Mixture of stone and gem
ref. : Divergence, convergence,
a discussion related to indexcard @ Flickr
I call a state of my Dock like this title. I have never think my Dock as gem box. There are gems, but not all. And it’s totally o.k.
See a Pyramid in Egypt. It is constructed by pile of stones. The stones is useless if it is divided one by one. But if a stone is uniform block and well organized, even though single block is useless, it is possible to become such a great construction.
Even group of several stones, it is possible to metamorphose into a gem. As Josh and Jamie wrote before (here and here), we are trying to find pattern between our individual thoughts, events around us. If we could find a pattern from several “stone” cards, the knowledge generate new “gem” card.
Conversely, if my Dock is full bunch of gems, it means I try to write and select only gem all time. It will be stressful. And the system doesn’t succeed to function as capturing “any” idea.
There are tons of stone card, tiny and apparently useless ideas, in my Dock. But I don’t know their true worth at the time I write them. As Steve Jobs said, all we can do is to connect dots (cards) backward. So I don’t trash any single card. Rather, I keep all of them for future use.
December 27th, 2006 at 4:14 am
Finding the Gems. I am fascinated and very grateful for the knowledge contained in this blog. Thank you Hawk for all your efforts.
I agree with you when you talk about the tactile and memory advantages to creating a physical index card. And the disadvantages of various digital solutions. But I have just starting using a new MAC program called SlipBox which is designed on the metaphor of an index card.
http://markusguhe.net/slipbox/
It maintains all entries in sequential order. Yet the user has the ability of create relationships and links between different entries via “Keywords”. You can’t draw or illustrate in the program, but you can bring in images and text from other programs. Might find it interesting.
December 30th, 2006 at 9:06 pm
>>Geoffrey
Thanks for the Mac application. It looks like indexcard. ;) But same time, I miss a physical touch of paper.