I think this is probably that absolute best and most concise explanation of how an antinet works, not to mention chock full of key terms to add to my index now to guide my continued exploration of the topic :)
I am so excited about this; I can't wait until my book gets here. I unfortunately can't afford your newsletter but want to receive it desperately. I got ill with Covid long haul in March 2020 and my job, Myers & Stauffer fired me out of the blue several months ago. We are living on one income and going to the food bank every week. As soon as I am well, I will sign up for it. You are an awesome guy Scott and can't wait to learn more. This has been my answer for at least 20 years! So thankful I found you. Have a wonderful day!
Ingenious methodology. The passion is extremely palpable boss. Thank you for your due diligence on every video . I look forward to our upcoming session .
In your earliest video (2021-09-25) entitled "Analog Zettelkasten", at 5:03 into your talk, you mention a type of index that you do not mention in this video: Luhmen's People Index. When I set up my Antinet Zettlekasten, thinking I was following your guidelines, I included a separate People Index, giving me a total of three indexes: A People (author) Index, a Bibliography and a Key Term Index. I’m very happy with this system and here’s how it works for me: My People Index cards are organized as you describe for your Bib Box: by author last name, first name. If I have a few lines of information about the author, I might include it on the card, but the most important information on the Author Card is a list of all the Bib Card Addresses that pertain to that author. Following the naming convention for your ExRefs (external references), I have given all of my Bib Card Addresses names of the form “r.xxx”. My Bib cards have a header line containing the Bib Card Address and they are filed in my Bibliography by Bib Card Address. (I use a set of alphabetic dividers where I have written “r.” in front of the letter on each divider, so I have dividers for r.A through r.Z) I fill out the front and back of the card as you describe for Bib Cards. Each main card generated from the Bib card includes the Bib Card Address in red ink at the bottom of the card followed by the page number (or minute marker for a video). I find this triple-index system advantageous especially when there are multiple authors on a given book. I can look up the bib card starting from the name of any of the authors without having to recall the name of the principal author; I can quickly get to any Bib Card from either the People index or the Main Card; and I can get from the Bib Card to the Main Cards through the Key Term Index, as I underline the Key Terms in the Observation Notes on the Bib card. Right now all three indexes share space in a single file box. I use alphabetic dividers that are strikingly different to avoid confusions as to which Index I am looking in.
Wishing you reach 1000 subscribers soon, this content is so cool! I'm definitely subscribing, even though my zettelkasten is on my computer. You've actually introduced me to the term "antinet." Honestly, I use Obsidian, but I wish I was antinet. I love paper. I prefer reading paper books, I love keeping a paper journal. But ultimately, for notes, I think Obsidian is more practical and natural for me.
Morgan, YOU, are the one who rocks. I stumbled upon one of your Zettelkasten videos recently. Your content is great! It's very well produced. It's almost as well produced as my shaky iPhone camera production 😁 Thanks for tuning in. I think Obsidian is the best of the lesser class (digital). But that's just my opinion. Keep doing what works best for you. I'm for the crazy ones. 🗃🖋
Thank you. This was a good explanation of the Antinet system. Having followed your set-up instructions in Letter #1 followed by viewing this system was very helpful. In a certain sense, I think, you have to actually "do" it to "understand" it! :)
This was an excellent video, I really appreciate that you slowed it down and went through step by step. Like so many others, I am sure, I had to wade into the Zettelkasten UA-cam videos and weed out so much to try and get to the real core system. Just picked up your book and am really interested in learning the system for my own work in the Humanities!
i have to say it was the opposite for me: too many filler words, too much hemmin and hawin (um, right, sucking teeth), taxing my sense of object permanence by jumping between the tables and having to wait for the camera to focus. i know there's some structure hidden somewhere in here, but at the expense of going on a stressful mind easter egg hunt, constant rewinds, and getting confused or feeling vague about how i will adopt certain parts of the method. this is not my favorite tutorial format-- too stressful.
