Understanding note-taking | Zettelkasten

[@SpManos-zeke]

The essence of Zettlekasten at 5:28 “over time the system becomes more structured despite the initial thought it would turn into a confusing hairball of notes. In a way you don’t ponder which backbone will be the best to organize your knowledge. You allow the information to slowly show you, over time, which backbone would be optimal”

[@AA-gl1dr]

You say that if unfamiliar this could appear outrageous but I immediately felt as if this was the system I had been missing. thank you.

[@starkxz]

I think that everyone I watched that tried to explain Zettelkasten failed miserably as they tend to start explaining it without any thought out preparation of what it is and what it is not, In other words they lack clarity. Thanks Artem you've got a new subscriber for making the Zettelkasten method so simple and clear to me.

[@rockxx1974]

One of the best explanations of the Zettelkasten Method I've found on KZbin. Thanks, Artem!

[@Leonardo47565]

"If writing accompanied all of your previous work, you will never be faced with a blank paper ever again." - Artem Kirsanov

[@TheDunnThing]

Possibly the best video on KZbin I've seen in years.

[@victorevangelista8743]

Hello, there, Mr. Artem. I've been browsing about Obsidian and all its hype, which led me to your channel. I watched Obsidian's video first, now this one about Zettelkasten and decided to leave a comment, which I very rarely do, to congratulate you on the quality of your presentations. The edition is nice, but what really turned me on to your presentations were the texts themselves, you manage to speak very clearly and directly, so congrats on your great work, I'm following you now.

[@russgonnering]

One of the most important videos I have viewed in a LONG time. As a medical educator, I see a huge problem. In Network parlance, we spend so much time on the nodes and so little on the edges. This will be a huge boon to changing that. THANK YOU! Anxious to learn more!

[@cameronmorrison4502]

This video is an excellent explanation of how ZK works! Thank you for this !

[@fmj_79]

Man, I've been doing some YT-dive in studying techniques since october and I've finnally reached some peace of mind with your videos. They are just amazing: simple, useful and effective. That's it: THANKS!

[@matthewg5792]

This is the first I'm hearing of the Zettelkasten method. Thank you so much for sharing this! It seems like a method of concept organization that is very consistent with how the mind manages concepts.

[@ARiverSystem]

Finally started few weeks ago with moving to Obsidian for note taking and your videos have been helpful as a first guidance, thanks! Once you've started using a system like this it's really hard to go back to "simpler" note taking.

[@jasminnoble7302]

Thank you so much for this! Your explanation was simple yet thorough. I never considered that the issues I had with note taking and organizing came from trying to applying a top-down method. I’m excited to apply this!

[@RichardBrand]

Thank you for this fabulous intro to Zettelkasten - you've struck a perfect (for me) balance between too little info and an overwhelming amount.

[@mohammedalsayed3508]

that's an amazing video, I love how he explains such abstract concepts so easily, to guarantee your mastery over the system.

[@vwatts8738]

Thank you!!!! I Get it!!! I’ve been fascinated with this topic looked at lots of different videos on the subject matter and my biggest take away personally was to just get started!!Collect notes and my thoughts from all the reading g I do as well as thoughts that pop in my head and put them on a card and drop them in the “hopper” aka “box” and overtime those thoughts will come together especially when I’m doing a lot of studying on certain topics. Thank you!

[@pedrogsribeiro]

I've seen a lot of videos about Zettelkasten. None of them is simpler or essential like ours. Thank you so much.

[@flyingriceball]

This video is great for understanding the practicality of the Zettelkasten system--thank you so much!

[@Kyoshiraishi]

I watched few video/articles and this one is the best so far explaining the system and it reminds me why I want to apply it initially. Thank you!

[@EastHalo0Promotions]

Omg this is exactly what I've been modeling about in my head. I'm so glad there's already something for it because I was planning on creating this via code. Now I'm curious what would the comparisons would of been if I had finished it before learning about Zettelkasten. Enjoying your content heavily!

[@iteachtime]

Thanks!

[@Morkonwen1]

That is the first explanation of the system that I understood! Should write it down now :)

[@lapatatadelplato6520]

If you don't like the mess of using index cards, but enjoy taking paper notes over using computer applications, you can instead use a regular notebook with numbered pages, where an entry's page number represents a zettelkasten ID. To promote smaller entries, you can instead use a decimal point to signify the ordinal value of a specific entry at a certain page. Eg: the second entry on the 25th page would have the ID 25.2. This allows for a potentially limitless number of entries in a single page, all else considered, the structure is the same as an obsidian notebook, but it is analog, and compact. In order to quickly reference some information, I usually add a table of contents to the notebook, though this isn't part of the zettelkasten system.

