In knowledge management circles (like Obsidian), Zettelkasten is a hot topic of conversation. The way itâs talked about, Zettelkasten is overly complicated by almost everybody. I finally figured out what it means and in the end, itâs ABSOLUTELY TRIVIAL in DynaList. If you are familiar with the topic, you might be astounded at the bottom line of this article, and wonder what the fuss is.
Background:
In its origin, a professor kept permanent notes on cards and used compound index numbering to link cards together. The cards were read-only, but you could add details to a card.
The original had particular organization. At the top level (âfoundation cardsâ), it basically was a library numbering structure. A few levels deep it became subject details. There was a references section for sources.
Illustration
I found a tutorial series that explains how to replicate in paper, that helped me really understand how it worked. This video is in the middle of the playlist, but it illustrates. The series is very helpful expanding on what information is nice to capture.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZQ4bG66-1E&list=PL0NO1kSy24mJuH9vz4At7MmdLuAW5j52y&index=13
A zettel is a short note that fits on an index card. It has a title, an index (3A9G10C) that enables somebody to navigate from the top via 3, A, 9, G, 10, and C. Its content could be just expanding on the subject. It could be a table of contents describing subcards. (subcards of 3A9G would be 1,2,3,âŚ10âŚ)
It could be a link to another card elsewhere in the hierarchy (naming the full path to the other card, and a title).
In the original scheme, you would never edit a card, but sometimes you would add to one. You may make a new card, decide where it belongs, write in an index number, and put it in the filing system. You may add reference links to the card from elsewhere, or add references here to elsewhere.
In Dynalist
Create a blank node. This is your card. The text of that node is the title. For the content of the card, use the note field. If you need more detail, use the outline feature to make a sub card. If you want to link to another card, copy a link to that card, and paste it in yours.
Or more briefly: Make a static outline. Use the note feature. Add subitems. Add links. Never edit your outline. That is it.
Moving beyond
The reason the original cards were never edited was it was a lot of work. In [eg.] Obsidian, creating short notes would be a very deliberate process. Adding hierarchical links is a deliberate process. Restructuring a manually constructed Zettel is easy, you just remove a link here and add there, but it is still a bit of work.
But in DynaList, short outline-oriented notes is automatic. Arranging notes into hierarchy is first nature. Rearranging notes to make an outline better is hot keyed and easy. Cross-linking is easy. and the backlink feature shows you the other direction.
Too many words, but it took me a long time to finally understand how these were constructed, and in the end, all the guy did was a paper version of adding notes into an infinitely expandable outline.
