Yet tags completely disregard stigmergy and instead force us to think about our notes in a completely abstract way - as virtual holograms existing in multiple parallel and complex interconnecting universes, instead of as physical objects residing in a single physical location (even if that location is a notebook or other metaphor). This concept is called stigmergy (or stigmergic cognition) and represents one of our brains’ greatest innovations in saving energy. Think about it: memorizing a phone number without constant review is a challenge, yet you can probably identify the locations of hundreds of objects in your house. This is one way that memory grandmasters train, called a “memory palace.” By associating information to be memorized with specific locations (“on the cupboard in the kitchen,” or “third left-hand drawer in the study”), they harness the brain’s vast location-dependent memory. In this way, we offload some of our cognitive processing onto our environment, which is after all capable of storing information much more efficiently than our brains are. This means that our primary mode of thinking is not manipulating abstract symbols (like a computer does), but rather using our body (“embodiment”) to directly interact with objects in the environment (where they are “situated”). One of the most important discoveries in cognitive science in recent years is that cognition is embodied and situated. ![]() What a terrifically unnecessary expenditure of mental resources. Yet this is exactly what you’re doing straining to remember the right tag. “Parent” tags that create dropdown menus are no solution - that just leaves you squinting at a tiny list of options to choose from.Īnd autofill doesn’t address this either - first because it doesn’t work on every device, and second because sometimes there are very different ways of formulating the same thing (graphic design, UX design, interaction design…)Īs good as your brain is at recognizing patterns, it is terrible at storing and recalling multiple patterns precisely since the patterns of neuronal activation interfere with each other. When you rely heavily on tags, you have to perfectly recall every single tag you’ve ever used, and exactly how it is spelled and punctuated. It outperforms the fastest supercomputers on the former, and is outdone by a 1980’s solar calculator on the latter. Your brain is great at recognition, but pretty terrible at recall. Here’s more on his approach to using Evernote for creative workflows. He gave an incredible talk on productivity at Evernote HQ in 2013 and just last week, he talked to GTD legend David Allen about Evernote, creativity, and productivity. He draws on his background in UX design and technology startups to promote a vision of work that is both more innovative and more sustainable. Tiago is an internationally recognized speaker, media commentator, and productivity expert. ![]() If the genesis of creativity is built on the foundation of our spontaneous connections to seemingly unrelated things - then Evernote can serve as a cognitive tool to assist you against the ravages of forgetfulness while helping you take on all your creative challenges. You can create your own digital system that systematically helps remind you of past ideas, inspirations, and insights. Tiago posits that Evernote is a thinking tool. Tiago Forte offers up a different approach. But, the power of Evernote is in its flexibility. One of the classic debates for Evernote organization essentially is, ‘to tag or not to tag.’įrom Michael Hyatt to Thomas Honeyman, thousands upon thousands of you have relied on tags as your primary organizational system.
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