[@alyssacdavis8246]

Wow, you are just so cool. I loved this! Thank you for breaking it down so brilliantly.

[@yash1152]

1:06 i always love these minimalist yet extremely meaningful "title" screens in ur vids. thanks for mentioning author name and date as weill (haha, classic LaTeX title page)

[@byggerEttSlott]

Great content. You r introduction on obsidian is the best one yet. Thanks!

[@terrygorry]

Excellent explanation of Zettelkasten. Thank you for sharing.

[@jimalix6270]

Thanks for the video -- it was very helpful! I especially valued the section with the illustrations of Luhmann's cards with the links to other cards.

[@netneutrality2024]

So many useful ideas in one video. It's fantastic.

[@ReflectionOcean]

- Importance of time and knowledge management (0:00) - The challenge of managing vast amounts of information (0:10) - The problem with traditional note-taking (0:46) - Introduction to Zettelkasten note-taking system (1:17) - The underlying principles of Zettelkasten (1:32) - The bottom-up approach of Zettelkasten (4:04) - The evolving nature of Zettelkasten's structure (6:00) - Zettelkasten's individualized interconnectedness (6:42) - The significance of note interlinking for insights (7:17) - Benefits of externalizing knowledge (8:32) - Overcoming the illusion of competence through externalization (9:01) - How Zettelkasten aids in writing and recall (10:44)

[@AlbertoEAF]

Great video and perspective on the subject Artem! Thank you :D

[@gorillaglue6498]

really great video, thankyou Artem!

[@Hataldir]

This method sounds promising. Question for those who have used it: How would you go about studying a topic (say thermodynamics, or European history) once you have hundreds of notes ready? Or is this supposed to be more like a database and you would still need hierarchical like texts for that?

[@jpmisterioman]

You'll create notebooks with your own categories and change it when you needeed it(granted, this isn't 100% the method that people use it when talking about the Zettelkasten, but it's my own adaptation). Say you're reading a book about feudal europe, and then you find a paragraph or a whole chapter that create links with other topics(religion, politics, futher developments in history etc); you'll create a note(I use evernote) with a created category that somehow fits the part of the book you want to create a note about(or maybe an already existing category). However, this created category must be something that is a possible connection that you found - doesn't mean that this connection actually exists or it's true(maybe studying the topic further you find out that the hypothesis doesn't work). This doesn't mean that all of your notes are worthless now, it just means you'll have to rename said category. That's why the Zettelkasten method matches the way our brain works, because you can change everything anytime you want.

[@DivesSet]

I believe this is more of linking concept together once you gather enough knowledge. The more knowledge you learn, the more you are likely to be able to find connection to seemingly unrelated concepts to create a new concept. So it's more on linking concepts together that strengthens over time basically like a neural network-it doesn't really need hierarchy once you start to understand this system more

[@kamranmoazzamansari7289]

yes, hierarchical structure is kindaaaa important, but in zettlekasten one can know that the hierarchy is not so important, the connections are more so important... Say for thermodynamics, u have a note explaining that for heat to transfer, it will always transfer from a body at higher temperature to a body at lower temperature, and then later on you write somewhere why this concept can be wrong and heat can be transferred from a body of lower temperature to higher temperature, so u make a connection between these two.... in the long term, as you view these connections, ur notes have a meaning other than just a database of knowledge, ur notes become lively

[@violette1750]

think more like a graph database, less like a tabular database

[@mariusnecula3673]

I guess you can still write an index note that would link all the existing notes related to a topic in a hierarchical structure.

[@guillaume6373]

This is awesome, thanks for this video, I had never heard of this until now

[@alexander.starbuck]

FANTASTIC explanation! I Finally get it :) . Great work bro!

[@1monki]

excellent explanation of zettelkasten

[@vishalnangare31]

Thank you Artem 🙏❣️,

[@obadakhalili8632]

You are awesome man. I'm so glad I found out about your videos. Thank you 😍

[@kabirdasananda108]

Thanks for the helpful and to-the-point video. Btw try using izotope mouth declick or similar for your audio post.

[@patrickwinther]

Great collection of points!!

[@gavindheilly3620]

Seriously impressive work, well done

[@StefanKRV]

Thank you for putting together this video. Simple and helpful.

[@HimanshuPakhale-n3i]

most difficult task is to relate the ideas with each other. suggest some tool. video is ossm. keep it up.

[@saturnday160]

If it actually works this is brilliant. Im definitely going to try it.

