What can we learn from nerdy discussions on MOCs?
Sometimes the best way of understanding something is hearing what people have to say about it.
What is an MOC, in 10 seconds?
- A non-exclusive folder with a completely customized organizational structure.
- In an MOC, the party is always happening. It’s the “room where it happens.” Individual notes can “shadow-clone” themselves and essentially be in multiple parties simultaneous—interacting and developing complexity from each party at the same time!
- Another way to consider MOCs is through “Idea Emergence”. MOCs are Evergreen Notes, just at the next level of emergence.
- Aren’t MOCs just index notes?
- No! MOCs are not static way-points. They are thinking, creating, and writing tools. We are not just map readers. We are the map makers.
- It seems to me creating MOCs creates more work, therefore distracts from note creation, writing and thinking. I cannot see the magic of it.
- Making MOCs don’t distract from note creating and writing, they are note creating and writing.
- That’s where the magic happens.
- What is the magic? It’s having a thinking tool that forces difficult conversations, that highlights holes in arguments, that shines a bright light on ideas that to be developed further.
- See MOCs are Dialectics for more on this terribly awesome power.
- Why do you need a MOC to lead to other new notes? Isn’t that what Direct Links are all about? … In other words, what does an MOC achieve that Direct Links don’t?
- Direct Links are the strongest links. But many times we do not want a strong link. We want weaker links. Tags do this and so does naming notes starting with the topic, like:
Mandarin - NOTE1,Mandarin - NOTE132. - But neither tags, nor alphabetical filenames, allow for a fluid conversation between notes to happen, where their relative positioning can change. MOCs allow for that.
- In a sense, they allow for mini-folgezettels. It’s hard to get over how powerful of a thinking tool this is.
- Direct Links are the strongest links. But many times we do not want a strong link. We want weaker links. Tags do this and so does naming notes starting with the topic, like: