有些急性子

My Knowledge Processing Factory - Rejecting Transportation#

This article participates in the Digital Pencil Case Essay Activity

Background#

Since high school, I have had the idea of organizing my mistakes in the cloud so that I can view them anytime and anywhere on my phone, making it easier to review. However, due to the limitations of the environment at that time, I couldn't conveniently use digital tools, and this idea faded away. Nevertheless, the notion of "digitizing notes" took root from then on.

After entering university, I came across OneNote. I began to "transport" valuable "articles," class notes, and PPTs to OneNote, like a diligent little hamster, constantly hoarding "knowledge." Watching the software's "storage size" grow filled me with a sense of accomplishment. However, after starting work, I gradually realized that the accumulated "knowledge" could not be applied to practical production. Many notes might have never been opened again after being "transported" into OneNote.

By chance, I attended a lecture on "Knowledge Management" by Shiao Nan, the founder of flomo, where he mentioned a phrase I was very familiar with:

Transportation is a waste.

As a graduate in industrial engineering, "transportation waste," as one of the "eight wastes," is a key focus of my studies and a starting point for my work. However, I had only applied it to the production process at work, neglecting my own "knowledge processing" process. I suddenly realized that in my original knowledge management process, "transportation" occupied a large part, and I overlooked that this was a significant waste. This kind of transportation does not generate any added value, nor does it deepen the impression of knowledge in my brain, making it impossible to easily recall when needed in the future. Aside from wasting time and energy, merely satisfying my small sense of achievement and vanity, it offered almost no benefits. Because from a production perspective, the "transported" knowledge is merely moved from the factory gate to the processing workshop, piled up in a corner, almost impossible to be moved onto production equipment, let alone become a valuable "product."

On Shiao Nan's recommendation, I began to explore the book “The Card Note Writing Method” and tried to use a bi-directional note-taking tool to rebuild my "knowledge processing factory."

My Knowledge Processing Factory#

The production process of a product basically includes three processes: input of raw materials, processing of work-in-progress, and output of products. Knowledge is no different, encompassing input, processing, and output. Combining the flash notes, literature notes, and permanent notes mentioned in “The Card Note Writing Method,” I chose TheBrain, flomo, Logseq, and Siyuan as my "knowledge processing factory."

The basic structure and processing flow of my knowledge processing factory are shown in the diagram below:

Workshop Director#

TheBrain#

Why do I refer to TheBrain as the workshop director? First, let's understand this software. Here is a segment from the official website.

• TheBrain is a unique mind mapping software that connects all information through one node after another, ultimately forming a chaotic yet organized web structure. Compared to traditional tree-structured mind maps, TheBrain is more conducive to integrating scattered resources, stimulating creativity, and exercising thinking.

I believe calling it a "mind map" is insufficient; it represents a more advanced production method. Traditional mind maps often have a parent-child hierarchical relationship, where one "parent" has multiple "children." However, as the sub-items extend, the relationships between the children of different parents become increasingly distant. TheBrain allows for links between multiple "parents," multiple "children," and multiple "friends," meaning that even two nodes that are far apart can be related. As shown in Figure 1, this diagram was created using TheBrain. We can see that there are no clear parent and child nodes; some nodes can be both parents and children, and the children under the same parent can also establish connections. For example, "Logseq" is both a child node of the "processing workshop" and a parent node of "input" and "output," while "Logseq" can also be a child node of "input" and "output." Furthermore, "Logseq" can build connections with the two nodes "flomo" and "Siyuan." This way, the basic structure and processing flow of my "knowledge processing factory" become very clear.

TheBrain first helped me construct the framework of the "knowledge processing factory," and of course, its role goes beyond that. TheBrain aligns well with the way our brains think, filled with leaps. Especially the knowledge point "transportation is a waste," in traditional mind maps, or rather in my traditional thinking pattern, its position in my knowledge system is shown in Figure 2.

However, Shiao Nan's lecture moved me; the knowledge point "transportation is a waste" is not only applicable to traditional production industries but can also be related to the production and processing of knowledge. This leap in thinking and migration of knowledge is something I had never experienced before. Traditional mind mapping tools also struggle to intuitively present this relationship, and TheBrain addresses this pain point. As shown in Figure 3, "transportation waste" and "knowledge processing" have become related.

The concept conveyed by TheBrain coincides with that of “The Card Note Writing Method.” Traditional mind maps are more of a "top-down" model, while "TheBrain" and "card notes" provide a "bottom-up" and "naturally growing" thinking model. Disciplines can intersect, and so can knowledge.

Returning to the initial question, why is TheBrain a workshop director? In traditional production industries, the workshop director's task is to control the entire production process based on the input of raw materials, product demand, and workshop capacity, including the allocation and transportation of raw materials, production processes and workflows, and formulating reasonable production plans. For me, TheBrain plays a similar role in my "knowledge processing factory," as it intuitively displays the relationships between different "information" and "knowledge," which is something other bi-directional note-taking tools find hard to achieve. It helps me maintain a macro view of the entire knowledge system construction progress, allocates different information to suitable "processing workshops" for handling, and helps me determine the information processing methods and bi-directional relationships within the "processing workshop." Of course, the mind map-like model also means that TheBrain is not suitable for deep processing of knowledge, which implies that it is only suitable for the role of "workshop director" and is unlikely to output in-depth knowledge products as a "processing workshop." For instance, the knowledge point "transportation waste," after displaying its relationship network in TheBrain, will be further processed in the "processing workshop" for specific applications in the fields of "industrial engineering" and "knowledge processing," ultimately outputting a complete document as the final product.

Processing Workshop#

Combining the areas I am interested in and the recent projects I have undertaken, I initially used TheBrain to construct a preliminary knowledge system, and then I could delve deeper into processing knowledge in the "processing workshop."

Here are my three main "processing workshops."

flomo#

Readers from the minority community should be quite familiar with this tool, as it was the first bi-directional linking note-taking software I encountered.

As a lightweight note-taking tool, flomo does not have strong formatting capabilities and lacks simple bi-directional links, so its functional characteristics also determine its suitability for handling flash notes.

What are flash notes? Just like its name, flash notes are the thoughts that flash through our minds. Whether it's the exclamations we make while reading articles on public accounts, the knowledge we capture while scrolling through Douyin videos, or the sudden insights that come to us while daydreaming, all of these are flash notes. We might not have paper and pen at hand, but we can easily open flomo on our phones or even the flomo public account on WeChat to record these sudden insights.

I believe many people have the habit of jotting down golden sentences, and flomo is also very suitable for collecting such content. I used to do the same, copying and pasting sentences I deemed valuable into my phone's memo, but this kind of transportation brought me no value because information that has not been processed can never become knowledge. Therefore, the content input into flomo should be written in my own words as much as possible or connected with other existing knowledge.

How do I use flomo? Flomo provides tagging and annotation connection features, which help me establish connections between different knowledge cards. I borrowed the I.A.R.P principle for the tagging function, designing the tagging system shown in Figure 4 based on my own situation. Tags help me group similar knowledge content, and annotations help me build bridges between any two pieces of knowledge.

For example, the knowledge point "transportation is a waste" can belong to both "project/knowledge management" and "field/IE" (IE is the English abbreviation for industrial engineering) in the tagging system. At the same time, through the annotation function, this knowledge point is linked to other knowledge points under both tags.

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So how can we better recall the previously recorded memos? Flomo has designed a daily review feature.

• Method 1: Review through the desktop widget (up to 24 times a day)
• Method 2: Review past content through the app's push notifications in the notification center (up to 24 times a day, not supported on iOS)
• Method 3: Review through the WeChat service account, which pushes messages daily (up to 3 times a day)

These reviews help me better discover the connections between knowledge points and identify some information that has lost value, allowing me to discard it and reduce information noise.

Flomo provides a simple sharing feature, allowing us to publish short phrases to Moments, Weibo, and other desired platforms. However, the characteristics of flomo also determine that it is not suitable for deeper and more content-rich knowledge processing. So how can we better utilize the recorded knowledge? I use Logseq to undertake the deep processing of flomo knowledge.

Logseq#

As shown in Figure 6, flomo and Logseq can perform one-way data transmission through the plugin - flomo sync. There are three synchronization modes to choose from - tag mode, diary mode, and single-page mode. You can also select the range and format of synchronization, which is very convenient.

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Logseq is a powerful bi-directional note-taking tool. After synchronizing the content from flomo, I can better utilize the bi-directional linking function for knowledge processing. The flash notes stored in flomo can be aggregated in Logseq and further processed into literature notes. For example, "transportation is a waste," in Logseq, the knowledge recorded in various places in flomo can be aggregated using bi-directional links, block references, and block embeds to form a more complete article. Therefore, knowledge cannot simply be transported from flomo to Logseq.