Can't wait for the book. Thanks for explaining all of this, too.. I think I'm beginning to get a comprehensive idea on how all of this works.. the only thing I'm a bit foggy in are the index cards.
Scott, another great video. I always find insights into these videos. I'm really happy to know that Luhmann sometimes only read a few pages of a book and wrote bib notes for those pages only. I read several books at a time and was worried that I was doing something wrong by not finishing each book in its entirety. This gives me a better idea on how to approach my work now. Thanks!
Thanks Scott! This video is the most convincing evidence that a well-established zettelkasten makes people masters at giving crystal clear explanations.
This was very helpful. I am a visual learner and this helped me so much. Being a visual learner is part of the reason I'm shifting from digital to analog. Often I diagram or create some visualization of what I'm learning and you just can do that in the digital realm like you can analog.
As a thank you, I will share with you this concept which you can develop: When should you have another box? You should have another box when the collection is either too big for the current box, or there is a different reference system. For example in different system, you have a different box when filing A-Z compare to filing by numbers.
Just stumbled across your channel, and I love your passion for analog writing. I have a love/hate relationship with technology, and I've been starting to lean toward trying to do more offline. So, I just ordered my materials to start my own physical Zettelkasten, and I'm so excited. I do want a digital copy of it, though, just for portability purposes. So, I tinkered a bit with the free version of Evernote, and if you upload an image, Evernote can actually search the text in the image, which is pretty cool. I'm going to try to just take pictures of my cards and keep a second record of them in Evernote. After a few months, I'll see if I feel like I still need that digital copy or not. Thank you for all the information. I'll be watching your other videos as well, especially the one on the numbering system.
Welcome to the Rebel Alliance. Best of luck and if you need any help, there's the Antinet subreddit. Also, be sure to subscribe to my email list for more resources (scottscheper.com)
It's probably worth noting that Luhmann didn't use special index cards, exactly, but pieces of A4 paper cut into quarters, which produces a size quite close to 6" by 4". He even used paper which had been used on one side for some other purpose. Used continuous computer paper would be another thrifty option.
It was actually A6 paper size I believe. Which is naturally roughly 4x6". And sometimes he cut it in pieces from other sources. Like there's even some with sides that were taken from his children's drawings! What source dis you read that from? I'd like to give it another look!
@@scottscheper It came from the Johannes Schmidt PDF linked in one of the comments below. And yes, A4 quartered is A6. Pictures in that PDF show how dog-eared some of his notes became. I guess the point is, it's the process that is important, not the appearance. I have an inexhaustible supply of used continuous computer paper which I can cut to any size I want ....
@@davidlegard9814 indeed! Worth noting is that even my relatively sturdy notecards get dog-eared. Especially the Index Cards. It's fine, though. Makes the system earn character 🙂 But yes, you'll experience it wherein the Antinet ZK forces you to constantly focus on what matters: developing thought. Instead of what digital tools seem to do: developing others' software.
That said, I think it's worth investing in good quality paper. Even A4 paper that you cut up is fine *if the quality is good*. Don't use thin flimsy paper (think like the paper bibles are made of)
Yes! He said in his "Communication with Noteboxes" paper that it's to save space since he wanted to be able to access notes going back at least a decade right from his desk without having to dig thru too many boxes. Card stock would be too thick for his particular ergonomic/space constraints, but not everyone has those constraints 🤗 He also tried to only write on one side of the paper, since he didn't want to have to take out and flip cards to read them in full; That might also explain why he preferred the thinness of paper slips. I use both rn b.c. I've hoarded too much stationery that I need to use up 🤣
I'm very new to your channel and to Zettlekosten. I'm very intrigued. I was looking for how I could better capture and retain knowledge from what I was reading or listening to and be able to easily retrieve a quote or information from a book/podcast/website later. And to link ideas from different sources. I tend to read multiple books at one time and then when I want to talk about a subject, I have difficulty recalling where the quote or information was from. The first step for me, I think, will be to learn to take better, notes. I tend to highlight and underline when I read...but end up underlining or highlighting too much I think. When I go back and take notes on what I've read...I have difficulty pulling out key points and not just regurgitating the entire chapter. I don't need to write a book on the book, lol. What can you recommend to help with this aspect? Once I have better notes, then I'd like to adopt a management system such as yours. I guess I'm really just starting down this awesome rabbit hole. Thanks!
