Prefer Associative Ontologies to Hierarchical Taxonomies

Source: https://notes.andymatuschak.org/z8SU3r8xyZyvwRhyDdJasJ2

Highlights

Let structure emerge organically. When it’s imposed from the start, you prematurely constrain what may emerge and artificially compress the nuanced relationships between ideas. (via)

often items belong in many places. And items relate to other items in very different hierarchical categories. (via)

It’s better to let networks of related ideas to gradually emerge, unlabeled (via)

you can see the shape, then you can think about its character. (via)

The human mind does not work that way. It operates by association. (via)

In the old system, the question is: Under which topic do I store this note? In the new system, the question is: In which context will I want to stumble upon it again? (via)