However, as an outline-based bi-directional tool, Logseq has its obvious drawbacks, making it unsuitable for outputting long texts. It tends to encourage writing a few sentences and then hitting enter. It is challenging to construct an article with semantic logic and is not suitable for public sharing, leading to a poor reading experience for the audience. For this, we need another "processing workshop" - Siyuan to handle it.

Siyuan#

The note-taking tool Siyuan may not appear frequently in the minority community; it is a local bi-directional note-taking tool that combines outline and document styles. The introduction on its official website is as follows:

Siyuan Note is a local-first personal knowledge management system that supports complete offline use and also supports end-to-end encrypted synchronization. It integrates blocks, outlines, and bi-directional links to build your eternal digital garden.

It has the following features:

• Block editing - similar to Notion's editing mode.
• Privacy and security - data is completely stored locally, and synchronization supports end-to-end encryption, eliminating concerns about cloud privacy breaches and loss risks.
• Bi-directional block referencing - all content is based on block editing, making it easy to reference and link.
• List outline - supports outline editing with clear hierarchy.

Of course, Siyuan can easily import markdown format files, meaning that data from Logseq can be easily migrated to Siyuan.

In Siyuan, I also use the I.P.R.A principle to organize notes, but instead of tags, I use bi-directional links. Siyuan provides a document tree function, but notes under the I.P.R.A principle need to flow so that knowledge can adapt to its constantly changing needs. Therefore, I referenced the MOC organizational method, attempting to combine the traditional "top-down" approach of directories with the "bottom-up" approach of card notes, while also drawing on the note-taking method of Daily Note, forming the processing equipment and flow of the "Siyuan" workshop.

In the document tree, I set up four directories:

• MOC - As shown in Figure 10, in the MOC, I utilized the P.A.R.A principle to construct four modules: Projects, Areas, Resources, and Archives, echoing the tagging system in flomo. Bi-directional links can also eliminate the hassle of moving notes within the document tree, making it more flexible and efficient. At the bottom is a plugin that allows easy navigation to the corresponding date's Daily Note, conveniently integrating with the diary.
• Diary - Organizing notes through Daily Note reduces input pressure while facilitating the use of bi-directional links to connect with other notes in Siyuan. This article was also written in the diary, reducing the pressure of directly outputting long texts.
• Inbox - Siyuan also provides clipping functions for WeChat and browsers, where articles that need to be processed later will temporarily reside in this directory.
• Main - The main directory stores all note content except for Daily Notes, and the content here consists of processed, output-value deep knowledge products.

How can we prevent the articles in the Inbox from becoming digital garbage? I applied the Progressive Summarization method to process and refine the obtained information, constructing a five-layer note system that advances layer by layer, perfectly addressing the question of "how to avoid transportation waste." An important principle here is to have a sales mindset, selling current knowledge to my future self.

• First layer: The original text, which serves as the foundation for summarization, can be in any format I find comfortable; I prefer clipping the original text.
• Second layer: The first round of information compression. After reading, I bold the parts I consider important and key.
• Third layer: Based on the second layer, I review the bolded parts, identify the more critical essence, and highlight it.
• Fourth layer: Summarize in my own words; for the most important parts, I reorganize the language in my own words.
• Fifth layer: For those parts that are useful to me right now, I build upon the previous layers with additional thoughts, which can be in the form of text, video, or any other displayable medium.

Progressive summarization is about reinforcing my future self. I believe friends who have read "The Three-Body Problem" will be familiar with this term; it is also a great example of applying the same concept across different fields, enhancing my understanding of the migration, intersection, and connection between knowledge.

Thus, my "knowledge processing factory" has formed a complete operational mode from input to processing to output, effectively avoiding "transportation waste."

Conclusion#

This is my first time writing and publishing online. I am grateful to “The Card Note Writing Method” for teaching me a way to reduce my writing pressure and boost my confidence in writing. At the same time, I believe that the use of software is based on underlying thinking patterns; if I were still using my previous learning methods, bi-directional note-taking tools would not be able to exert their maximum potential.

The above is the workflow and insights I have explored after recently engaging with these digital tools. I have written it quite superficially and hope to exchange ideas with everyone and receive your guidance.