Pile of Index Cards

When writing indexcard, I found indexcard I just write (that is previous indexcard) triggers next indexcard (ref. article “Avalanche writing”). The new topic is sometimes related to the previous topic, but with some new idea is included.

What is important here is that the previous indexcard must be in my sight. It makes easy to trigger new idea. If I don’t (or can’t) see the card, the chain may be broken.

I had used the KM2P as indexcard holder. A problem, however, is that it is difficult to see inside the pockets.

Lately I start to use card stand to make indexcard stand and visible. In case I have to take indexcards I pick up indexcards from the stand and put it in the KM2P as before.

ref: 2006.09.16 21:04

A classification of indexcard by project is tiny tiny matter. It takes only few second in time maybe. But it incredibly reduced number of indexcard I write.

Same is true for text editor on computer. I do love to use Vim for programming. The Vim (or just vi) enables to move line to line only with keyboard. It helps to connect thinking and writing, brain and hand more seamlessly. I also use TextMate because of it’s friendly interface and useful templates. If I use it for programming, however, I feel I don’t want to write program anymore with TextMate. This is not due to TextMate, of course, but I’m just frustrated every moment I use mouse.

Difference between using mouse or not may be less than a second in time, and few tens of centimeter in distance. This sounds really tiny matter. But my subconscious honestly react for it.

Ordinary card system is based on classification. It is 2-dimensional in space (x and y). On the other hand, my method, chronological sequence, is 1-dimensional in time (t).

A degree of freedom is less then ordinary system. A matter of concern is only one degree. It keeps my system simple, easy and comfort to manage indexcards.

I have two dock system, in my room for my life and my office for my work. I have been keeping simple chronological order for life indexcard system. For work indexcard system, I classified inxcards by project then keep in chronological order. I believed classification increase productivity especially for work.

After several months later, the difference of the two system become clear. Indexcard for life increase successfully, and doesn’t for work… The only difference is classification of the indexcard. But the effect is obvious.

I found what is important for writing is not convenience by classification, but keep capturing idea sequentially in simple chronological order.

I used to use computer to capture my ideas. It was natural because I was hanging on computer all time of the day.

I used Apple’s Keynote for this purpose. I thought that is the best way because Keynote’s scheme resembles to indexcard. After while, I found major problem with this method.

Idea is not only text, of course, but also image. Rather, image is more powerful than text to express one’s idea. But how should I put drawings with Keynote? I know the Adobe Illustrator is the best choice for drawing. But how long does it take to draw ideas in my head with it, especially with PowerBooks’s Track Pad? Omni Graffle is better? I don’t think so. I thought to get pen tablet as natural. But I have to take it everywhere? No way.

If I concentrate to draw better enough picture, I will forget what I am thinking at that moment. All I need is speed and freedom, and not beauty and detail. From view point of idea capture, paper plus pen posses extremely high degree of freedom than computer. That is one of major reason I switch back from computer to paper.

A computer is good for present one’s idea for someone else. But for personal idea capture, I think a paper and pen is still (and forever?) the best.

Ideas in my brain are invisible, of course. Once I capture it on indexcard, then it become visible in this real world.

This is simple matter. But it makes me feel comfortable. When I write a hundred of indexcard in a week, I feel some kind of satisfaction. I pile it, count it, box it, flip it. Like a child playing with bricks. I can’t feel such satisfaction with digital media.

I think this simplicity of indexcard attracts me so strongly.

cf. ‘What you see is what you get’ (Wikipedia, WYSIWYG)

I think human brain have a ‘filter’. It limits information going into brain.

For example, I put Afghanistan lag on a sofa in my room. The lag has a big hole on it. But in daily life, I don’t mind it at all. If I have guest, he/she may immediately notice the big hole. In this case I have a filter about the hole, and the guest doesn’t. The filter works convenient sometimes, but it filter-out something we must notice in same time.

To get rid of the filter, I started training with asking ‘why?’ for everything I see. Once I find a question, then, following to the law of mushroom, I find there are many questions around me. Most of time I can’t answer the questions immediately. Sometimes it takes a year to answer to single question. But this is not quiz show. There is no time limit. What is important is think by my own brain. For such thinking process, Pólya’s strategy is quite useful.

Removing filter is a beginning of thinking by myself. Now I feel I got different view point of the world.

If I go to mountain to pick up mushroom, for example, I can’t see anything in a forest at the beginning. But at certain time later I find a mushroom. Then I find there are many mushrooms around me.

The forest doesn’t change during the time, of cource. Just my eye used to find mushroom. I call this phenomena as ‘law of mushroom‘.

Once I start writing indexcard, I can’t stop writing sometimes. I call it ‘avalanche writing’. In this state, the contents of certain indexcard trigger another topic. In other word, it’s like a ‘chain reaction’ in chemistry. Sometimes I write an indexcard every minutes.

The trigger is alright with small thing, like an avalanche in nature. I usually start up writing indexcard of the day with diary. What time I got up, what happen on a way office, weather, health.

I had used computer mainly for my writing and thinking during graduate school. I believed digital world is perfect. I rarely hand-write that time.

One day, I surprised that I can’t remember Kanji (Chinese character). On input Kanji on computer, it shows candidates for translation to Kanji. All I need is just choose appropriate Kanji from the candidates. It is like difference between ‘reading’ and ‘writing’ or ‘hearing’ and ‘doing’.

My colleagues, computer nerd, also complained this problem. We were twenteenager (?) at that time, too early to lose memory. It is obviously come from computer dependence.

Perhaps this problem is special case for Japanese, it is enough to motivate me to return to hand-writing. Memory about Kanji is getting better. And now I believe, from my experience, hand-writing do enhances memory. :)

Japanese use three kind of writing system for writing ; Kanji, Hiragana, and Katakana.

Kanji was introduced from China to Japan in 5-6 century. Now Japanese student learn about a thousand of Kanji in elementary school. Usually, Japanese use nearly two thousand of Kanji in daily life (souce : Wikipedia, Jyoyo Kanji). Hiragana and Katakana is derived from Kanji, and there is 104 cases each (Wikipedia, Hiragana). Because of this complicated system, writing in Japanese on computer is more difficult than alphabet system.

We need following procedure for writing on computer,

Input Hiragana -> Translation to Kanji -> Choose from candidates -> Decision

This procedure is repeated for every word. Thinking is interrupted by this complicated input method.

Hand-writing is much much easier and faster than computer for me. It connects thinking (brain) and writing (hand) more properly.

When I was child, I do loved to play LEGO brick. It is piece by piece, as you know, with various color and shape. It is possible to build almost anything.

Writing an indexcard is somewhat like making a piece of brick. After accumulation of indexcard, the set can be organized/reorganized to build something larger structure, e.g. report, paper, book etc..

To realize such re-usability, a contents of single indexcard must be concise. I think the size of 5×3 indexcard is the best for this purpose.

I found that opened door trigger peple to drop by my office.

I had closed the door of my office because of air-conditioner last week. Then nobody drop by my office. After I open the door, even though few tens of centimeter, people start to drop by my office again.

It is somewhat like atmosphere of my office vacuums people inside.
Or, perhaps, the door may symbolize our mind is open or not.