An Atomic Note vs. Atomic Thought
- I’ve always thought that most of my notes were atomic. However, I recently shared my idea of what a good note is, and it turned out that Edmund didn’t consider my note to be atomic.
- It seems to him that my note might not be considered atomic in the classical sense.
- I think the inclusion of reflections confuses people, making it seem more like a stream of consciousness note.
- This includes reflections, examples, and more.
- So, if we speculate a bit, we might consider my notes not as atomic, but as atomic thoughts.
- This is more valuable because thinking is challenging, and thinking within a note is far more precious than just writing down simple ideas.
- Ideas alone don’t count for much. Feelings and emotions do.
- Notes are for building situational models, which can later lead to actionable behavior and possibly new patterns of activity and thought.
- The key takeaway is the ideas must be full, simple, crystal clear and ready for further toying and manipulation.
- It should be the size that could fit mind without the need for smaller reduction.
- The principle of universality.
Edmund
Thank you for sharing your process of making notes together with a vivid example. And it leads me to a question: What do you think about atomic notes? Are they less useful for your work? What are the disadvantages and benefits compared with your own method?
My reply
The definition of an ‘atomic note’ can vary. Is it a note of a specific length, one that contains a single idea, or a note stripped of non-essential elements?
I previously wrote atomic notes and compiled long lists of MOCs, TOCs, and similar items, but I found that this approach, rather than clarifying, actually muddled my thinking process. I then shifted to reflecting on ideas from books and realized that it’s not the atomic note that’s important, but rather the atomic thought.
I have a note about building a mental map or model of an idea that I can share. However, if we discuss the disadvantages of atomic notes, one significant drawback is the lack of reflection. In my view, reflection is crucial for cultivating knowledge and constructing meaning. This holds especially true if we define an ‘atomic note’ as a single idea, devoid of broader context or deeper analysis.
BIO
theBrain mapping
Source:: Mental models (thinking maps), Заметка должна быть атомарной Friend:: Child:: 2000 words. What could be considered an atomic note Next::
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