Why note-taking apps don't make us smarter

Ultimately, I suspect I will always want more from note-taking software than it gives me — because what I truly want is for the software to read my mind. I want it to extract my thoughts automatically (and securely!) and polish them until they resemble wisdom. And I want it to resurface my ideas at calculated intervals, helping me make new connecti... See more

Even today, in the age of Google, most knowledge tools are extensions of the humble note-taking app. As such, they feel very finite. They contain only and exactly the information you put in. A notes app isn’t an interface to something more expansive, nor does it synthesize anything new while you aren’t looking. No matter how large a personal databa

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“Better note-taking” misses the point; what matters is “better thinking”

Lots of people write about solutions to the problem that Note-writing practices are generally ineffective. The vast majority of that writing fixates on a myopic, “lifehacking”-type frame, focused on answering questions like: “how should I organize my notes?”, “what kind of jou... See more

For decades now, software tools have promised to make working life easier. But on one critical dimension — their ability to improve our thinking — they don’t seem to be making much progress at all.

Meanwhile, the arrival of generative artificial intelligence could make the tools we use more powerful than ever — or they could turn out to be just ano... See more

In Matuschak’s view, a finely distilled note is the fundamental unit of knowledge work. But we are generally lousy at taking notes, both because the notes we take give us weak feedback (we may go weeks without returning to a note we have taken, and may not return to it at all) and because we have no role models (do you know anything about anyone el... See more

it is probably a mistake, in the end, to ask software to improve our thinking. Even if you can rescue your attention from the acid bath of the internet; even if you can gather the most interesting data and observations into the app of your choosing; even if you revisit that data from time to time — this will not be enough. It might not even be wort... See more