Very nice post, thank you! I just finished Ahrens’ book and I’m starting a slip box of my own. I really like the idea of a physical slip box, but the appeal of digital apps is strong...
For digital, the main pros appear to be search, tags, graph views, external linking to sites/tweets/etc, and easy bi-directional linking. For physical, there’s the research that handwriting helps with information retention, and seeing where the “clusters” of notes are, as well as being able to take them out and arrange them on a desk for a project.
The main thing that seems to be lost in the digital version, to my mind, is “stumbling upon” notes as you flick through certain sections. It seems like you can go “exploring” easier in the physical version, whereas the digital apps I’ve seen focus more on digital search. I’d almost prefer if an app had a “read next” button so I could flick through them.
Very nice post, thank you! I just finished Ahrens’ book and I’m starting a slip box of my own. I really like the idea of a physical slip box, but the appeal of digital apps is strong...
For digital, the main pros appear to be search, tags, graph views, external linking to sites/tweets/etc, and easy bi-directional linking. For physical, there’s the research that handwriting helps with information retention, and seeing where the “clusters” of notes are, as well as being able to take them out and arrange them on a desk for a project.
The main thing that seems to be lost in the digital version, to my mind, is “stumbling upon” notes as you flick through certain sections. It seems like you can go “exploring” easier in the physical version, whereas the digital apps I’ve seen focus more on digital search. I’d almost prefer if an app had a “read next” button so I could flick through them.