If some links only connect to part of a note, the note needs splitting
Apply the 'link test' by checking whether all links from a note feel relevant to the entire note—if some links connect only to parts, the note contains multiple units requiring separation.
Why This Is a Rule
Links are the strongest diagnostic for whether a note is truly atomic. In a well-structured knowledge system, a link connects one idea to another idea. When a link connects to only a paragraph or section within a note rather than to the note as a whole, the note contains multiple ideas — it's compound, and the link is pointing at a sub-unit that should be its own note.
This is the "link test": review every link going out from (and coming into) a note. Does each link feel relevant to the entire note, or only to a part of it? If some links relate to paragraph 1 but not paragraph 3, those paragraphs contain different ideas that got bundled into a single container.
A complementary test is the "challenge test": could someone disagree with part of the note while accepting the rest? If yes, the disagreeable part and the acceptable part are independent claims that should be independent notes. An atomic note is one that you either accept or reject as a whole — there's nothing to partially disagree with.
When This Fires
- Reviewing existing notes during knowledge base maintenance
- Linking a note and realizing the link only applies to one paragraph
- Noticing that a note keeps appearing in search results for unrelated queries
- Any time a note feels "too big" but you're unsure where to split it
Common Failure Mode
Leaving compound notes intact because splitting "feels like too much work." The compound note will create progressively more problems: imprecise links, noisy search results, difficulty referencing specific ideas in conversation or writing. The split takes 5 minutes now; the compound note costs 5 minutes of friction every time you interact with it — forever.
The Protocol
For each note in review: (1) List all outbound and inbound links. (2) For each link, ask: "Is this link relevant to the entire note, or just a section?" (3) If any links are section-specific, those sections are candidate split points. (4) Split compound notes into atomic notes, one per idea. (5) Re-link: the original links now point to the specific atomic note they were actually about, making the graph structure cleaner and more precise.