ZettleKasten Overview
TODO This is going to be an ongoing set of notes overviewing the zettlekasten system. It will also go over various software tools I'm using of the zettlekasten system. Both hand-written tools, contributed code tools and other 3rd party systems.
The Zettlekasten system, according to zettlekasten.de, it is a method to amplify human abilities in the field of knowledge work. Effectively the method creates a means by which to offload mental load, particularly related to memory and recall, to an external note taking method. To describe it to a newcomer, I'd describe it like this:
A zettelkasten is a highly personalized tool for thinking & writing. It has hypertextual features, like a personal Wikipedia, to make a personal web of thought possible. The primary difference to other systems is that you create a web of thoughts instead of notes of an abritrary size and form. This is to emphasize the relational aspects of knowledge and de-emphasizes more hierarchical relationships of collections of knowledge.
Luhman's Zettelkasten
Niklas Luhmann was a highly productive social scientist who invented this system. He published 50 books and more than 600 articles. That doesn't even include his over 150 unpublished manuscripts from his estate, containing over 1000 pages. His productivity in knowledge work was unmatched and he didn't achieve it on his own.
Luhmann himself acreddited his productivity to working with his system, the Zettelkasten Method. His method involed a collection of notes on paper slips with a special twist: It was a hypertext, before the days of the internet popularized the concept, that he could navigate the drawer cabinet containing all paper slips with a reasonable amount of time and energy. "Reasonable" being a relative term for Luhman because he was a work-a-holic and enthusiastic bureaucrat. A hypertext needs to be browseable and searcheable. On Wikipedia, you just click a link to get to the next article on a subject that has a conceptual link with another subject.
Luckily, today we have software tools that can make this method practical for more people with less intensive habits than Luhman. We don't need to be bureaucratic workaholics to reap the benefits of the Zettelkasten method.
TODO Take further notes on the introductory concepts of the zettelkasten.
TODO Take further notes on getting started on the zk method