# Smart notes (permanent note) Smart notes are the basic element for capturing your understanding in [[Zettelkasten]] system. It is a note that stays forever, and it evolves over time reflecting the deeper understanding of it. ## Principles - One concept - focus on describing single idea/concept/topic. - phrase it in your own words - Self contained - extracted from its original context and rephrased to be self contained. - Transform the idea to your own thinking - connect it to (multiple) topics that interest you (steal like an artist). [[Elaboration|Elaborate]] and link to other permanent notes. This enable finding the note in the future while reading and thinking in another context. - homogeneous like physical steal containers in the shipping industry which enable more efficient thinking. ![[Pasted image 20220722073753.png|306]] - Projects notes are temporary and are not structured as units of ideas. Therefore, that are stored separately from the slip-box. ## Advantage Writing notes enforce you to summarize a text. This requires understanding the gist of a text, identifying models, context and categories used in the text. Also, thinking critically on a text by asking what is not there, how this relates to other notes. It also forces you to test yourself if you really understood the text as it is harder to trick yourself that you understand something while you are not when writing. Doing this repeatedly is a [[Deliberate practice]] and will improve this important skill. It enables fighting the [[Confirmation Bias]] by gathering facts without judging its relation to a specific source. Therefore, we will collect unintentionally both support and contrast ideas that we will have in the future. Related: - [[reading with a pen]] - [[Remember what you read]] ## Created 2022-05-06 05:48