Hi Scott! May I ask, what is, in your opinion, the key functional differences between a collective-type main note and a dedicated-card index note/card? They kinda have the same vibe for me? Don't be shy to say "it really doesn't matter" if that is so!: I'm finding that the Antinet, when I'm actually using it, is pretty resilient to structural imperfections/card-type overlap which is so so fun + beautiful + useful because it's so easy to fall into the procrastination-disguised-as-note-refactoring rabbit hole when using a digital system with non-fixed addresses/positions. Love your work so much! Edit: I wrongly said "keyterm" index when I was referring to the "dedicated" type of index card. I've edited the comment to include the correction!
The dedicated-card in the index is faster to lookup; whereas the collective card requires two hops to get to (you must lookup the entry in the index and then navigate to it in the main box). I find the two hops to take more time if you're trying to quickly add ExRefs, but they can be beneficial later on in stumbling upon other main cards around them as you navigate to the collective main note. Both have different strengths. Tradeoff would be: Speed vs. Discovering Accidental Insights by Navigating Around the Main Box.
Great video! I just need a little clarity. Do the main box cards ever have a link to a bib box (literature note) card? Or do main box cards only reference books/articles to zotero for bibliography?
Maincards primarily only reference the Book/Article (and page number) directly. In the past I've linked to Bibcards individually but I don't do that much anymore. It's an unnecessary step.
I don't know how to create an ID. I understand branching (1/ 1b, etc.), but I don't understand how to create the first set of numbers (on your card: 5425). I come from the world of digital zettelkasten and there was a unique id like YYYYMMDD, but you probably use it as a id of branch. Can you explain it to me? I also want to thank you for your amazing videos. You helped me a lot with understanding the physical zettelkasten. Greetings from the Czech Republic!
@@DrJVoros thanks! Go analog. That's the true way 🗃📚👊 You won't regret it. At least try it first. I only create the sub-categories as needed. Thus far, haven't needed the seventeen. Also here's a good Getting Started Guide: drive.google.com/file/d/1DOJHw9R8LzvfD8w0AE65vKXSLdfBve0v/view?usp=drivesdk
Good question. I actually used it in the Index at first yet then tried it at the beginning of a big section (which is what Luhmann did). It's slightly faster to put it in the front of the main section because you're working closely with it already. Otherwise you need to constantly go back to the Index. Both are fine however.
@@scottscheper Thanks for the answer! Maybe we could say that emergent collectives are for a line of thought that we are actively working on, and dedicated index cards for concepts that slowly develop and need more space 🧐
So main cards are more like links (zero links) and index cards are more like tags for not just sorting but also cross pollination? And collective s are like hub notes? I want to have both antinet and obsidian zettelkasten, so the sorting logic is not too clear for me.
The fact you just explained the entirety of the antinet in one card is very impressive xD
I think this is probably that absolute best and most concise explanation of how an antinet works, not to mention chock full of key terms to add to my index now to guide my continued exploration of the topic :)
I am so excited about this; I can't wait until my book gets here. I unfortunately can't afford your newsletter but want to receive it desperately. I got ill with Covid long haul in March 2020 and my job, Myers & Stauffer fired me out of the blue several months ago. We are living on one income and going to the food bank every week. As soon as I am well, I will sign up for it. You are an awesome guy Scott and can't wait to learn more. This has been my answer for at least 20 years! So thankful I found you. Have a wonderful day!
Ingenious methodology. The passion is extremely palpable boss. Thank you for your due diligence on every video . I look forward to our upcoming session .
This is one of the best explanations of the Zettelkasten I have found so far.
