From 43212973f3230f08b6a20e13aef6833e27853aa3 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: unknown Date: Sun, 23 Jun 2024 18:13:51 -0400 Subject: [PATCH] drafting blog stuff --- content/posts/notes-as-tools/index.md | 45 +++++++------------ .../pragmatic-projections-primer/index.md | 3 +- 2 files changed, 16 insertions(+), 32 deletions(-) diff --git a/content/posts/notes-as-tools/index.md b/content/posts/notes-as-tools/index.md index 59a71d6..6897d26 100644 --- a/content/posts/notes-as-tools/index.md +++ b/content/posts/notes-as-tools/index.md @@ -21,48 +21,33 @@ tags: - Tools without - Conclusion +{{< lead >}} +Tools are all around you. +{{ }} + ## What I assume you know -Nothing in particular, this article isn't even specifically about Obsidian. +Nothing in particular, this article isn't specifically any singular note-taking methodology or discipline. + ## Why take notes? -It's a question worth really thinking about. *Why* are you taking notes? Do you enjoy writing? Does it help you remember? Is it part of a grade? Your answer might be one or more or none of these. Regardless of the answer, what I'm here to argue is that your notes should not be an end in and of themselves. +It's a question worth really thinking about. *Why* are you taking notes? Do you enjoy writing? Does it help you remember? Is it part of a grade? Your answer might be one or more or none of these. There **is** no *wrong* answer. -## Tools and you -My central thesis is that **notes are tools**. Tools are objects or processes that people create or alter in order to make some part of their life easier or better. Some very obvious examples of tools are things like knives, guns, and cars. Tools can be more complex, though. Factories are tools, eyeglasses and smartphones are tools. +My central thesis is that while there's no wrong end-goal for notes, at a fundamental level, **notes are tools** and deliberately conceptualizing them as such can be a helpful way to make decisions. -Tools are not constrained to physical space either. Mnemonic devices we use to memorize how to tie our shoes or our bank passwords are tools as well, existing completely in mental space and active cognitive processes. Beyond the scope of this post but worth mentioning, social constructs are also tools; etiquette, language, art and games are all tools built out of agreements between human beings. +## What is a tool? + Tools are objects or processes that people create or alter in order to make some part of their life easier or better. Some very obvious examples of tools are things like knives, guns, and cars. Tools can be more complex, though. Factories are tools, eyeglasses and smartphones are tools. +Tools are not constrained to physical space either. Mnemonic devices we use to memorize how to tie our shoes or our bank passwords are tools as well, existing completely in mental space and active cognitive processes. It's not all bank accounts and hardware stores, of course. Meditation is a tool for altering your mental state, just like positive ( and negative ) self-talk, exercise, comfort-tv, and the sort of things people do just because it makes them happy. Tools are all around you. It is worth putting some thought into precisely what those tools are useful for, to what degree they benefit you and at what cost. Knives are used for separating objects into smaller objects, which is great, but under the wrong circumstances that object might not be something you want made into smaller pieces so that's something you have to take into account while using, organizing, and storing your knife. -Not all tools are anywhere near as dangerous as knives, but I want to center the idea that understanding the knife's purpose, cutting, informs how you should store it: blade enclosed, handle accessible. +Not all tools are anywhere near as dangerous as knives, but I want to center the idea that understanding the knife's purpose, cutting, informs how you should store it. Think carefully about how you're planning on using this note. Where will you be sitting or standing? What time of day will it be? What are the first words that come to mind when you think about the problem this note solves? -## Tools with purpose +Do you have at least one clear answer for this kind of question? If not, you may not have a clear idea of what this note is supposed to do to make your life easier or better. +## Conclusion So, your notes are tools. Now what? -Unfortunately, this hasn't armed us with a magic bullet. Physical analogies start to fall apart here; in physical space, hammering a nail has consistent characteristics. A pound of steel weighs the same in China as it does in Haiti, the coefficient of friction for pine planks doesn't change based on who's holding the hammer. Notes, or at least the ways we can transform, share, and apply them are not subject to the kind of restrictions that cars or screwdrivers might be. - In practice, what I try to focus on is **names**. -> A note with a clear purpose will be easy to name. - -Think carefully about how you're planning on using this note. Where will you be sitting or standing? What time of day will it be? What are the first words that come to mind when you think about the problem this note solves? - -Do you have at least one clear answer for these questions? If not, your note might be doing too much. -## Tools without -Most homes have a place where tools without a clear purpose live. It's usually a drawer in your kitchen -## Conclusion - -## What is a tool? -You are, of course, familiar with tools like hammers and knives. You might have even heard of things like wheels, cars, and guns. These are all fairly self-evident examples of tools: **things that humans create or alter to make some part of their life easier or better**. - -It's important to understand, however, that the category of "tools" is not restricted to things you can hold in your hand. A low-hanging example of this is math, a *mental* tool humans use to process and understand how quantities of things change in response to different stimuli. - -## Tools and You -You work in concert with an endless ocean of tools every day and probably don't think about most of them. This is not a personal failure; a well-designed tool simply requires little to no effort to use. Eyeglasses, cars, phones, books, forks and spoons all augment our natural abilities and let us interact with our environment in ways the benefit us, and most of them are largely invisible in our day to day life. - -This deep integration can leave people at a bit of a loss when starting from scratch in a context where tools aren't readily available or familiar. This is often the case when delving into a new skill, hobby, or profession. - -## Naming Things -One of the most common problems you're likely to encounter while working on your notes is naming them. It is also, I'd argue, the hardest. The most interesting part about names, though, is that they can be an extremely potent "canary in the coal mine" when note-taking. A note that is hard to name is a note whose purpose you do not fully understand. +> A note with a clear purpose will be easy to name. A note with a good name is easy to find because it expresses everything a note is useful for. diff --git a/content/posts/pragmatic-projections-primer/index.md b/content/posts/pragmatic-projections-primer/index.md index 79968fd..a2c8a34 100644 --- a/content/posts/pragmatic-projections-primer/index.md +++ b/content/posts/pragmatic-projections-primer/index.md @@ -47,5 +47,4 @@ When I take notes on a subject, I *never* try to capture every imaginable detail Projections are also not limited to single notes. All of the notes in my `Logs/Health` are together a projection of my life: one that only reveals details about my health. My blog is another projection of my life, my knowledge. I haven't written about recipes or tabletop gaming (yet) but I'll get there. -And that brings us to the grand conclusion: your *vault* is a projection too. Layers and layers of projections, of "shadows". Remember to ask yourself: "What can I see?". "What can I not see?" - +And that brings us to the grand conclusion: your *vault* is a projection too. Layers and layers of projections, of "shadows". Remember to ask yourself: "What can I see?". "What can I not see?" \ No newline at end of file