8 published lessons with this tag.
A note that captures exactly one idea can be understood without its original context, linked to any argument, and recombined indefinitely — a note that captures two ideas can do none of these things reliably.
You choose how finely to decompose based on your purpose — not on some inherent "correct" level of detail. The same material supports different grain sizes for different uses.
Each atom exists in relationship to others — atomicity is about self-containment not loneliness.
Record why an idea matters and what triggered it not just the idea itself.
Reviewing your captured notes over time reveals patterns you did not see in the moment.
What you learn but do not write down you will learn again and again. The act of writing about what you learned is not documentation — it is a second act of learning that encodes deeper than the first.
When everything important is externalized — every decision, reasoning chain, emotion, goal, assumption, commitment, priority, mental model, blocker, energy pattern, learning, feedback signal, failure, progress marker, thinking condition, and system design — you gain complete cognitive freedom. The mind that holds nothing becomes the mind that can do anything.
Your externalized thoughts are the raw material for a knowledge graph.