Rosenverse
Exploding the Notebook: How to Unlock the Power of Linked Notes (2nd of 3 seminars)

Log in or create a free Rosenverse account to watch this video.

Log in Create free account

100s of community videos are available to free members. Conference talks are generally available to Gold members.

Exploding the Notebook: How to Unlock the Power of Linked Notes (2nd of 3 seminars)

Friday, April 19, 2024 • Rosenfeld Community
Share the love for this talk
Exploding the Notebook: How to Unlock the Power of Linked Notes (2nd of 3 seminars)
Speakers: Jorge Arango
Link:

Summary

People have used paper notebooks as thinking tools for over a thousand years. As a result, many popular digital note-taking tools have adapted familiar metaphors and structures from paper notebooks. But digital notes can do much more than paper. This seminar by Duly Noted author Jorge Arango shows you how to unlock your cognitive potential using connected note-taking apps.   Watch Part 1 Watch Part 3  

Key Insights

  • Hypertext note-taking relies on creating succinct notes around individual ideas rather than lengthy linear documents.

  • Links between notes are central to hypertext systems, enabling emergent networks of thought and easier retrieval.

  • Traditional note-taking apps often replicate physical notebooks' hierarchical structures, limiting link usage and discoverability.

  • Modern hypertext-native apps like Obsidian and Notion offer richer linking, though their philosophies differ: Obsidian is local and open, Notion is collaborative and SaaS-based.

  • Successful hypertext note-taking requires shifting mental models from organizing by folders to thinking in a web of interconnected ideas.

  • Notes should be 'evergreen'—continuously revisited, expanded, and refined—rather than ephemeral like shopping lists or class notes.

  • Knowledge gardening is an apt metaphor: notes require ongoing care through pruning, linking, and nurturing to foster deeper thinking.

  • Markdown is the preferred writing format in hypertext note-taking for speed, flow, and AI compatibility.

  • Excessive tagging can create friction and reduce effectiveness; Jorge recommends minimal, purpose-driven tagging, capped at about three tags per note.

  • Hypertext note repositories enable enhanced collaboration with AI, as large language models can better understand and relate discrete, linked ideas.

Notable Quotes

"You can be most successful at using new note-taking tools if you bring to the practice a different set of mental models."

"Notes can do more than augment memory; they are a crucial part of knowledge management and thinking evolution."

"Linear notes are fixed hierarchically and chronologically, making it hard to find patterns across ideas."

"Hypertext notes coexist on the same level and link to each other arbitrarily, creating emergent structures."

"Most note-taking apps aren’t designed with hypertext in mind; they mimic traditional notebooks, which adds friction to linking."

"Tools like Obsidian and Notion are hypertext-native and make linking a first-class feature, fulfilling visions from the 1960s."

"The point is not the product or output of note-taking, but to think more effectively — creating a mental place for your thinking."

"Links are first-class citizens in hypertext note-taking; connecting notes brings ideas to life and reveals new relationships."

"Knowledge gardening requires continuous nurturing — revisiting notes, expanding them over time, not just capturing and forgetting."

"Large language models don’t think like us but have superpowers in pattern matching that help surface relationships in linked notes."

Ask the Rosenbot
Saara Kamppari-Miller
Key Metrics: Comparing Three Letter Acronym Metrics That Include the Word “Key”
2024 • DesignOps Community
Jennifer Kanyamibwa
Creating the Blueprint: Growing and Building Design Teams
2018 • DesignOps Summit 2018
Gold
Meredith Black
Scaling Design Culture
2017 • DesignOps Summit 2017
Gold
Xenia Adjoubei
Empowering Communities Through the Researcher in Residence Program
2023 • Advancing Research 2023
Gold
Catt Small
What's Next for ICs: Exploring Staff and Principal Designer Roles
2024 • Rosenfeld Community
Samuel Proulx
From Standards to Innovation: Why Inclusive Design Wins
2025 • Advancing Service Design 2025
Gold
Satyam Kantamneni
Do You Have an Experience Vision?
2023 • Enterprise Community
Bria Alexander
Opening Remarks
2023 • Advancing Research 2023
Gold
Chris Hodowanec
Agile + User Experience: How to navigate the Agile landscape as an UX Practitioner
2022 • Civic Design 2022
Gold
Tricia Wang
SCALE: Discussion
2018 • Enterprise Experience 2018
Gold
Jay Bustamante
Navigating the Ethical Frontier: DesignOps Strategies for Responsible AI Innovation
2023 • DesignOps Summit 2023
Gold
Daniel Korczynski
From generic to contextual research insights with AI | Live Q&A
2026 • Advancing Research 2026
Gold
Dave Hoffer
UX Job Search AMA #2 with Joanne Weaver and Dave Hoffer
2025 • Rosenfeld Community
DesignOps and The Great Talent War of 2021
2021 • DesignOps Community
Andreas Huebner
What Is It Like To Be Part of The UX Team at Compass?
2021 • Advancing Research 2021
Gold
Bilan Hashi
The Tension Between Story Collecting and Story Telling in Research
2021 • Advancing Research 2021
Gold

More Videos

Natalie Dunbar

"Content strategy should be at the kickoff to determine the needed level of involvement early."

Natalie Dunbar

DesignOps and Content Strategy: Envisioning the Future Together

October 1, 2021

Andrea Gallagher

"We still do a lot of coding transcripts by hand, and I’m not sure where the ideal digital intersection is."

Andrea Gallagher

The Problem Space

May 16, 2019

Deanna Mitchell

"Reflect on what you experienced internally and externally to sharpen and reveal new insights."

Deanna Mitchell

Designing with culture: Unlocking impactful insights for Product and UX

March 12, 2025

Meghan Hellstern

"Design creates culture, culture shapes values, and those values in turn determine the future."

Meghan Hellstern Joanne Dong

The Next 100 Years of Civic Design: How Might We Better Rise to Meet the Challenges of Today and Tomorrow?

December 10, 2021

Smitha Papolu

"The value of research is magnified when we democratize it and let others do research with us and on their own."

Smitha Papolu Nova Wehman-Brown Melissa Schmidt Adam Menter

Theme 3 Discussion

June 4, 2019

Robin Beers

"The executive’s interpretation was completely out of line with the customers’ realities."

Robin Beers

Beyond Insights: Researchers as Organizational Change Catalysts

March 25, 2024

Cennydd Bowles

"We need to design for the many error states generative AI can produce, however unpredictable."

Cennydd Bowles Dan Rosenberg Lisa Welchman

Day 1 Panel

June 4, 2024

Sam Proulx

"Aim to work with at least one person on each platform your product supports, because assistive tech varies."

Sam Proulx

Prototype Reviews, People With Disabilities, and You

December 8, 2021

Dan Hill

"Design is not really about problem solving; it’s about cultural imagination."

Dan Hill

Designing for the infrastructures of everyday life

June 4, 2024