The visual aid helps me understand, the components and that helps.
In your earliest video (2021-09-25) entitled "Analog Zettelkasten", at 5:03 into your talk, you mention a type of index that you do not mention in this video: Luhmen's People Index. When I set up my Antinet Zettlekasten, thinking I was following your guidelines, I included a separate People Index, giving me a total of three indexes: A People (author) Index, a Bibliography and a Key Term Index. I’m very happy with this system and here’s how it works for me:
My People Index cards are organized as you describe for your Bib Box: by author last name, first name. If I have a few lines of information about the author, I might include it on the card, but the most important information on the Author Card is a list of all the Bib Card Addresses that pertain to that author. Following the naming convention for your ExRefs (external references), I have given all of my Bib Card Addresses names of the form “r.xxx”.
My Bib cards have a header line containing the Bib Card Address and they are filed in my Bibliography by Bib Card Address. (I use a set of alphabetic dividers where I have written “r.” in front of the letter on each divider, so I have dividers for r.A through r.Z) I fill out the front and back of the card as you describe for Bib Cards. Each main card generated from the Bib card includes the Bib Card Address in red ink at the bottom of the card followed by the page number (or minute marker for a video).
I find this triple-index system advantageous especially when there are multiple authors on a given book. I can look up the bib card starting from the name of any of the authors without having to recall the name of the principal author; I can quickly get to any Bib Card from either the People index or the Main Card; and I can get from the Bib Card to the Main Cards through the Key Term Index, as I underline the Key Terms in the Observation Notes on the Bib card. Right now all three indexes share space in a single file box. I use alphabetic dividers that are strikingly different to avoid confusions as to which Index I am looking in.
Wishing you reach 1000 subscribers soon, this content is so cool! I'm definitely subscribing, even though my zettelkasten is on my computer. You've actually introduced me to the term "antinet." Honestly, I use Obsidian, but I wish I was antinet. I love paper. I prefer reading paper books, I love keeping a paper journal. But ultimately, for notes, I think Obsidian is more practical and natural for me.
Morgan, YOU, are the one who rocks. I stumbled upon one of your Zettelkasten videos recently. Your content is great! It's very well produced. It's almost as well produced as my shaky iPhone camera production 😁 Thanks for tuning in. I think Obsidian is the best of the lesser class (digital). But that's just my opinion. Keep doing what works best for you. I'm for the crazy ones. 🗃🖋
Scott, I really appreciate the information. Your style and approach is very engaging. I wish you and the channel all the best!
Какой кайф смотреть на бумажный Зетелькастен! И на ваши примеры реальные
Thank you. This was a good explanation of the Antinet system. Having followed your set-up instructions in Letter #1 followed by viewing this system was very helpful. In a certain sense, I think, you have to actually "do" it to "understand" it! :)
This was an excellent video, I really appreciate that you slowed it down and went through step by step. Like so many others, I am sure, I had to wade into the Zettelkasten UA-cam videos and weed out so much to try and get to the real core system. Just picked up your book and am really interested in learning the system for my own work in the Humanities!
i have to say it was the opposite for me: too many filler words, too much hemmin and hawin (um, right, sucking teeth), taxing my sense of object permanence by jumping between the tables and having to wait for the camera to focus.
i know there's some structure hidden somewhere in here, but at the expense of going on a stressful mind easter egg hunt, constant rewinds, and getting confused or feeling vague about how i will adopt certain parts of the method. this is not my favorite tutorial format-- too stressful.
Can't wait for the book. Thanks for explaining all of this, too.. I think I'm beginning to get a comprehensive idea on how all of this works.. the only thing I'm a bit foggy in are the index cards.
Scott, another great video. I always find insights into these videos. I'm really happy to know that Luhmann sometimes only read a few pages of a book and wrote bib notes for those pages only. I read several books at a time and was worried that I was doing something wrong by not finishing each book in its entirety. This gives me a better idea on how to approach my work now. Thanks!
