Hey Calvin, thanks so much for posting this. I found these notes useful, particularly going back and pulling some of the main ideas from The Precipice.
I was wondering if you would share what your note taking style is? Do you have your laptop next to you as you read and just take down notes when you find something interesting? Do you read first and then synthesize later? I have been attempting to work on a note taking system for my entertaining reads, but haven’t quite been able to find one that balances out.
Hi Cam, I’m glad you found the notes useful! Most of these (with The Precipice being an exception) were notes taken from audiobooks. As I was listening, I’d write down brief notes (sometimes as short as a key word or phrase) on the Notes app on iPhone. Then, once a day/once every couple days, I’d reference the Notes app to jog my memory, and write down the longer item of information in a Gdoc. Then, when I’d finished the book, I’d organize/synthesize the Gdoc into a coherent set of notes with sections etc.
These days I follow a similar system, but use Roam instead of Gdocs. Contrary to what some report, I don’t find that Roam has significantly improved anything for me, but I do like the ability to easily link among documents. As a philosopher I don’t find this super useful. I think if I were e.g. a historian I would find it a lot more useful.
Hey Calvin, thanks so much for posting this. I found these notes useful, particularly going back and pulling some of the main ideas from The Precipice.
I was wondering if you would share what your note taking style is? Do you have your laptop next to you as you read and just take down notes when you find something interesting? Do you read first and then synthesize later? I have been attempting to work on a note taking system for my entertaining reads, but haven’t quite been able to find one that balances out.
Hi Cam, I’m glad you found the notes useful! Most of these (with The Precipice being an exception) were notes taken from audiobooks. As I was listening, I’d write down brief notes (sometimes as short as a key word or phrase) on the Notes app on iPhone. Then, once a day/once every couple days, I’d reference the Notes app to jog my memory, and write down the longer item of information in a Gdoc. Then, when I’d finished the book, I’d organize/synthesize the Gdoc into a coherent set of notes with sections etc.
These days I follow a similar system, but use Roam instead of Gdocs. Contrary to what some report, I don’t find that Roam has significantly improved anything for me, but I do like the ability to easily link among documents. As a philosopher I don’t find this super useful. I think if I were e.g. a historian I would find it a lot more useful.