Re: [emacs-humanities] Paper Zettelkasten safety [was: Why Emacs-humanities?]

[Joe Corneli]

Ihor Radchenko writes:

> However, a big part of Zettelkasten is not about implementation. If you
> read the book [1] describing Zettelkasten method, you will see that big
> part of the method is specific workflow.
[...]
> [1] Ahrens [Sonke Ahrens] (2017) How to Take Smart Notes: One Simple
> Technique to Boost Writing, Learning and Thinking – for Students,
> Academics and Nonfiction Book Writers

I’m reminded of another relevant book that considerably predates that
one.  Here’s a quote that gives an idea of part of the workflow used.

‘When enough slips merged about a single topic so that he got a feeling
it would be permanent he took an index card of the same size as the
slips, attached a transparent plastic index tab to it, wrote the name of
the topic on a little cardboard insert that came with the tab, put it in
the tab, and put the index card together with its related topic slips.’
Robert Pirsig, ​ Lila (1991)

Cf. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lila:_An_Inquiry_into_Morals

Amassing a large collection of notes was probably not the main desired
outcome in Pirsig’s case; rather, it was using the notes to write a
novel.  In some cases, amassing the notes might be the main goal!  So,
nothing here to detract from the concern about paper notes and the
usefulness of backups of various kinds.  (Also, I thought that the
subject line had to do with papercuts!)

Personally I’ve found good uses for the Fujitsu "Scansnap" in connection
with small-form notes like notecards; here’s one of their latest models.

https://www.fujitsu.com/uk/products/computing/peripheral/scanners/scansnap/ix500/

(However, I probably lost the scans by now, whereas the notes are
presumably tucked away in an attic somewhere.)

-- 
Dr Joseph A. Corneli (https://github.com/holtzermann17)

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