Pile of Index Cards

Niklas Luhmann is German sociologist. In the following movie, he introduced his card systems “Zettelkasten (= slip box)” that supports his productivity.

What is impressive for me, as a PoICer, are,
- thinner paper than index cards
- larger than 5×3 size, (according to “Taking Note“, it is A6 size)
- seems free format,
- seems don’t care the order (more loose than chronological order)

This IS extreme case of index cards productivity. It’s good to know how far we can go with index cards. :)

ニクラス・ルーマンはドイツの社会学者。映像の中では、”Zettelkasten” というカード・システムについて説明しています。

PoICer としていくつか気になる点は、
- 情報カードよりも薄い紙を使っていること
- 5×3 よりも大きいサイズ（A6）を使っていること
- フォーマットがない？
- 書いたカードは適当な場所に入れている？

これはカードを使った知的生産の一つの「極限」じゃないかな。カードを使って「どこまで行けるか」を知っておくのは良いこと。

自動車の場合だと、交通量の少ない時は、たとえば都市内の高速輸送手段を提供するといった、当初に考えられた機能をはたしうる。ところが交通渋滞が激しくなると、自分の足で歩いた方が速いわけだ。

情報量過多の現代では、自分の頭で考えた方がかえって速かったり。

I plot how often I organized Task Force. It shows simply a straight line with 1/f slope.

That is, Pile of Index Cards system is under similar dynamics of Pile of Sand. Therefore, behavior of this system can be understood through a metaphor of sandpile.

e.g.
- Writing and piling index cards every day = piling sand particle continuously
- Moment of organizing Task Force = Self-organized criticality
- Task Force and following Reproduction = Avalanche of sandpile

Q. How often and scale of Task Force?
A. As often and large as you observe avalanche of sandpile
Q. What trigger to organize Task Force?
A. Not owner of system, not dead line, but the system itself. Listen what your system says.
Q. Exactly when?
A. Unpredictable. All the owner can do is just piling index cards. Soon, the system causes avalanche naturally.

Products
- 日本技術貿易株式会社 : Laboratory Notebook
- コクヨ : リサーチラボノート
- BookFactory : Book Catalog
- Synest : LaboNote

Web
- rabinal, “The importance of keeping a good experimental logbook.”
- Wikipedia, 「実験ノート」
- 夜行録, 「実験ログノート」

Book
- 岡崎 康司, 「理系なら知っておきたいラボノートの書き方」

Thanks rabinal for providing info. :)

Laboratory Notebook : Labnote. A new comer for PoIC. 300 pages, 5 mm grid, 1260 yen.

People around me lead to use the Labnote : two of my colleague, one of my supervisor, and Jazzmasterson. All they use this kind of note for research.

A tipping point in my mind is recently released book “How to write Labnote” (in Japanese). There are a lot of rule to use Labnote, in fact. For example, one must use pen and not pencil, etc. I experimentally introduced Labnote for my work, with simpler rules, and found it works good. Now I introduce it for my life as well.

Long time I’ve been looking for a way to compile Medium-sized Task Force of personal interests and hobby. Blog is too public, digital is too strict, index cards is too small. Now I use the Labnote for this.

# Its black body always reminds me of the movie “The Lord of the Rings”. Frodo wrote all about his journey on a notebook at the end of the trilogy.

「ラボノート」というものを導入してみたよ。

Update 2008.05.04 : x 3 mm grid -> o 5 mm grid