Thanks Scott! This video is the most convincing evidence that a well-established zettelkasten makes people masters at giving crystal clear explanations.
This was very helpful. I am a visual learner and this helped me so much. Being a visual learner is part of the reason I'm shifting from digital to analog. Often I diagram or create some visualization of what I'm learning and you just can do that in the digital realm like you can analog.
Very good explanation. Thank you for taking the time.
As a thank you, I will share with you this concept which you can develop: When should you have another box? You should have another box when the collection is either too big for the current box, or there is a different reference system. For example in different system, you have a different box when filing A-Z compare to filing by numbers.
Well done, go ahead and waiting for the book!
Great video!
This is what I needed
Just stumbled across your channel, and I love your passion for analog writing. I have a love/hate relationship with technology, and I've been starting to lean toward trying to do more offline. So, I just ordered my materials to start my own physical Zettelkasten, and I'm so excited.
I do want a digital copy of it, though, just for portability purposes. So, I tinkered a bit with the free version of Evernote, and if you upload an image, Evernote can actually search the text in the image, which is pretty cool. I'm going to try to just take pictures of my cards and keep a second record of them in Evernote. After a few months, I'll see if I feel like I still need that digital copy or not.
Thank you for all the information. I'll be watching your other videos as well, especially the one on the numbering system.
Welcome to the Rebel Alliance. Best of luck and if you need any help, there's the Antinet subreddit. Also, be sure to subscribe to my email list for more resources (scottscheper.com)
It's probably worth noting that Luhmann didn't use special index cards, exactly, but pieces of A4 paper cut into quarters, which produces a size quite close to 6" by 4". He even used paper which had been used on one side for some other purpose. Used continuous computer paper would be another thrifty option.
It was actually A6 paper size I believe. Which is naturally roughly 4x6". And sometimes he cut it in pieces from other sources. Like there's even some with sides that were taken from his children's drawings!
What source dis you read that from? I'd like to give it another look!
@@scottscheper It came from the Johannes Schmidt PDF linked in one of the comments below. And yes, A4 quartered is A6. Pictures in that PDF show how dog-eared some of his notes became. I guess the point is, it's the process that is important, not the appearance. I have an inexhaustible supply of used continuous computer paper which I can cut to any size I want ....
@@davidlegard9814 indeed! Worth noting is that even my relatively sturdy notecards get dog-eared. Especially the Index Cards. It's fine, though. Makes the system earn character 🙂 But yes, you'll experience it wherein the Antinet ZK forces you to constantly focus on what matters: developing thought. Instead of what digital tools seem to do: developing others' software.
That said, I think it's worth investing in good quality paper. Even A4 paper that you cut up is fine *if the quality is good*. Don't use thin flimsy paper (think like the paper bibles are made of)
Yes! He said in his "Communication with Noteboxes" paper that it's to save space since he wanted to be able to access notes going back at least a decade right from his desk without having to dig thru too many boxes. Card stock would be too thick for his particular ergonomic/space constraints, but not everyone has those constraints 🤗 He also tried to only write on one side of the paper, since he didn't want to have to take out and flip cards to read them in full; That might also explain why he preferred the thinness of paper slips.
I use both rn b.c. I've hoarded too much stationery that I need to use up 🤣
What's your backup for all of that data?
I'm very new to your channel and to Zettlekosten. I'm very intrigued. I was looking for how I could better capture and retain knowledge from what I was reading or listening to and be able to easily retrieve a quote or information from a book/podcast/website later. And to link ideas from different sources. I tend to read multiple books at one time and then when I want to talk about a subject, I have difficulty recalling where the quote or information was from. The first step for me, I think, will be to learn to take better, notes. I tend to highlight and underline when I read...but end up underlining or highlighting too much I think. When I go back and take notes on what I've read...I have difficulty pulling out key points and not just regurgitating the entire chapter. I don't need to write a book on the book, lol. What can you recommend to help with this aspect? Once I have better notes, then I'd like to adopt a management system such as yours. I guess I'm really just starting down this awesome rabbit hole. Thanks!
