I mostly agree with the message of this article. I rarely ever reference the knowledge and information I captured in a note. Nor have I experienced a major revelation by seeing all of my notes rendered in the structure of a particular notes app.
However, I believe there is a benefit to notes kept over a long term which is being discounted. I believe that notes allow you to see how your thinking on a topic has changed over time.
They allow you to cast your mind back to your thinking when you first encountered a new topic, or back to a time when you were struggling with an idea that now seems obvious to you. They are a way to observe the progress and velocity of your learning.
I think that notes can be for active learners what a lifting journal is to a power lifter, or a mile and pace log is to a runner. Those logs are objectively not that interesting, but they allow you to measure and reflect on your progress.
An aside: I personally find that audio recordings are the best form of notes. Hearing your own voice explain an idea or concept carries so much more information than can easily be captured with text.
However, I believe there is a benefit to notes kept over a long term which is being discounted. I believe that notes allow you to see how your thinking on a topic has changed over time.
They allow you to cast your mind back to your thinking when you first encountered a new topic, or back to a time when you were struggling with an idea that now seems obvious to you. They are a way to observe the progress and velocity of your learning.
I think that notes can be for active learners what a lifting journal is to a power lifter, or a mile and pace log is to a runner. Those logs are objectively not that interesting, but they allow you to measure and reflect on your progress.
An aside: I personally find that audio recordings are the best form of notes. Hearing your own voice explain an idea or concept carries so much more information than can easily be captured with text.