As a university academic with over two years of experience highlighting, tagging, and exporting notes from academic articles and book chapters into Obsidian, I can say that the corner marking method wouldn't work for me. It probably works if you're only reading a handful of books associated with a given project, but I'm reading articles every day and can't remember the specific quotes from what I read two weeks ago let alone two years ago. I did my PhD using a 'pragmatic' approach from 2011 to 2015 and now feel like all that reading was wasted (in terms of how easily I can now access those ideas when needed). Rather than drawing a star in the corner of a physical book, just adding a star tag to an electronic version and exporting to Obsidian or similar would mean you don't have to manually search through any books again and can essentially read them once. If you tag them more specifically for the topic and perhaps the rhetorical function (like if it's a definition or evidence or a benefit), you then wouldn't even need to scroll through all the stars; the system could just give you exactly what you wanted at point of need. I'd highly recommend anyone who needs to do a lot of reading invest the time in creating a personal knowledge management system using a tool like Obsidian, Notion or Roam. Thanks for the thought-provoking video!
Obsidian is ideal for making connections, but unfortunately many tags just become unwieldy after a while, and the system's attempt to give you an overview of the whole body of knowledge just makes it look like a conspiracy theory board.
Thanks for sharing your method. I was wondering when does learning happen in your method? I am taking about deep learning. The type that helps you to know the terrain like the back of your hand. The
@@expeditioner9322 Thanks for the question. I started using Obsidian and my tagging approach to make it easier to write publications. While that has been the case, the biggest difference it's made for me is kickstarting a daily reading habit. Because I don't need to remember everything I read, reading has become almost addictive, like mining for gold. When you find a quote that resonates, you tag it and then know it will always be available for your future needs. It's stored, safe, and easily accessible. Because I'm reading so much more, I'm able to explore my field in much more depth but also have time to read into other fields too. This provides opportunities to make all kinds of novel connections to solve problems. So, while this definitely enhances writing, I'd say a PKM system that fits your workflow will also revolutionise your reading, thinking, and learning. Good luck!
@@Robert.Stole.the.Television Hey there, I only just saw your reply. I think you're referring to the graph view in Obsidian that let's you look at all your notes (and the connections between them) in something akin to a mind map. I don't use the graph view with my method, but other people do and they swear by it. You can look at a local graph for each note which only shows the notes that directly link to it (you can specify how many steps of connection you want to see). A good example of that can be seen here: ruclips.net/video/GtChrK4a-mc/видео.html My personal approach with tags doesn't look like this. I just tag, store, and access useful quotes when I need them. Obsidian is a flexible tool but other apps let you do similar things. Cheers!
0:32 corner marking method 1:06 "zedelkasten" vs "pragmatic" schools of thought 1:50 taking notes has to do with purpose of why you're reading x y z 5:00 walkthrough of how Cal takes notes -> focus on simplicity and 'low-friction' 10:00 mark up as much as possible when you read and use them as resource/brainstorming tools for further study 10:50 treat books as physical artifacts rather than precious collectables 15:00 when to "skim" vs "read"
I've been looking at you as a mentor, I am impressed by the way you created all of your career success being so clear and focused on what matters to you, really inspiring. I've been reading a lot lately, going through "Deep work" and getting a lot of knowledge from it! Even considering my career (art and animation ) kind of dificult to align with another type of profession as yours, I've been adapting the concepts, I hope to reach out some questions to you soon!
Taking a piece from what Cal mentions as a litmus to figuring which structural route to go for oneself - do you see that you tend to recall well why you wrote what you wrote down previously after a period of time of several months/years? Do you tend to forget things if you don’t not them down relatively quickly? I find that I have issues in recall later if I don’t also note down why I’m highlighting something. It also doesn’t help if the resulting situation is that there are lots of undifferentiated highlighted passages. I find that I’d likely have to reread and rethink what the highlights point to. The odds are there’s a chance I don’t even remember exactly what the highlighting is for. But if one’s more like Cal in terms of recall, it’s certainly feasible and possibly advantageous speed wise to do it the way Cal does. Either approach, IMO it’s worth heeding the call to make functional what we read. To deepen, massage, mull over, practice, embody. Often we don’t really need ever more information per se, it’s the application and reflection of that application that’s a more significant gap.
This is maybe my favorite video of yours ever (I've been watching a couple months.) I'm the Zettelkasten method myself, but it is cool to see how you do it.
I usually find much food for thought in your pieces, but this was especially helpful. I'm going into a Ph.D program & consider myself a pretty good note-taker, but I'm going to need all the help I can get in improving my efficiency & effectiveness as a scholar & writer. There's plenty of generic (if generally true) advice out there; what I find particularly constuctive is the kind of detailed, in-depth, & creative suggestions that you so often put forth.
Because I enjoy the experience, I borrow books from the library. It gives me something to know that others have read the book before me (especially with fiction, there is a bond). Reading a copy that is older than myself is just qualia. For non-fiction, stacking the library up with good titles is also a good feeling. For notes, I jot in markdown. Typing is fast, so I can also quote poignant segments.
I'm a big Austen fan. Been to her house in Chawton, which you briefly mentioned and everything. Glad you're doing research to make her even more relevant in today's society. There is a north American organization JASNA that could be helpful if you need any help with anything regarding her life, etc.
If I take notes of certain paragraphs of a book after few days or a week my interpretation of the paragraph changes , actually that hampers my productivity, fellow scholars, colleagues and friends what's your strategy
Why shouldn't I copy the relevant information into another system? I find it convenient to have a notebook with notes from several books (kindle or not).
"Por lo tato, seguir siendo valiosos en nuestra economía, es necesario que dominemos el arte de aprender rápidamente cosas complicadas. Esta labor exigen un trabajo profundo. Si no cultivamos esa aptitud, nos quedaremos atrás conforme vaya avanzando la tecnología"
I don't think the zettelkasten counts as a school of thought on when and what notes to take. I use the zettelkasten strategy for storing my notes, but I don't take notes on everything I read just for the sake of expanding my zettelkasten. If I get an interesting idea, no matter where it comes from, I write it down, that's all.
"Por lo tanto, para seguir siendo valiosos en nuestra economía, es necesario que dominemos el arte de aprender rápidamente cosas complicadas. Esta labor exige un trabajo profundo. Sino cultivamos esta aptitud, no quedaremos atrás conforme vaya avanzando la tecnología".
Why do we only equate only non-fiction with knowledge? What is fiction then? Am I deluded to think that equating knowledge with only non fiction is wrong and that fiction is also knowledge?
"Si organizo mi vida de tal manera que logre juntar grades segmentos de tiempo interrumpido y consecutivo, puedo escribir novelas. (Si por el contrario, me interrumpe demasiado). Qué obtengo a cambio? En lugar de sacar novela que puede circular por mucho tiempo(...) habré escrito motones de correos electrónicos que recibirán unas pocas personas"
You do have a point; not eveyone who is intellectually ambitious has a lot of disposable income (& Cal, I know people have pointed that out to you before). Perhaps it would be better to say, "Try this if you *can,* & if it works for you, but also share any books you no longer need."
That might work for some people. I can't agree on "your brain will remember that" cause well, mine don't 😅. What's funny is that I've been intuitively using this exact method, but never worked for me.
I love that you say that we treat books too preciously. They are working tools. I got multiple copies of several books. Thank you!
As a university academic with over two years of experience highlighting, tagging, and exporting notes from academic articles and book chapters into Obsidian, I can say that the corner marking method wouldn't work for me. It probably works if you're only reading a handful of books associated with a given project, but I'm reading articles every day and can't remember the specific quotes from what I read two weeks ago let alone two years ago. I did my PhD using a 'pragmatic' approach from 2011 to 2015 and now feel like all that reading was wasted (in terms of how easily I can now access those ideas when needed). Rather than drawing a star in the corner of a physical book, just adding a star tag to an electronic version and exporting to Obsidian or similar would mean you don't have to manually search through any books again and can essentially read them once. If you tag them more specifically for the topic and perhaps the rhetorical function (like if it's a definition or evidence or a benefit), you then wouldn't even need to scroll through all the stars; the system could just give you exactly what you wanted at point of need. I'd highly recommend anyone who needs to do a lot of reading invest the time in creating a personal knowledge management system using a tool like Obsidian, Notion or Roam. Thanks for the thought-provoking video!
Obsidian is ideal for making connections, but unfortunately many tags just become unwieldy after a while, and the system's attempt to give you an overview of the whole body of knowledge just makes it look like a conspiracy theory board.
Thanks for sharing your method. I was wondering when does learning happen in your method? I am taking about deep learning. The type that helps you to know the terrain like the back of your hand. The
@@expeditioner9322 Thanks for the question. I started using Obsidian and my tagging approach to make it easier to write publications. While that has been the case, the biggest difference it's made for me is kickstarting a daily reading habit. Because I don't need to remember everything I read, reading has become almost addictive, like mining for gold. When you find a quote that resonates, you tag it and then know it will always be available for your future needs. It's stored, safe, and easily accessible. Because I'm reading so much more, I'm able to explore my field in much more depth but also have time to read into other fields too. This provides opportunities to make all kinds of novel connections to solve problems. So, while this definitely enhances writing, I'd say a PKM system that fits your workflow will also revolutionise your reading, thinking, and learning. Good luck!
@@Robert.Stole.the.Television Hey there, I only just saw your reply. I think you're referring to the graph view in Obsidian that let's you look at all your notes (and the connections between them) in something akin to a mind map. I don't use the graph view with my method, but other people do and they swear by it. You can look at a local graph for each note which only shows the notes that directly link to it (you can specify how many steps of connection you want to see). A good example of that can be seen here: ruclips.net/video/GtChrK4a-mc/видео.html My personal approach with tags doesn't look like this. I just tag, store, and access useful quotes when I need them. Obsidian is a flexible tool but other apps let you do similar things. Cheers!
@@damonpthomaswould you say obsidian is better than notion for such connections?
0:32 corner marking method
1:06 "zedelkasten" vs "pragmatic" schools of thought
1:50 taking notes has to do with purpose of why you're reading x y z
5:00 walkthrough of how Cal takes notes -> focus on simplicity and 'low-friction'
10:00 mark up as much as possible when you read and use them as resource/brainstorming tools for further study
10:50 treat books as physical artifacts rather than precious collectables
15:00 when to "skim" vs "read"
I've been looking at you as a mentor, I am impressed by the way you created all of your career success being so clear and focused on what matters to you, really inspiring. I've been reading a lot lately, going through "Deep work" and getting a lot of knowledge from it! Even considering my career (art and animation ) kind of dificult to align with another type of profession as yours, I've been adapting the concepts, I hope to reach out some questions to you soon!
Taking a piece from what Cal mentions as a litmus to figuring which structural route to go for oneself - do you see that you tend to recall well why you wrote what you wrote down previously after a period of time of several months/years? Do you tend to forget things if you don’t not them down relatively quickly?
I find that I have issues in recall later if I don’t also note down why I’m highlighting something. It also doesn’t help if the resulting situation is that there are lots of undifferentiated highlighted passages. I find that I’d likely have to reread and rethink what the highlights point to. The odds are there’s a chance I don’t even remember exactly what the highlighting is for.
But if one’s more like Cal in terms of recall, it’s certainly feasible and possibly advantageous speed wise to do it the way Cal does.
Either approach, IMO it’s worth heeding the call to make functional what we read. To deepen, massage, mull over, practice, embody. Often we don’t really need ever more information per se, it’s the application and reflection of that application that’s a more significant gap.
This is maybe my favorite video of yours ever (I've been watching a couple months.) I'm the Zettelkasten method myself, but it is cool to see how you do it.
I usually find much food for thought in your pieces, but this was especially helpful. I'm going into a Ph.D program & consider myself a pretty good note-taker, but I'm going to need all the help I can get in improving my efficiency & effectiveness as a scholar & writer. There's plenty of generic (if generally true) advice out there; what I find particularly constuctive is the kind of detailed, in-depth, & creative suggestions that you so often put forth.
Because I enjoy the experience, I borrow books from the library. It gives me something to know that others have read the book before me (especially with fiction, there is a bond). Reading a copy that is older than myself is just qualia. For non-fiction, stacking the library up with good titles is also a good feeling. For notes, I jot in markdown. Typing is fast, so I can also quote poignant segments.
