up:: LYT Kit tags::#pkm

Notes on this note

This is a sanitized version of my actual note.

• Some content and links have been removed.

What are higher-order notes? §

First let’s zoom out. Every note in a note library is a note. They come in two basic varieties:

1. A note with mostly words
2. A note with mostly links to other notes

Let’s agree for the moment that a “note-with-mostly-words” is less complex than a “note-with-mostly-links”.

A note with mostly links can therefore be considered a higher-order note. It is still a note, but all those links help to provide some sort of structure that adds complexity to the note itself.

Let’s explore the wonderful world of higher-order notes.

What can we call higher-order notes? §

Adding a new word to our vocabulary opens up new ways of thinking and expressing. Limiting our vocabulary—like Big Brother does in George Orwell’s 1984—is a sinister way to limit our thinking.

With that in mind, instead of trying to limit what we can higher-order notes, we should explore the many flavors of them. Here’s a non-exhaustive list of things we can call higher-order notes.

• Link Note - A note with a bunch of links.
• Hub Note - A navigational note, like an airport hub (a Luhmann term).
• Index Note - A note that references other notes (sometimes but not always alphabetical).
• Workbench - A brainstorm-y note with a links hastily assembled.
• Outline Note - A note for the early-stage outlining of content.
• Structure Note - A term that describes what it does: structures stuff.
• Structure Zettel - A term from zettelkasten.de - Usually shown as a linear Table of Contents, often with annotations.
• Table of Contents - A finalized structure that references material
• MOC (Map of Content) - A flexible higher-order note that serves all the above purposes of gathering, outlining, structuring, and navigating. In addition, it is an active thinking tool that allows for the reshaping, connecting, and building of ideas.

Here’s what else an MOC can do:

• MOCs can structure links in completely countless and non-linear ways.
• MOCs can be a combo of links and tags and text and embeds and anything you can think of.
• MOCs can be linked to other MOCs (Emergence Level 4), which eventually link to a Home note (Emergence Level 5).
• And most valuable, MOCs concentrate & accelerate idea interaction.

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Now let’s answer the question: Why call higher-order notes MOCs?

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• Back Matter
  • dates:: 2020-06-28
  • created:: 2020-06-28

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