Hope dataview gets up to its notion-like tables soon. Heard it was in the works... This would seriously take obsidian apart from other knowledge graph apps and make it serious competition with notion.
The best part about notion's databases is not that it is a simple spreadsheet or table, but that it literally is linked with existing pages with attributes/metadata. Relational databases introduce interactibility between databases. It's like no-code programming for the lay.
It's not just another feature. Imo every thought should be default be able to generate its own metadata - eg. Date/time. It should be able to have customisable metadata according to the input type - ie. an actionable would differ from a knowable.
Working with many new notes per day, I've found this to be a major pain point. I also want editable tables where I can click a boolean as a checkbox and edit metadata of the page/block instantly.
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Been analysing the process of recall. It's starting to seem that there is no distinct phase for input versus output. Whenever there is an input, the mind is already giving auto-outputs. It's a biofeedback system. Hence synthesis can only happen through feedback and appendage.
"Threading mode" came from analysing what our minds do when receiving six sense inputs; but it did not adequately dive into how our mind automatically feeds back and creates big works of synthesis by wrestling concepts on paper.
Seems that to really understand this, we need to dive into subconscious mechanics, beyond working memory.
When we want a sequential chain of thought, we nest them as equal level children under the same parent. The alternative would be a very ugly way:
Parent
- A
- B
- C
- ...
This way makes more sense but looks horrible.
The maths doesn't work out either. When use method 1, A/B/C are related via an OR (x) function. In method 2, A/B/C are related via an AND (%) function. We intuitively feel this burden that something is not right. And yet we don't like going into indenting hell.
Part of the reason why I enjoyed writing in prose form in obsidian was because I didn't have to figure out whether I had to indent or write a sibling bullet. Isn't it intuitive? No it isn't, especially when you consider how a bullet is queried in future...
It should be structured exactly how a thought works. One transient thought comes along, and is auto-tagged by datetime and custom metadata. Tags change its type - "actionable" vs "knowable". Like a tweet, you can chain another thought to this (thought train)
New thoughts can be assigned relationships to the previous thought - parent/sibling/child (up/sideways/down). Main idea is that you never break the flow of the current thought and stay in the present.
Just a thread on how to maximise your Obsidian experience and learn how to use it really quickly (and unlearn bad habits)...
Install "CodeMirror Options" on the community plugins to get access to the closest WYSIWYG mode you can find... github.com/nothingislost/…
Unlock roam-like outliner/list/bullet manipulation with the community plugin "Outliner". Again, just go settings > Community Plugin > search for "Outliner"> Click "install" > "Activate". That's it. github.com/vslinko/obsidi…
Working in @obsdmd has forced me to rethink of a PKM strategy that is also compatible with Roam, and here's what I've come up with so far: Input Notes, Summary Notes, Connector Notes, Category Notes, and #properties. Let me explain what these mean...
This strategy was built because I needed some structure while preserving the anti-hierarchy of zettelkasten - inspired by MOCs, Zettelkasten and how language works.
Input Notes: Any kind of input - they can be notes taken down from media (pdfs, books, videos, courses, interviews, classes), conversations, thinking, journalling. These contain metadata - authors, links, dates, etc.
~ aka "reference notes"/"fleeting notes".
The directionality of attention is what drives usage of roam - not just the existence of bidirectional links. Some thoughts below...
Attention is like a spotlight - just as it can shift from a sound in the room to the taste on our tongue to a visual object or a sensation, it can move from 'concept' to 'concept'.
The shifting of attention from one object to the next object creates a chain of continuity. Going from bullet → bullet, idea → idea, or clicking links offers an unbroken chain of attention moving from object to object