I'm a big Austen fan. Been to her house in Chawton, which you briefly mentioned and everything. Glad you're doing research to make her even more relevant in today's society. There is a north American organization JASNA that could be helpful if you need any help with anything regarding her life, etc.
"the shallows" The Distraction addiction - Alex Soojung - Kin Pang great :)
If I take notes of certain paragraphs of a book after few days or a week my interpretation of the paragraph changes , actually that hampers my productivity, fellow scholars, colleagues and friends what's your strategy
Gracias yo solo leí tu libro enfócate y siempre tomo notas
First we have to sell the land then the house land is in Cayma as well :) Let me know if you are interested regards from Peru
Why shouldn't I copy the relevant information into another system? I find it convenient to have a notebook with notes from several books (kindle or not).
Hi Cal and others, This is Patrick here from Mind Life Flow Channel (Clinical Psychologist in Australia). Interesting video and advise - thank you
Is this the Krusty Krab?
"Por lo tato, seguir siendo valiosos en nuestra economía, es necesario que dominemos el arte de aprender rápidamente cosas complicadas. Esta labor exigen un trabajo profundo. Si no cultivamos esa aptitud, nos quedaremos atrás conforme vaya avanzando la tecnología"
12:06 On using kindle
This works for a dissertation or Thesis
I don't think the zettelkasten counts as a school of thought on when and what notes to take. I use the zettelkasten strategy for storing my notes, but I don't take notes on everything I read just for the sake of expanding my zettelkasten. If I get an interesting idea, no matter where it comes from, I write it down, that's all.
I suppose this won't work in Kindle app?
there's an option to display the page you're on in kindle
C'mon man. Buy the same book again just to read it in a different context? Why can't I instead use a different color pen?
Zettelkasten method
"Por lo tanto, para seguir siendo valiosos en nuestra economía, es necesario que dominemos el arte de aprender rápidamente cosas complicadas. Esta labor exige un trabajo profundo. Sino cultivamos esta aptitud, no quedaremos atrás conforme vaya avanzando la tecnología".
I was thinking about a robot president? Since everyone is so corrupt in Peru and everywhere :)
Why do we only equate only non-fiction with knowledge? What is fiction then? Am I deluded to think that equating knowledge with only non fiction is wrong and that fiction is also knowledge?
❤
"Si organizo mi vida de tal manera que logre juntar grades segmentos de tiempo interrumpido y consecutivo, puedo escribir novelas. (Si por el contrario, me interrumpe demasiado). Qué obtengo a cambio? En lugar de sacar novela que puede circular por mucho tiempo(...) habré escrito motones de correos electrónicos que recibirán unas pocas personas"
primer mundo ...comprar varias copias del mismo libro // el hiperconsumismo es obsceno
You do have a point; not eveyone who is intellectually ambitious has a lot of disposable income (& Cal, I know people have pointed that out to you before). Perhaps it would be better to say, "Try this if you *can,* & if it works for you, but also share any books you no longer need."
él no lo hace siempre,además el libro digital no causa el mismo efecto psicológicamente hablando que el libro digital.
Martinez Brenda Martin Scott Rodriguez Jason
Lewis Kevin Perez Joseph Martinez Jessica
Va mi 👍🏽 ,pero comprar libros en mi país es muy oneroso
That might work for some people. I can't agree on "your brain will remember that" cause well, mine don't 😅. What's funny is that I've been intuitively using this exact method, but never worked for me.
Williams Paul Young Betty Taylor Matthew
Why did you decide to become a teacher? I want to make an impact in the world. Is there a logical argument you can outline?
Mi país se está yendo al diablo y es hermoso por favor ayúdanos
White Matthew Taylor Sarah Jackson Margaret
I need to sell our house in Arequipa to help my mom in order for her to buy an apparment house is in Arequipa
Con estas personas del JnE estamos fregados en Perú Help please
Dharma
A JesusChrist Robot
house is in Cayma: es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distrito_de_Cayma lovely district
this is Arequipa: es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arequipa
Also this lady corrupt: es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dina_Boluarte