# [[Emergent note taking]] <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-XZwcZHKnMg" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe> ## Pre-production ### Thumbnail ![[2023-028 Emergent note taking.png]] ### Title 1. emergence in note taking (66) 2. how to find the right notes (100) 3. bottom up note taking (85) 4. ==emergent note taking (83)== ### Hook Sometimes, when I take notes, I do it top-down: something comes up at work, I'm assigned a topic, and I go out and research it. My preferred way of working, though, is bottom-up: I like to just take notes on things I like without any regard for what I'm going to *do* with them later, and then I make stuff based on what I already have-- based on notes that organically cluster around a topic. If you're like me, though, you might hear that and think, "OK, that sounds good *in theory*, but how do you actually identify those clusters?" In this video, I'm talking about how you go from having just a bunch of random notes to actually seeing patterns arising among them. ### Structure - What is [[sources/Book/Emergence|Emergence]]? - Emergence is the evolution of the whole beyond its parts-- in unexpected ways. - Ex: The whole concept of an ant queen is misleading because ant queens are not leaders - they're just like any other ant: they have a job and they do it. They don't make decisions for the colony. Yet somehow ant colonies develop complex behaviors that look like societal constructs and cooperation. - Natural selection - Steven Johnson - What is emergent note taking? - Ways to facilitate emergence in your notes - 1: Write notes you'll find - Just like you should write things to be skimmed, you should also write them to be found. - Tag them: LATCH - Location: Physical location, but maybe also their location within your notes. Link them to other things that seem adjacent, in the description. - In [[Live - Taking notes for academic research and general knowledge creation with Bianca Pereira]], Bianca talks about how she uses visual indicators like position and the distance of one note from another to give its meaning nuance and context - Alphabet: Name them the way you would search for them, but also put that in an alias - Time: Add a date - Category: Think about the general topic they belong to, and link to them within the topic landing page - Hierarchy: Link using ExcaliBrain, or use links - Write as if you're writing to a version of you that has forgotten what this is (because there's a chance that the next time you stumble across something, you probably have.): Describe in full sentences. - Use templates to apply metadata and set it as default, or assign hotkey - Update other notes to link from them - 2: Try different ways to find notes - Quick Switcher - Search - Dataview query like in [[Lightning rods]] - ExcaliBrain - Folders/bookmarks/links/tags - Randomness - Bonus: Learn in public - Learning in public helps you contribute to the emergence of thought in your field, a collaboration with others ### Outro Emergent note taking is a fundamentally subversive activity. It's about throwing away the idea that you have to know in advance what you're going to learn or write about, throwing yourself wholeheartedly into the passion of writing, and seeing what sticks. It's not for everyone, and it's not for all circumstances-- but when it works, it can be hugely rewarding. It's one of the things I most love about having a personal knowledge management system (PKM). It's like having a friend who knows your thoughts but can still surprise you. If you'd like to see a real-life example of me walking through some of these techniques, check out this meta-video where I give a talk about how I came up with the talk: [[How to create things with your notes]]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zrs_vVRwD4 Thanks for watching. *Todos los días son así, no podía imaginarlo cuando vine aquí.* ### Related videos and resources Emergence, by Steven Johnson: https://amzn.to/3LlgLn7 Zsolt Viczián's Book on a Page about Emergence: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GTh0A6fp7U ### Pinned comment ``` Emergent note taking isn't a methodology. It's the idea of taking modular notes and putting them together in interesting ways. PLUGINS mentioned or shown: Templater, Daily Notes/Periodic Notes, Quick Switcher (core), Search (core), Dataview, Bookmarks (core), Dice Roller, Hover Editor, Backlinks (core) THEMES: Both of the vaults I showed used AnuPpuccin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-SOwxpZQNI ``` ### Timestamps 00:00 Intro 00:48 What is emergence? 03:22 Writing notes you'll find 05:40 L - Location 06:56 A - Alphabet/Aliases 07:41 T - Time 08:48 C - Category 09:35 H - Hierarchy 11:00 Different ways to find your notes 13:21 Lightning rods of thought using Dataview 18:48 Exploring your notes using ExcaliBrain 21:14 Folders, bookmarks, tags, and links 23:18 Learn in public ## Post-production - [x] Create captions using Rev, then edit them. - [x] Take a thumbnail photo and create one for YouTube (1280 x 720). - [x] Add description. - [x] Include the title and any keywords in the first few sentences, but in a natural way. - [x] Add related videos and resources as links. - [x] Add end screen. - [x] Add cards if necessary. - [x] 19:00 How to use the ExcaliBrain Obsidian plugin - [x] Add chapters/timestamps for YouTube if longer than 5 minutes. - [x] Add mid-roll ads/check monetization settings. - [x] Add pinned comment. - [x] Post video preview on Patreon. - [ ] Schedule on YouTube. - [ ] Add video to relevant playlist(s), or create a playlist if necessary. - [ ] Promote on Twitter/LinkedIn as appropriate. - [ ] Create a blog post on [site](https://nicolevanderhoeven.com). - [ ] Add to video-database. - [ ] Add to other notes in my vault as appropriate.