Thanks that is a great explanation. Definitive.
You're welcome
Hi Scott! May I ask, what is, in your opinion, the key functional differences between a collective-type main note and a dedicated-card index note/card? They kinda have the same vibe for me? Don't be shy to say "it really doesn't matter" if that is so!: I'm finding that the Antinet, when I'm actually using it, is pretty resilient to structural imperfections/card-type overlap which is so so fun + beautiful + useful because it's so easy to fall into the procrastination-disguised-as-note-refactoring rabbit hole when using a digital system with non-fixed addresses/positions. Love your work so much!
Edit: I wrongly said "keyterm" index when I was referring to the "dedicated" type of index card. I've edited the comment to include the correction!
The dedicated-card in the index is faster to lookup; whereas the collective card requires two hops to get to (you must lookup the entry in the index and then navigate to it in the main box). I find the two hops to take more time if you're trying to quickly add ExRefs, but they can be beneficial later on in stumbling upon other main cards around them as you navigate to the collective main note.
Both have different strengths. Tradeoff would be: Speed vs. Discovering Accidental Insights by Navigating Around the Main Box.
@@scottscheper Awesome answer! That explains it perfectly. Thank you ❤️🙏
I tried to get your download for AZK, but it did not work. Can you post a link for the boxes you use? Thanks for your videos.
Do you take notes in different languages? If so, how you organize those in the system?
Yes. Others in our community can answer the second question.
Great video! I just need a little clarity. Do the main box cards ever have a link to a bib box (literature note) card? Or do main box cards only reference books/articles to zotero for bibliography?
Maincards primarily only reference the Book/Article (and page number) directly.
In the past I've linked to Bibcards individually but I don't do that much anymore. It's an unnecessary step.
Hi Scott, hope your well. Where you get those sweet boxes from you use for your main boxes?
Amazon Vaultz 4x6" boxes
I don't know how to create an ID. I understand branching (1/ 1b, etc.), but I don't understand how to create the first set of numbers (on your card: 5425). I come from the world of digital zettelkasten and there was a unique id like YYYYMMDD, but you probably use it as a id of branch. Can you explain it to me?
I also want to thank you for your amazing videos. You helped me a lot with understanding the physical zettelkasten. Greetings from the Czech Republic!
Welcome aboard the Matrix within the Matrix!
Try this video: ua-cam.com/video/A-Aab_syNvk/v-deo.html
Or this guide: scottscheper.com/letter/1/
@@DrJVoros thanks! Go analog. That's the true way 🗃📚👊 You won't regret it. At least try it first.
I only create the sub-categories as needed. Thus far, haven't needed the seventeen.
Also here's a good Getting Started Guide: drive.google.com/file/d/1DOJHw9R8LzvfD8w0AE65vKXSLdfBve0v/view?usp=drivesdk
P.s. theoretically you can create: 5000, 5100, 5100A, 5100B, 5100C, 5200, etc. to accommodate for the 17 sub-branches
So, why use emergent collectives (for internal links) in the Main part over a dedicated card in the Index? 🙈
Good question. I actually used it in the Index at first yet then tried it at the beginning of a big section (which is what Luhmann did). It's slightly faster to put it in the front of the main section because you're working closely with it already. Otherwise you need to constantly go back to the Index.
Both are fine however.
@@scottscheper Thanks for the answer!
Maybe we could say that emergent collectives are for a line of thought that we are actively working on, and dedicated index cards for concepts that slowly develop and need more space 🧐
@@NaedMalario good thinking. I like that.
Good video but the phone should have been on a tripod so it wouldn't be so shakey
So main cards are more like links (zero links) and index cards are more like tags for not just sorting but also cross pollination? And collective s are like hub notes? I want to have both antinet and obsidian zettelkasten, so the sorting logic is not too clear for me.
Yes
Как можно купить вашу книгу, если я из России?
I believe so. I support all people. Regardless of country.
Express clearly