Abstract
Recently a video showed up in my feed with the title “Why I Deleted My Second Brain: A Journey Back to Real Thinking.” Initially I was a bit skeptical of the concept, however, I gave it a watch and some valid concerns and critiques of personal knowledge management (PKMS). Before reading this, I recommend skimming through the Wikipedia page on PKMS, or reading the section below to get a general understanding and background of what is and is not being discussed. Then, I encourage giving the video a watch in its entirety; both to fully understand the context of this post, as well as to properly give credit where it is due to the original creator. Once the video has finished, you will hopefully have formed an opinion about it, and are ready to come back to this post.
What is a Personal Knowledge Management System?
A Personal Knowledge Management System is a way that one collects and organizes notes on various bits of information. This information could be anything at all; however, what differentiates many note-taking systems that are taught in schools and PKMS are the ability to reference, categorize, and link notes. For example, many of the notes that I took in school were organized for the lecture, but not very searchable as a whole. Information was difficult to find, and the notes from one lecture to another did not necessarily connect as fluidly as it did in my head at the time. This would not have been a problem, had the information stayed in my head. Like most people though, I ended up forgetting things that I knew that I knew at one point and could not find that information again. PKMS set out to solve that problem.
The specifics of how PKMS do that are dependent on the system; some of them relay on categorizing information, other systems focus on the relationships between information. Methods, such as the Zettelkasten, specifically encourage taking small notes that link together to create the structure of the system, rather than creating categories of notes that will never quite fit all of the topics that will eventually live in the PKMS. These systems also tend to be called “Second brains” because the notes are supposed to be relationally structured similar to how a human brain stores information.
Critique(s) of Knowledge Management Systems
The points being made in the video by Westenberg outlines some of the traps that are very easy to fall into with various knowledge management and productivity systems:
- Shaping Attention
- Replacing Thinking
- Outsourcing reflection
- Guilt for not being “Caught Up”
Above are the points that I personally took away from the video, and I do personally think that each of these points are a problematic trap that is very easy to fall into when using these systems; however, rather than just express what the problem is, I wanted to go through each of these points and try to explore what might cause these feelings, and come up with a plan on how to avoid them.
Shaping Attention
Attention can be thought of as the combination of time and focus that we put into a task. Many systems for note taking, as well as task management, encourage attention to be shaped in a particular way. This can be beneficial at times when trying to prioritize tasks, or when you are feeling overwhelmed. However, these same systems can also encourage bad habits with attention. For example, imagine needing to read a book on a topic being researched. If you are focused on taking notes on the book, you are not really reading it, but rather trying to find ideas in the book that can go in your knowledge management system. Generally, that is not how books are meant to be read.
Rather, the book should be read through naturally, then as interesting ideas come up, note them down. This may be a slightly more boring approach but it allows the book room to breath and expand on its ideas. When trying to hunt for specific ideas, often the larger picture gets missed that strings these ideas together forming a mindset that the book is trying to communicate. A common saying for this would be “missing the forest for the trees.”
Replacing Thinking
This leads into the next point of replacing thinking. Continuing with the example of reading a book for research, imagine sitting down to specifically take notes on a book rather than sitting down to read the book. When I imagine sitting down to take notes on a book, I imagine it to be more like an assignment rather than something I am trying to learn. Now, sitting down to read a book can certainly be an assignment as well, however, it at least encourages following the author’s train of thought on the ideas of the book. Whereas simply taking notes on the book are many semi-related ideas that happen to be in the same package of paper.
Knowledge does not come from simply taking notes on random thoughts from the same reading packet in the same reading session, but rather comes from being able to string multiple ideas together in a creative way to form an idea. Those ideas can then be notes down and related to other ideas; this is how one builds a knowledge-base. Gamifying note taking can, in some people, encourage taking down notes on every idea that may or may not be important for your purposes, not only building up unimportant notes, but also never allowing enough focus on the text itself to allow an idea to truly form into something meaningful.