[@bjornrie]

I wrote this to another guy to explain why the Zettelkasten works, because he didn't believe it does. Maybe the comment is helpful for you to understand: At some point, the Zettelkasten becomes too complex to remember and overview everything. Luhmann himself said it works and gives you productive input because the Zettelkasten "surprises" you. It makes sense because over time your views slightly shift, you progress and you forget things, which means the Zettelkasten let's you view a problem from different angles or perspectives(your progression), which produces new insights which become again part of the process which repeats itself. The bigger and more complex the Zettelkasten gets, the more does this dynamic take on. Because of the limited capacity of our brains the Zettelkasten works and is like a communication partner that surprises you with different perspectives, let's you constantly learn and let's your thinking on a topic or problem emerge. The thing works if used right, don't forget that Luhmann was a leading thinker in self-organization.

[@AmanS_4]

This video is very usefull. Nice explanation.

[@lindasoderquist4452]

Thank you. I like your delivery and your distillation of the benefits of Zettelkasten. I want to know more about this.. I take a lot of notes and it is frustrating that they get lost in files afterwards. I downloaded a simple text writer and made a special folder on Dropbox for now. I don’t know which method will work best. Whatever it is has to work on a tablet.

[@maximebeau2495]

Cheers, very clear overview! Will definitely help me through my PhD ;)

[@dungnguyenanh9308]

great video, I like this style, keep making good content

[@mbadiou]

Excellent video

[@giepc8887]

Thanks! Great job!

[@AKASHSARATH]

Great Video 💜

[@loyweiwin2961]

This is really helpful. Thank you so much.

[@emmydistortion3997]

Wow! I worked with zettelkasten wrong way🤕. Thank you so much:)

[@guo7043]

"when create a Zettelkasten card, don't copy the content, use your own words" This compatible with the idea of Feynman method.

[@michaljjwilk]

The truth is that Luhmann also had the quotes in his zettelkasten. Look for example at note 7,9 and next ones. The own-word notes are myth.

[@jordanquinley2471]

See, you're making connections already.

[@MrDarren690]

@@michaljjwilk Yessssssssss. Note taking principles aren't "all or nothing". If you want or need to break the rules, do so judiciously! I remember some quotes more clearly than my own ideas of them!

[@YuzuruA]

Every time you find an evangelist of a system, look for people who tried it and gave up and see their reasoning. It is usually much more real.

[@DimitriCampbell]

The externalization portion of your video has similarities to rubber duck debugging. Great Video!

[@disgruntledwookie369]

As a software developer, I've been doing this for years with my own databases and code

[@kian6287]

@Artem Kirsanov what is the app you showed exactly at 3:40 and at 11:34 , any link for it..

[@grandprime7397]

Superb support from kerala

[@caglarongan]

Very well put video on the topic ! Subbed immediately. I wonder your real-world examples/discoveries on zettelkasten.Your specific “a-ha” moments. Are you planning on making a video like this, maybe?

[@Bakingways]

HI Artem. If I have a note that is just a statement of facts more than an idea, where do I store it in the Zettel Kasten method? For example, I have a note with all my favorite Obsidian Formatting rules, another one with my favorite plugin and may be a list most important syntax rule in Python. Of course, I can have many notes about Python or Obsidian, which are not ideas. Where do you store them in the Zettle kasten method?

[@flintsparkmedia8219]

Artem, what is your favorite mind mapping tool/software? Just curious. Great video, thanks a bunch!

[@HassanHammoud]

anyone else bothered by the small vibration in the video? specially apparent when zooming in and out!! which I also find too frequent. Other than that great content. Thank you.

[@Chachaboyz]

Thank you - what setup and tools do you use to make your videos? Thanks!

[@robertepling6032]

I ask for help with one area... linking a new note to old notes or linking old notes to new notes.. Lets say I have note 2198, How do I find the old notes that I should link to it? Keywords? Tags? Especially context? I can't grasp how you decide and FIND the right old notes to link to your new note? This would be a wonderful 10 minute explanation. Everyone glosses over this? If they understand it they don't explain, they just say to do it? Can you help here? Thanks!

[@tom-m-media]

A lot of times I've really wished we could filter or sort school notes/folders (physically in reality) by hashtags, metadata and links etc connecting them each other so we could better manage notes and learn more efficiently. My school didn't accept smartphones or computers.

