the modern common book
Research as leisure activity is directed by passions and instincts . It’s fundamentally very personal: What are you interested in now ? It’s fine, and maybe even better, if the topic isn’t explicitly intellectual or academic in nature. And if one topic leads you to another topic that seems totally unrelated, that’s something to get excited about—no... See more
Celine Nguyen • research as leisure activity
Research begins with a desire to ask and answer questions, thereby contributing to the greater sum of human knowledge and culture .
Celine Nguyen • research as leisure activity
It doesn’t matter how much we summarize, at some point, effort is required. More summaries won’t automatically lead to more understanding.
Seth Godin • The Cliffs Notes paradox
the internet’s sprawling databases, real-time social-media networks, and globe-spanning e-commerce platforms have made almost everything immediately searchable, knowable, or purchasable—curbing the social value of sharing new things. Cultural arbitrage now happens so frequently and rapidly as to be nearly undetectable, usually with no extraordinary... See more
W. David Marx • The Diminishing Returns of Having Good Taste
this is why it’s so important to be able to connect disparate ideas
The beautiful description was written by the librarian Karly Wildenhaus, who described it as: “Research as leisure activity.”
Celine Nguyen • research as leisure activity
Look, my commonplace book is easily justified. I write and speak about things for a living. I need this resource. But so do you. You write papers, memos, emails, notes to friends, birthday cards, give advice, have conversations at dinner, console loved ones, tell someone special how you feel about them. All these are opportunities to use the wisdom... See more
Ryan Holiday • How And Why To Keep A “Commonplace Book”
Without the right tools, our minds are hopelessly leaky.
thesephist.com • Incremental note-taking
“Research is a ceremony for building closer relationship with an idea”
-Shawn Wilson
A great thing about taking notes is that it subtly encourages you to live a ‘notes-worthy life’
You end up seeking interesting conversations to build your memex; experimenting with new recipes to add to your collection; reading more widely to find surprising connections etc.