially removes this limitation.

This is why part of why Evergreen notes should be concept-oriented: so that the structure of our notes pushes us to notice the relationships between the ideas in different texts—and in our own work (see Evergreen notes should be densely linked, Notes should surprise you).

The notes you write will also produce the foundations of new manuscripts (Executable strategy for writing).

This is one reason for Evergreen note-writing as fundamental unit of knowledge work.

Links to this note

Obsidian Zettelkasten

Write about what you read - because knowledge work should accrete and Evergreen note-writing helps reading efforts most people read ineffectively - Evergreen note-writing helps reading efforts accumulate, but most people don’t do this How to Take Smart Notes - Ahrens - Writing ntoes feels like a huge time imposition, but that’s in comparison to an imaginary baseline: reading without writing notes is often all lost time… Evergreen note-writing helps reading efforts accumulate. Collecting mat…

[lizardmenfromspace]

• Write about what you read - because knowledge work should accrete and Evergreen note-writing helps reading efforts
• most people read ineffectively - Evergreen note-writing helps reading efforts accumulate, but most people don’t do this
• How to Take Smart Notes - Ahrens - Writing ntoes feels like a huge time imposition, but that’s in comparison to an imaginary baseline: reading without writing notes is often all lost time… Evergreen note-writing helps reading efforts accumulate.
• Collecting material feels more useful than it usually is - Instead, we should write about what you read, because Evergreen note-writing helps reading efforts accumulate. And to help steer ourselves… effectively
• §Note-writing systems - Evergreen note-writing helps reading effors accumulate
• Source - Evergreen note-writing helps reading efforts accumulate

[lizardmenfromspace]

13 - Example of a Note Size - Luhmann Note Sequence - Source for this particular note

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Note Sequence on The System as a Research Tool

Obsidian Zettelkasten

Note 8 - The system as a research tool cf. 61.1c ; 17.1b11b/c ; 57.4e7b3h1 ; 1.6f1C ; 29.5db Literature Max Bense, Philosophy as Research I, Cologne - Krefeld, 1947, IV About the Newer System Concept, pp. 35ff. Emmanuel Mounier, Introduction aux Existentialismes, Paris, 1947, p. 22ff. on systemic property of existentialism Dewey, Logic, pp. 170f, 49ff., 273, 294, 301f., 313, 316, 335, 425, 473, 484 Heidegger, What is thinking ?, pp. 128f. Cohen, Reason and Nature, pp. 106ff. Nikolai Hartmann…

Obsidian Zettelkasten

Note 8 - System, further references: Systematics of the possible: 29.12a, 1.3 unity and unity of the founding draft 57.4e7b1c6 ; 57.4e7b1ca5, g2a system / characters / portability 83.2c3.12b23 value systems 7.2m closed System / portability 32.11g3/4 ; 57.3a3p system / model 78.2f

Obsidian Zettelkasten

Note 8.1 - The system as a research tool - 1 - branches off a new sequence (To Do) For systematics and science, see Critique of Pure Reason, transc. Methodology III – System and problem are equivalent categories of research; see. Bense, contours of a spirit history of mathematics, p.36. The system is a method of knowledge Bense, loc. Cit., P. 71. – The essence of science is the control and securing of individual knowledge in the context of the whole. See Hartmann, Basis of the Ontology, …

Obsidian Zettelkasten

Slip 8.1a - system as control and security branch off For the sociology of the “system” see Mannheim, “The Conservative Thinking”, in Archives for Social Sciences. and Sozpol. Vol. 57, pp. 86ff. ; Ideology and Utopia, pp. 87, 175 see. 57.3a ; 57.4e7b The system puts terms together in a manageable security. See Heidegger, What does thinking mean?, P. 128. Greek thinking is the systematic ago make strange by terms; see. also 8.8. But it is also not deliberately unsystematic like modern exis…

Obsidian Zettelkasten

Slip 8.1b - System is the fulfilled horizon of understanding of a science - in contrast to the empty horizon of an anticipatory drawing of possible research. see. 57.4e7b3h

Obsidian Zettelkasten

Slip 8.1c - The performance of the system is that uniqueness of the performance. And only in the system is there definite certainty (see also 8.3). If you used to think that there were simple and elementary elements of your own uniqueness (apprehensively simplex, simple, clear and clear ideas, etc.), you were wrong. The simple is only more system- capable, easier to define systematically, easier to incorporate into the system than the complex, and therefore clearer.

Obsidian Zettelkasten

Slip 8.2 - The problem of mutual Ergänzungsbe - paucity of systematic and historical research s. Kern, Modern State and Concept of State, p. 9ff. Criticism of the leading solution attempts in the State teach their own standpoint without development. – Against an overestimation and absolutization of the contrast between historical and systematic Mannheim ideology and utopia, p. 177, further p. 152ff. – Further literature: W. Sombart, Economic Theory and Economic History (Economic History …

Obsidian Zettelkasten

Slip 8.2a On the problem of the historical perspective cf. 33.1d1A4e still ; 57.4e8e.

