highlight + comment method
Table of Contents
A way of processing textual materials(article, book) to form an organization of ideas.
The process consist of 2 steps:
- processing the textual materials 1
- when had an idea: highlight the place that provokes the idea, and leave on the side comments content the idea.
- processing the highlights and comments
- discard nonsesne
- paraphrase -> more concise, accurate expression
- make visual where applicable
- organize the individual ideas into a meaningful organization
- if use zettelkasten, put those connected, better-written notes into the zettelkasten 2
- if with other note-taking system, use the processed ideas as material for notes.
1. morale
- a case of
- a case of capture
2. program
20’ highlight + 40’process seems to work
2.1. data
material: 2 column article
| id | lines covered | step1(minute) | step2(minute) |
| 1 | 41 | 22 | 37 |
| 2 | 30 | 20 |
3. links
4. extension
Backlinks
KeshavS ::: How to Read a Paper
(3-pass method > 2nd pass)
In the 2nd pass, jot down arguments. specifically, if combine with highlight + comment method, this is where you do the highlight and jot down comments, extract small clips of meaningful/important sentences/ideas
after this pass, according to your expertice and importance of paper, and your objectives reading the paper, there’s different follow ups:
- put it aside and never touch it again
- when you think you have enough understanding of this work or you don’t think it is worth your time looking into it (bad writing, insignificant idea) Would be a common bin for experienced readers with priorities; would be more of a blind reckoning for readers inexperienced in the field
- revisit it after finish reading backgrounds
often because you can’t understand the paper because you don’t understand a term/concept used in it, or the author assumed knowledge of a line of work that you have never heard of.
This is dangerous as it is likely you will recursively read those background readings background as well, and typically a paper have more than 20 refs - you can’t handle 400 papers just to understand one.
highlight + comment method is slow
from logs in highlight + comment method, typical scale is 30-40 lines(about 1/3 to half a page on a double column article page) in 60 minutes (20 minutes of highlighting and 40 minuites of processing).
This is very slow: for 4 page article (which is short), it would be 12 hours.
review 2024-01-27
- on Herman’s systems:
- I simplified most existing things:
- capture - I now use one capture inbox for everything: task, ideas, bookmark, so GTD capture and research capture are combined. This is a practice, not to say it is good or bad, it is simple enough to work decently
- review - I now review my zettelkasten daily, but sometimes there’s more than what I can do on the instant.(like the whole of my research system is like a big pile of nonsense right now, and so is my GTD integration; I’ll reduce, or delete them entirely very shortly after)
- tags - I don’t use it as of now. I may start it somewhere in the future, but now I don’t use it
- process - One process diagram should be enough, instead of this giant load of text
- engage - checking agenda, and that’s it. I use phone timer more often now.
- in general, this whole page is very not useful. I use current life script more now, although it does not contain information on research and stuff. I could extend it to include these though.
- I use some new concepts, like primitive action, and new set of very limited primitives in top of my mind.
- I practice slow-carb diet and use a fitness program now, they should be included.
- It is decided: I’m stuffing everything in the lifestyle script. research is a lifestyle, fitness is a lifestlye, shake the staticity off is a lifestyle, I live and I live with a style. Yet I may want to have it split into smaller pieces
- I simplified most existing things:
- on the zettelkasten
- lots of places for reduction and improvement it is not very useful in general. old, rambling note that should be discarded in second batch processing are scattering at places where I quote them, thinking they are good concise notes. A lot of places could use visuals and concise words, examples or links to concrete examples
- on the tasks
- the reduction is working, there’s a lot to think for the tasks. this means a change to the my GTD zettel is in request
- on tracking and experiments
- tracking is hard to remember. but it is damn useful.
- highlight + comment method and capture is a form of tracking thoughts
- so I think I should track some specific, explicitly measureable things, and have them noted somewhere so I don’t forget