Thread by @JoelChan86

#ThinkingInPublic - Compound value of notes in networked notebooks accrues from being "forced" (enabled?) to interact with and "process" notes while making new ones. Block-level backlinks further enhance this powerful effect.

[[@gordonbrander]] calls this "forced interaction" --> "feedback loops" (h/t [[@Mappletons]]): subconscious.substack.com/p/knowledge-ga…

@gordonbrander @Mappletons [[@andy_matuschak]] calls this approximating [[SRS]] (for [[sys/Evergreen Notes]]): notes.andymatuschak.org/Evergreen_note…

@gordonbrander @Mappletons @andy_matuschak [[@beauhaan]] implements this as a conversation partner with a centrally-indexed [[sys/Zettelkasten]], and has a process that forces you to engage with the central index before/while you add to it. a powerful port of Luhmann's classic analog system.

@gordonbrander @Mappletons @andy_matuschak @beauhaan Important point: raw page backlinks without the **context** of the link (e.g., links in "related" sections w/o accompanying expository text) feel a lot less generative. More on this here: zettelkasten.de/posts/backlink…

@gordonbrander @Mappletons @andy_matuschak @beauhaan The new crop of networked notebooks (with [[sys/RoamResearch]] and [[sys/Obsidian]] as key exemplars of block-based and page-based approaches) make it easy to link and back-link with context. See example from Obsidian backlinks:

@gordonbrander @Mappletons @andy_matuschak @beauhaan A block-based structure increases the surface area even more (beyond the same line/sentence). You in principle have access to a whole (sub)tree of additional feedback loops. Example:

https://twitter.com/JoelChan86/status/1365352995274252292?s=20

@gordonbrander @Mappletons @andy_matuschak @beauhaan This is a noticeable step up for me from the classic [[sys/Wiki]] style of backlinks, which do not provide context by default (although this isn't really a hard technical limitation of the medium)

Example of classic wiki-backlinks:

Example of Obsidian contextual backlinks: