Ask HN: How do you take notes when reading a book?

Re:Ask HN: How do you take notes when reading a book? by caymanjim on Monday June 22, 2020 @12:01AM (#23597253)

I don't take notes. I find it distracting. I end up absorbing less information. The few times I did try taking notes, I rarely referred back to them, and when I did, found that they weren't very valuable. I've got a good memory, and I'm willing to reread something to absorb more, but notes have never helped me.

Not criticizing note-taking; just offering another perspective.

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Re:Ask HN: How do you take notes when reading a book? by coffeeling on Monday June 22, 2020 @05:16PM (#23606789)

If you just write notes down, that is what will happen. Your note pile ends up being a graveyard of stuff you don't even know you forgot (but will never rediscover or reread) and stuff that's still nicely in your mind.

One key strategy to avoid this kind of note graveyard forming is to interlink notes. That way seeing a note can essentially lead you to wiki-binging through old ideas, trains of thought or re-stumbling on reference you thought was interesting once upon a time.

The value of interlinked notes is showcased by the late German sociologist Niklas Luhmann's notetaking system which he used to rediscover things he'd forgotten. His knowledge base consisted of ~90,000 index cards that were apparently worth referring to because of the wiki binge type effect his hyperlinking system allowed.

https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/NfdHG6oHBJ8Qxc26s/the-zettel...

https://www.amazon.com/How-Take-Smart-Notes-Nonfiction-ebook...

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Re:Ask HN: How do you take notes when reading a book? by muzani on Monday June 22, 2020 @03:42AM (#23598045)

I used to follow this. But I later learned there's a big plateau between where note taking is a burden and where it becomes useful. If you're rereading notes and they weren't valuable, chances are that your note taking skills could use improvement.

It's a bit like touch typing - it takes substantial active effort at first.

Have you ever found yourself looping over a few pages too many times, or that a book is too difficult to digest? Or did you have to move a few chapters ahead to understand an early part of the book? This is where notes are extra useful. This is especially the case for math, science, technical books, or journals.

Some books are not suitable for note taking. Anything where the content can be summarized into powerpoint slides. Self-help or anything that's a best seller are often simplified enough for anyone to read. Story books are designed to be read without notes, and that often include historical and biographical.

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Re:Ask HN: How do you take notes when reading a book? by chenxiaolong on Monday June 22, 2020 @12:30AM (#23597351)

I feel exactly the same way. Taking notes just distracts me from the original content and I end up absorbing less. When I was still in school, the only notes I took were exact copies of what the teacher/professor wrote on the board, and only if it was something I couldn't derive myself with what I already knew.

I wonder if part of it might be because I write slowly and tend to focus on my penmanship (unknowingly).

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Re:Ask HN: How do you take notes when reading a book? by danielpyon on Monday June 22, 2020 @12:41AM (#23597380)

Yeah I do the same type of thing. I found that when something is inherently interesting, I remember it anyways.

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