Obsidian Zettelkasten

Slip 8.2b interesting in this context the attempt Freyer to construct s, sociological terms and to bring in a system that simultaneously at certain historical place and at a certain time behaves - generalizable nis each other are fixed and still are. ( Sociology as a science of reality, esp. P. 189ff.) F. believes that he can deduce this possibility from the dialectical structure of social reality, which has happened on the one hand and on the other hand throws out mentally shaped structures th…

Obsidian Zettelkasten

Slip 8.2b2 - But whether it makes sense to include the time constraint in this way in the definition of the term is very much a question. Anyway, you can these necessary ness not from the special nature of the subject field of sociology deduce how Freyer says. And it then sets the term from quite heterogeneous inventory of which that of the time constraint share together, never clearly grasped (? From 1750 to 1849) and will never be experimentally controlled. A detailed criticism of Freyer’s ve…

[lizardmenfromspace]

Note 8 - The system as a research tool cf.

61.1c ; 17.1b11b/c ; 57.4e7b3h1 ; 1.6f1C ; 29.5db

Literature

• Max Bense, Philosophy as Research I, Cologne - Krefeld, 1947, IV About the Newer System Concept, pp. 35ff.
• Emmanuel Mounier, Introduction aux Existentialismes, Paris, 1947, p. 22ff. on systemic property of existentialism
• Dewey, Logic, pp. 170f, 49ff., 273, 294, 301f., 313, 316, 335, 425, 473, 484
• Heidegger, What is thinking ?, pp. 128f.
• Cohen, Reason and Nature, pp. 106ff.
• Nikolai Hartmann, systematic method, Logos III
• Wagenführ, Horst, The system concept in the National economy, a method-historical view, Jena 1933, p 384
• bespr. with whether. Title of Hans Peter Z fd ges CT 95 (1935), pp 360-63

[lizardmenfromspace]

Note 8 - System, further references:

• Systematics of the possible: 29.12a, 1.3
• unity and unity of the founding draft 57.4e7b1c6 ; 57.4e7b1ca5, g2a
• system / characters / portability 83.2c3.12b23
• value systems 7.2m
• closed System / portability 32.11g3/4 ; 57.3a3p
• system / model 78.2f

[lizardmenfromspace]

Note 8.1 - The system as a research tool -

1 - branches off a new sequence (To Do)

For systematics and science, see Critique of Pure Reason, transc. Methodology III

–

System and problem are equivalent categories of research; see. Bense, contours of a spirit history of mathematics, p.36.

The system is a method of knowledge Bense, loc. Cit., P. 71.

–

The essence of science is the control and securing of individual knowledge in the context of the whole.

See Hartmann, Basis of the Ontology, pp. 294b, 297

[lizardmenfromspace]

Slip 8.1a - system as control and security

branch off

For the sociology of the “system” see Mannheim, “The Conservative Thinking”, in Archives for Social Sciences. and Sozpol. Vol. 57, pp. 86ff. ; Ideology and Utopia, pp. 87, 175

see. 57.3a ; 57.4e7b

The system puts terms together in a manageable security. See Heidegger, What does thinking mean?, P. 128.

Greek thinking is the systematic ago make strange by terms; see. also 8.8.

But it is also not deliberately unsystematic like modern existentialism, which is thus trapped in the ambiguity of systematic thinking; see. Heidegger, op. Cit., P. 129.

[lizardmenfromspace]

Slip 8.1b - System is the fulfilled horizon of understanding of a science - in contrast to the empty horizon of an anticipatory drawing of possible research.

see. 57.4e7b3h

[lizardmenfromspace]

Slip 8.1c - The performance of the system is that uniqueness of the performance.

And only in the system is there definite certainty (see also 8.3). If you used to think that there were simple and elementary elements of your own uniqueness (apprehensively simplex, simple, clear and clear ideas, etc.), you were wrong. The simple is only more system- capable, easier to define systematically, easier to incorporate into the system than the complex, and therefore clearer.

[lizardmenfromspace]

Slip 8.2 - The problem of mutual Ergänzungsbe - paucity of systematic and historical research

s. Kern, Modern State and Concept of State, p. 9ff. Criticism of the leading solution attempts in the State teach their own standpoint without development.

–

Against an overestimation and absolutization of the contrast between historical and systematic Mannheim ideology and utopia, p. 177, further p. 152ff.

–

Further literature:

• W. Sombart, Economic Theory and Economic History (Economic History Review II, No. 1, Jan. 1929)
• H. Jecht, Economic History and Economic Theory, Tübingen 1928

[lizardmenfromspace]

Slip 8.2a On the problem of the historical perspective cf. 33.1d1A4e still ; 57.4e8e.