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koddsson's review against another edition
4.0
A great introduction to the Zettelkasten system. I feel like it could have been shorter and more condensed.
boskycat's review against another edition
3.0
still trying to figure out if this will work for me. Not enough examples of the methodology. Should have lots and lots of examples to understand how this works and whether this could work for you. The internet isn't great either. however, like the concept.
functionalstoic's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
5.0
An excellent book about how to think better by forcing yourself to turn your thoughts while reading into notes that will grow and connect with other ideas that you've previously read and done the same. A pattern that promotes a virtuous circle
mauricereeves's review against another edition
3.0
This probably should sit around 3.5 stars, but I opted to round down this time because I think there were parts that required more editing and reorganization. It’s not bad, and in fact, in some areas it was really good. I am fairly sold on the idea of trying out Zettelkasten, but I actually think the book spent time digging into some areas that did not really add to the idea of taking notes.
This is the beginning of a much broader thesis about how the brain works, both with and against us, and so at times it rambles away from the stated thrust of the book to gaze overly long at distant topics and themes.
Towards the end, Ahrens quotes the famous line familiar to many writers when they are about to embark on the painful process of editing their work: “Kill your darlings.” It means that sometimes the lines or sections or whole chapters we love the most need the scalpel the most. We became overindulgent with our writing.
Ahrens, may I suggest you do the same? It is time, perhaps, for you to “kill your darlings.”
Final side note: as this is a book about taking smarter notes I would have loved more examples and even some optional to-do’s or things to try at the end of some sections.
This is the beginning of a much broader thesis about how the brain works, both with and against us, and so at times it rambles away from the stated thrust of the book to gaze overly long at distant topics and themes.
Towards the end, Ahrens quotes the famous line familiar to many writers when they are about to embark on the painful process of editing their work: “Kill your darlings.” It means that sometimes the lines or sections or whole chapters we love the most need the scalpel the most. We became overindulgent with our writing.
Ahrens, may I suggest you do the same? It is time, perhaps, for you to “kill your darlings.”
Final side note: as this is a book about taking smarter notes I would have loved more examples and even some optional to-do’s or things to try at the end of some sections.
hasyemiraws's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
4.0
Very practical tho I found some of the parts are redundant.
dabedolla's review against another edition
5.0
Es un libro excelente; cambia de forma radical el acercamiento al aprendizaje. Me hubiera gustado mucho tener este sistema hace años pero más vale tarde que nunca. ¡Ya empecé mi Zettelkasten!
ysanne_51's review against another edition
3.0
最近油管上比较火的卡片笔记法，也是最近一些双链功能笔记app的灵感来源。本书的关键内容在于第一章的方法论，会有助于对卡片法的理解，但是也可以直接看油管视频，后面的内容并不成体系。
milandeep's review against another edition
4.0
How to Take Smart Notes by Sönke Ahrens presents a very different take on taking notes. He utilizes the concept of Zettelkasten (German for index cards) developed by Niklas Luhmann, a German sociologist. Luhmann was a prolific writer and he gave all the credit of his new ideas to his 'idea-box'. Luhmann's note-card system is different from that of others because of the way he organized the information, intending it not just for the next book he wanted to publish, but for a life time of working and publishing. He used index cards, in a standard format, giving each a unique number and connecting one card to another by using context instead of predefined categories. The unique numbers can be expanded in any order as required. The system is very flexible but a little difficult to adopt when you start with it. It can be a great system if someone can make it a habit.
Sönke Ahrens discusses many ideas in the book which can be useful even if you are not using this note-taking system. As he says: “Learning, thinking, and writing should not be about accumulating knowledge, but about becoming a different person with a different way of thinking. This is done by questioning one’s own thinking routines in light of new experiences and facts.”
Sönke Ahrens discusses many ideas in the book which can be useful even if you are not using this note-taking system. As he says: “Learning, thinking, and writing should not be about accumulating knowledge, but about becoming a different person with a different way of thinking. This is done by questioning one’s own thinking routines in light of new experiences and facts.”
malarkodi's review against another edition
5.0
This book did a 180° on my perspective. I had come across the Zettelkastan/slip box method of notetaking 6 months back and had started using it, albeit incompletely. This book helped understand the "Why" of this method. If you wish to retain information you read/listen/watch or want to write blogs/books etc, then this book is a must read.
Summarizing my understanding of the process outlined in the book,
1. When reading, listening to or watching something, highlight, paraphrase or bookmark whatever it is you want to remember. These are called Fleeting Notes
2. Write in your own words (do not copy), one idea or topic per file, that you wish to retain. Add references to the source of this information. These are called Literature Notes
3. Add context. Why is this information relevant for you?
For instance, Suppose I read about the trend of oil imports from Russia to India in a newspaper. I decide I want to retain this information and write it down in my own words. Now, the context, I want to retain this because I want to understand macro economy, supply and demand. Hence I would reference it to say a file which I have on "Trade Deficit"
4. Permanent Notes: These are notes which contain information on how you linked the various files in your slip box. It could be a file named "How Russia impacts your interest rates", This would link various Literature Notes such as 'Oil Supply', "Trade Deficit", "Factors impacting Repo Rate". This connection is uniquely yours and is a logic or idea that you generated.
Summarizing my understanding of the process outlined in the book,
1. When reading, listening to or watching something, highlight, paraphrase or bookmark whatever it is you want to remember. These are called Fleeting Notes
2. Write in your own words (do not copy), one idea or topic per file, that you wish to retain. Add references to the source of this information. These are called Literature Notes
3. Add context. Why is this information relevant for you?
For instance, Suppose I read about the trend of oil imports from Russia to India in a newspaper. I decide I want to retain this information and write it down in my own words. Now, the context, I want to retain this because I want to understand macro economy, supply and demand. Hence I would reference it to say a file which I have on "Trade Deficit"
4. Permanent Notes: These are notes which contain information on how you linked the various files in your slip box. It could be a file named "How Russia impacts your interest rates", This would link various Literature Notes such as 'Oil Supply', "Trade Deficit", "Factors impacting Repo Rate". This connection is uniquely yours and is a logic or idea that you generated.