I find striking how much of a hype there is around concepts like "second brain", "zettelkasten", "networked note-taking", "PARA method", "Johnny Decimal", etc., and around note-taking apps such as Roam Research, Notion, Obsidian, and so on. So I found fascinating Kevin Baker's May 2024 take on them as "sandboxes for infinite varieties of avoidant labor".

Here's the relevant excerpt, shared without further comment:

"Incapacitating" is exactly how I would describe my relationship to computers, especially since the start of the pandemic. "Friction" for me looks like uncertainty, partial knowledge, ambiguity, disorder, or anxiety. The ecosystem of note taking software and influencers that has emerged since 2020 offer a great example of what I am talking about. Writing is a task which forces one to confront ambiguity, uncertainty, and one’s own limits directly, so it’s not surprising that a coterie of avoidance entrepreneurs sprung up around it. The goal of note taking systems, almost without exception, is to provide a smooth, frictionless environment for making connections between disparate topics. As your “second brain” develops, the ability—and indeed the desire—to create a dense latticework of connections increases. The problem for me, at least, is that I don’t find the work of making connections to be difficult. If anything, my “first brain” tends to overproduce these kinds of thoughts.

What it does provide, however, is a sandbox for infinite varieties of “avoidant labor.” If your writing anxiety focuses, like mine frequently does, on the possibility of “accidental plagiarism,” well, you can tend to your “zettlekasten,” and ensure that everything you ever highlighted is properly cited and tagged. If you have a more generic form of writing anxiety, why not spend a few hours linking your notes? In both cases, you have an act adjacent to writing, which relieves some of the tension of not writing but actively avoids the task itself.

From my latest post:

"A PKM isn't about storing information. It is a personal architecture aimed at helping you to think and remember."

If your PKM is a thinking tool, not a filing cabinet, the question becomes: can AI help you think better, not just store more?

https://www.ctnet.co.uk/pkm-cognitive-protection-ai/

#PKM #Zettelkasten #AI #KnowledgeManagement

Has AI changed how you think about your note-taking practice?

I've been wrestling with where helpful AI assistance ends and outsourced thinking begins. There's a version of AI-assisted PKM that builds your cognition, and a version that quietly erodes it.

What's your experience been? I explore my own answer here: https://www.ctnet.co.uk/pkm-cognitive-protection-ai/

#PKM #Zettelkasten #AI #NoteTaking #KnowledgeManagement #Learning

One thing five years of Zettelkasten has taught me: productive friction isn't the enemy of learning — it's how learning happens.

Writing notes in my own words, making my own connections — that's where the thinking occurs. It's why I'm careful about where AI fits in my PKM.

Latest post: https://www.ctnet.co.uk/pkm-cognitive-protection-ai/

#PKM #Zettelkasten #AI #Learning #KnowledgeManagement

Five years of Zettelkasten has convinced me: your PKM isn't just a note store. It's a cognitive architecture — a way of thinking for yourself rather than outsourcing it.

The final post in my AI and cognition series explores how Zettelkasten protects your thinking, and where AI fits in: https://www.ctnet.co.uk/pkm-cognitive-protection-ai/

#PKM #Zettelkasten #AI #KnowledgeManagement #NoteTaking