Thank you Kathleen! That was very helpful. And I prefer the letter-number effortless system although I struggle to get my head around it when I try to implement it.

@KathleenSpracklen

Ай бұрын

What are you using in your Zettelkasten now?

@MarcoPino

Ай бұрын

​@@KathleenSpracklen Oh I think I didn’t save my response. I’m using Folgezettel which is the same effortless numbering system you use, and the same Luhman used, at least in his first Zettelkasten. The only difference is that there is a prefix, but not a four-digit one. It starts with one without knowing in advance what kind of category or topic it might be. So instead 1 it starts with 1.1, 1.1a, 1.1a1, 1.2a, 2.1 and so on. I think this system might solve the squid and jellyfish distancing ;).

@KathleenSpracklen

Ай бұрын

@@MarcoPino Excellent. I especially appreciate the reference. I do see how it improves squid and jellyfish distancing because you have three choices of card number after jellyfish gets 1.1. In that case it is a hybrid system with a single digit prefix. I must follow that Folgezettel trail. At a minimum, I will have an appropriate attribution, which lays down a trail for others to follow, just as your post does for me. Thank you.

@KathleenSpracklen

Ай бұрын

And of course, all of these issues only occur when a Zettelkasten is very new. Once you have a solid ground of cards to relate to, the cards give themselves numbers no matter what system you are using. At the root of things, they are all mathematically equivalent provided that you can accept the system being an unordered tree. If you insist on an ordered tree, you bring in complexity. I think the directory cards substitute very nicely for having an ordered three. So beyond that with the prefix system you are only taking control of geography. But then you also back to your original problem. With all the choices that brings in, it becomes hard to wrap your head around it.

@MarcoPino

Ай бұрын

@@KathleenSpracklen I’m not sure you were able to see the link I posted, it seems that it was removed. There is a good article online about Folgezettel written by Bob Doto, How to Use Folgezettel in Your Zettelkasten. You’ll need to google it if you haven’t seen it yet. Oh, I have another question if you don’t mind. So in your second card, 1A “jellyfish are 95% water” (and every other card after) branches directly from card 1 “The middle layer of a jellyfish...” simply because they are in a related topic? That is, jellyfish? Cause in my understanding, a new card will branch or become a child if it “further develops an idea or takes an idea into a new area of thought,” quoting Bob Doto. So in your system, card 1 (or the first card of any topic) will automatically become a parent category?

The 4 digit number approach might shift your focus from linking ideas to classifying categories . I am beginning to think that the letter-number effortless system is more intuitive and close to Luhmann's concept

@KathleenSpracklen

Ай бұрын

Thank you, Marcos. I think you've got something there about the focus.