# [[Zettelkasten]] ![[Zettelkasten.svg]] The word _Zettelkasten_ in German means "slip box" or "note box". A Zettelkasten is a collection of atomic, integrated, and linked notes from various sources of learning. [[The Zettelkasten method is a bottom-up approach to turning content you consume to content you create.]] The plural of Zettelkasten is Zettelkästen. This concept was popularized by the German sociologist [[Niklas Luhmann]], who famously gave his own Zettelkasten the credit for his ability to produce many academic books and articles in a short period of time. A [[Zettel]] is a single note in a Zettelkasten, and represents a distilled and distinct concept. ## Zettelkasten principles - [[Principle of Atomicity]] - [[The Zettelkasten method is a bottom-up approach to turning content you consume to content you create.|Content creation should be bottom-up]] - [[Writing does not help us learn - it IS how we learn.]] - [[Verweisungsmöglichkeiten supercharges regular notes]] - Use [[Structure Notes|Hub notes]] to structure a Zettelkasten - [[Processing notes|Notes should be processed]] before they become useful ## [[The Zettelkasten Process]] 1. Consume content 2. Make [[Fleeting Notes]] (notes that are written hurriedly, in context). 3. Make [[Literature Notes]] (notes that summarize what a literary work attempts to say). 4. Create [[Permanent Notes]] from the fleeting or literature notes. 5. Link permanent notes to existing notes. 6. Revise the Zettelkasten for clusters of notes around similar topics. 7. Create new work around clusters of Zettel. ## Criticisms of Zettelkasten <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/A_i3AIFdDjo" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe> ### Zettelkasten has some outdated ideas. Luhmann's system is completely analog, so there are a few ideas that are outdated: - Luhmann used a Zettelkasten prefix, a string of numbers that approximated a personal [[Dewey Decimal System]]. This was to facilitate filing and alphabetizing-- two things pretty much obsolete or trivially implemented in digital systems. - Explicit links. Luhmann painstakingly wrote the links to everything, but these days, many tools show unlinked references/mentions without needing explicit linkage. Search has made explicit links nice, but not necessary. - Fixed address for notes. Each Zettel had a name that never changed, because if it were changed, it would have to be changed in ever place it was mentioned. These days, changing a filename and having links to it update is trivial. ### The focus on atomic notes reduces feasibility Zettelkasten's focus on creating notes that are always [[Principle of Atomicity|atomic]] is sometimes not feasible due to the time taken to distill an idea into an atomic idea. Zettelkasten seems to treat notes differently, holding permanent notes (*zettels*) in higher regard than fleeting or literature notes. In reality, people are likely to have more fleeting and literature notes in their systems, and these should be thought of as valuable as well. ## Zettelkasten in practice - [[How I Use My Zettelkasten as a Developer]] - [[A Tale of Complexity – Structural Layers in Note Taking • Zettelkasten Method]] - [[Implementing a Digital Zettelkasten Using Block References in Roam Research with Beau Haan]] ## References - [[Communicating With Slip Boxes by Niklas Luhmann]] - [[sources/Book/How to Take Smart Notes|How to Take Smart Notes]] by [[Sönke Ahrens]] is the modern sourcebook for this methodology. It's more approachable than Luhmann's original work. - [zettelkasten.de](https://zettelkasten.de/) by [[Sascha]] is a good repository of Zettelkasten practices. - [A System for Writing](https://amzn.to/43z3bpy), a modern book by [[Bob Doto]] on Zettelkasten. ([[A System for Writing|My notes on this book]]) - ## See also - [[Writing does not help us learn - it IS how we learn.]] - [Articles I've written about Zettelkasten](https://nicolevanderhoeven.com/tags/zettelkasten/) - [[Productivity]] - [[Writing]] %% # Excalidraw Data ## Text Elements ## Drawing ```json { "type": "excalidraw", "version": 2, "source": "https://github.com/zsviczian/obsidian-excalidraw-plugin/releases/tag/2.1.4", "elements": [ { "id": "4y8R7iOA", "type": "text", "x": 118.49495565891266, "y": -333.44393157958984, "width": 3.8599853515625, "height": 24, "angle": 0, "strokeColor": "#1e1e1e", "backgroundColor": "transparent", "fillStyle": "solid", "strokeWidth": 2, "strokeStyle": "solid", "roughness": 1, "opacity": 100, "groupIds": [], "frameId": null, "roundness": null, "seed": 967149026, "version": 2, "versionNonce": 939059582, "isDeleted": true, "boundElements": null, "updated": 1713723615080, "link": null, "locked": false, "text": "", "rawText": "", "fontSize": 20, "fontFamily": 4, "textAlign": "left", "verticalAlign": "top", "containerId": null, "originalText": "", "lineHeight": 1.2 } ], "appState": { "theme": "dark", "viewBackgroundColor": "#ffffff", "currentItemStrokeColor": "#1e1e1e", "currentItemBackgroundColor": "transparent", "currentItemFillStyle": "solid", "currentItemStrokeWidth": 2, "currentItemStrokeStyle": "solid", "currentItemRoughness": 1, "currentItemOpacity": 100, "currentItemFontFamily": 4, "currentItemFontSize": 20, "currentItemTextAlign": "left", "currentItemStartArrowhead": null, "currentItemEndArrowhead": "arrow", "scrollX": 583.2388916015625, "scrollY": 573.6323852539062, "zoom": { "value": 1 }, "currentItemRoundness": "round", "gridSize": null, "gridColor": { "Bold": "#C9C9C9FF", "Regular": "#EDEDEDFF" }, "currentStrokeOptions": null, "previousGridSize": null, "frameRendering": { "enabled": true, "clip": true, "name": true, "outline": true } }, "files": {} } ``` %%