Flow and Balance in Zettelkasten
General problems independent of the note app being used
The major problems of building a Zettelkasten are not related to the specific note-taking app you use. Some apps may have features that are nice to have, but they are not essential.
Then, what are the main problems?
One of them is the placement of new notes and how new notes are related to the existing vault. I have discussed this in my earlier posts, for example when discussing maps and Folgezettel.
Another problem is categorization. It can be difficult to decide how to categorize topics so that notes are easy to find.
A third class of problems arises from the activities of a Personal Knowledge Management System, such as capturing, distilling, idea generation, and expressing.
I like to make an analogy of this flow with the flow of Qi in our bodies. When Qi stagnates or is blocked, various diseases result.
Similarly, when the flow of knowledge in a PKM system is blocked, it can lead to problems such as:
Too much capturing and too little distilling can lead to information overload. The ratio of the number of atomic notes to the number of captured notes in the vault can be used to indicate how much information has been crystallized. A high ratio indicates that a lot of information has been distilled, while a low ratio indicates that not much information has been distilled.
A high ratio of atomic notes to composite notes indicates that we are not taking the time to think deeply about the material and generate new ideas by combining different concepts. Atomic notes are one note-one concept. Composite notes, on the other hand, are notes that synthesize information and ideas, and that make connections between different concepts
Lack of clear thinking is also a result of a combination of 1 and 2 above.
Deficiency in expression can be caused by a number of factors, including problems in language and writing skills, perfectionism, and a lack of empathy for potential readers.
Problems in language and writing skills can make it difficult to express ideas clearly and concisely. This can be a problem for people who are not native speakers of the language they are writing in, or for people who have not had much formal training in writing.
Perfectionism can lead to a deficiency in expression, as people who are perfectionists may be afraid to make mistakes and spend too much time rewriting and editing their work. This can lead to a loss of focus and a lack of clarity.
A lack of empathy for potential readers can also lead to a deficiency in expression. When writers do not consider the needs and interests of their readers, they may write in a way that is difficult to understand or that is not relevant to the reader's needs.
Too few captures can be a problem when people browse a text without reading it, instead highlighting or using AI to summarize the content. In these cases, it is important to remember that literary notes should always be our own original content. AI summaries can be useful for exploration and survey, but they should not be used as a substitute for reading and understanding the text.
I didn’t include the number of links here, because links are ambiguous. Links can be good or bad for the system depending on the types of links and how they are used. For example, too many tags without proper ontology and flexible categorization can be harmful. Semantic links can be useful, but very few apps provide them. Links implementing Folgezettel could be very useful as they show streams of thought. Hyperlinks are useful for navigation, but they are not semantic.
The problems mentioned above are signs of an imbalance in the note-taking system. Balance indicators are ratios that can be used to measure the balance between different types of notes. , These indicators can be used to determine whether there is a balance between reading, writing, and thinking.
Even if you fail to build a well-balanced Zettelkasten, you can always start over. Learning is another important element to balance.