[@chipsi21]

Is there some computer program I could use to create these somewhat 3d maps of ideas? ☺, the mindmapping tools I've found are to me too linear, and don't really allow for multiple connections between nodes. But the animation you show at 5:12 seem closer to what I look for. And if it doesn't exist, who's up to create it? 😅

[@chipsi21]

@SalahDin Ahmed Salh Rezk 🤙🏻🤙🏻🤙🏻thanks I'll check it out

[@7greenfrogs]

Its called Obsidian

[@MusicWizardry]

7:53 What do you mean by "Abstraction is often frowned upon"? I've never seen or heard anyone frown upon abstraction.

[@MusicWizardry]

@Xarius Clemont Yes, ok, I've at least heard it once. But what does he mean?

[@renukadevi4087]

Please can you explain what is the purpose of the index used by Lehman and how was it used? Also what is index in the current software note taking?

[@davidc.9758]

❤

[@MuhammadArnaldo]

11:48 what theme is this?

[@TudorMiron]

Sounds promising.

[@AndersJackson]

So Zetterkasten is a self organizing neural network (Like Kohonen Self-organizing Network)?

[@wznzgq1354]

so many videos about zk but nobody actually shows their actual workflow in obsidian or other app

[@luigiscarpelli74]

Thanks for this video. I have a doubt about this method. In a paper-based Zettlekasten, if you have a new idea how can you find a previous to link toone if it is in an alphanumeric sorted order?

[@szymonsowinski9095]

You just go thru them but a think that is helpful is a hop note its like a general topic note with links to sub topic listed on it. SO if you have for example around 1000 zettles and 50 hop notes u just have to go through 50 to find what you re looking for

[@alicecampbell3131]

Also like old fashioned library card catalogs, there are links to other cards or topics to look for on each card. It's as if you create a path by walking upon it numerous times!

[@Goooogle]

I have watched multiple videos about this method but nobody shows the actual process of taking notes with Zettelkasten

[@detemegandy]

abstraction is often frowned upon?

[@JM-yz6zb]

I really Ike this idea of emergent structure but I'm worried that it will be too disorganised in the primitive stages

[@l3nn13]

which software are u using though?

[@manosprotonotarios5187]

I never bought the idea of how useful the network of connections would be to generate insights and improve creativity. The connectios are constructed by the user anyway. Why are there not concrete examples of this argument?

[@bjornrie]

At some point, the Zettelkasten becomes too complex to remember and overview everything. Luhmann himself said it works and gives you productive input because the Zettelkasten "surprises" you. It makes sense because over time your views slightly shift and you forget things, which means the Zettelkasten let's you view a problem from different angles or perspectives(your progression), which produces new insights which become again part of the process which repeats itself. The bigger and more complex the Zettelkasten gets, the more does this dynamic take on. Because of the limited capacity of our brains the Zettelkasten works and is like a communication partner that surprises you with different perspectives, let's you constantly learn and let's your thinking on a topic or problem emerge. The thing works if used right, don't forget that Luhmann was a leading thinker in self-organization.

[@manosprotonotarios5187]

@@bjornrie I am not saying it does not work, but i am not convinced it does. I would like to see a very concrete example, of how one benefited in a particular case and have a view of the respective network image.

[@wii987]

Great video. However if you could improve the shakiness of you camera would be awesome.

[@uzbekuncle]

it's a bit sus when Artem is thanking watchers for interesting knowledge 😆

[@MikeTooleK9S]

This is absolute lunacy if you don't know how to paint light you're just lost in a world of wordy relations trapped in Time

[@DB-nl9xw]

please fix your sound, do some voice processing to fix your voice, it's difficult to watch the video

[@cobalius]

that sounds more than questionable. look, i've an adhd brain and am familiar with scope and feature creep and stuff like that.. and i can't imagine keeping nor scanning through like 7k notes, each time i'm reading yet another astounding thing, across like over 60 different domains of knowledge. At that point I would already need a din A4 page per note, just for the evergrowing reference additions. And should i ever be supposed to visualize any of that? All that is just not feasible compared to what i see can be interesting or valuable throughout less than two years. Is that system even meant to be usable for longer than a few years?

[@dogyaltshering9653]

Could you please change the direction of your mic....it looks a bit like your 'You know what..." (-:

[@DonDealio]

The content and explanations is great. It is a pity with the B-roll clips. They are disruptive and breaks the flow. The distractions drag it down.

[@DavidGalich77]

I take notes like a computer.

[@fillosoft]

здорово Артем! есть на русском?

[@theXaint]

I appreciate the content, yet the audio needs improvement. Please consider removing the constant clicking sounds of your saliva, there should be an audio filter for that.

[@88XR4TI]

The constant micro zoom in and out is distracting, I hate that zoomer goldfish brain crap.

[@jaspermcfly2765]

Thanks!