Unlike modern readers, who follow the flow of a narrative from beginning to end, early modern Englishmen read in fits and starts and jumped from book to book. They broke texts into fragments and assembled them into new patterns by transcribing them in different sections of their notebooks. Then they reread the copies and rearranged the patterns

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A zettelkasten is a method. In addition to being an object, a zettelkasten is a methodology—a way to capture ideas in notes, establish relationships between them, and leverage both for knowledge work. The formula is relatively straight forward: Capture ideas in the form of fleeting and/or reference notes. Turn these captures into individual main

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There is a lot of commonality between commonplace books and a Zettelkasten – both are systems of collecting information, both often involve indexing. Modern Zettelkasten builders are often adamant that notes should be transcribed in the user's voice, showing that the information being referenced is now an idea that can be linked to other ideas... See more