Outsourcing Reflection
This brings us to the point of outsourcing reflection. Many people today want information transplanted into their brain as quickly as possible, however, that is just not how information works with the human brain. It takes time for even the most open minded people to truly internalize and understand new ideas, concepts, and viewpoints. Rather than poorly parrioting it to another person or your future self, take some time to process and understand the new information. Let the idea breath and really form in your mind to get a better grip of the purpose of each piece of the puzzle.
A counter argument to this is that information will be lost, no one can possibly remember an entire book with 100% accuracy. That argument is entirely true, it is impossible; however, is that something that is necessary? I would argue that generally, it is not. Picking out and noting down the truly most actionable and important points of a text should be done, however, the greater concept of the text is truly the most important piece to be able to actually wield the newfound knowledge the text is giving.
Guilt for not being “Caught Up”
This point is targeted more again productivity systems rather than knowledge management systems, though they can certainly be intertwined. What does being “caught up” mean? Can anyone really be “caught up” in this modern age where information literally at the speed of light? There is no possible way to properly read all of the books that you will ever want to read and live your life; it is the same with TV shows, projects, and many other endeavors that people want to subject themselves to, but then stress about being behind on. It is okay to be behind, especially on more frivolous endeavors. It is good to push yourself to accomplish things, but it is not worth beating yourself up over not meeting the arbitrary goals that you have set upon yourself. Simply do what you can. Don’t let perfection be the enemy of progress, and don’t push yourself so hard to complete the goal that the purpose of the activity gets lost. The point of reading a book is to understand the story or ideas, don’t speed read it to simply cross it off the list; that is just wasting your time as nothing was really gained from the experience.
Mindful Use of Systems and Tools
This last section is going to try to focus a bit on some points to try to build a healthier mindset with various systems. I do want to note though, most, if not all, of these concepts are nothing even remotely new, and could be found in one or two self-help books on any grocery store shelf.
What To Note Down
This is the age-old question that many people have been asking since grade school. “What should I write in my notes?” Everything seems like a good answer, but it is generally not reasonable. So, what should actually go in a note? I often put down small information that I specifically seek out. What is the command that does this task? Where does this registry key live? How do you compile this thing? All of the answers to those questions go in my notes after being found a couple of times, they then also get connected to related ideas and concepts to build something resembling a Zettelkasten.
What about notes on longer-form content? I will try to pick out ideas and concepts that I enjoy, then relate those concepts to specific ideas at a later time after I have been able to mentally process the initial concept. This allows for understanding of the general idea that the long-form content is trying to express. The point of a knowledge management system is to keep track of the details and sources, not to think and understand for you.
Take No Input Time
Having time to mentally process ideas is important as well; the best way to mentally process information and emotions is taking some time where you are not taking in input. This could be meditating, walking, running, yoga, or any number of other things; the truly important part is to do this without input. What does that mean? Mostly, it means no listening to music or podcasts while doing those activities. Don’t talk to a friend while doing those things. Allow your brain to just turn through thoughts as they come without adding to the noise; this puts your brain in the same space it goes when taking a shower, similar to having “shower thoughts”. Many people find clarity in those moments because they are the only moments that they are not being bombarded by new information, specifically positioning yourself to receive less input will only increase that clarity.
Don’t Get Lost in Implementation Details
Not every problem has to be solved before making a change or starting something. Sometimes details are really important and should be considered, but other times they are just an excuse to not try. There is a lecture given by Nickolas Means in regard to the original skunk works team. This is the same team that pushed the envelope of aviation many times and still holds records for some of the most impressive feats an airplane has accomplished. One of the more famous planes that this team built is the SR-71 Blackbird; the team faced many challenges during the development of the plane, such as not being able to find a sealant that would work both at ground level, and at the required altitude of the plane. The solution was simple, don’t fix it. Let the plane leak fuel at ground level, and refuel it at altitude when the sealant works. That solution seems crazy, but that is one of the most successful recon planes to have ever flown.
Now, the point of that story isn’t that the solution is always “don’t fix the problem.” Rather, it is more like, is this a big enough problem to prevent us from proceeding? Obviously in the case of the SR-71 Blackbird, it wasn’t. Maybe the blocker on your project is something that can be worked around just as easily.