The Origin of Building a Personal Knowledge Base#
Initial Thoughts#
Over the past week, I have been contemplating what is truly important, or to be more precise: what is worth investing my time and energy into at this stage of my life? Many people are searching for trends and trying to predict future changes. As an individual, I do not have the power to control the development of the era. Instead, I am more concerned about what will remain unchanged in the next ten years. I will use these unchanging elements to create my own "core," which will ultimately define my content.
Taking Action#
Based on this idea, I have identified several skills that I want to continuously improve over the next few years. For more details, please refer to the content on the "About" page here.
I hope that the personal knowledge system I spend time learning and perfecting will have the following characteristics, which are also some of my product concepts for self-construction:
1. Extracting paths and organizing models.#
Learning any knowledge is not the ultimate goal. Instead, it is about extracting and organizing the underlying structure that supports the existence of that knowledge. Only by doing so can we use the model architecture to learn new knowledge in the next learning process. Through this learning method, knowledge transitions from being the purpose of learning to an additional gain in learning. Ultimately, what is acquired is a more fundamental architecture that supports the operation of knowledge.
2. Learning is a process of growth.#
I remember reading a few pages of the Tao Te Ching in middle school, and there was a sentence that roughly said, "All things have a way, and they move without danger." Everything has its own life cycle, and rushing to achieve results often leads to counterproductive outcomes. I hope that the process of constructing my knowledge system is solid and steady, just like a seed growing into a mature tree. It cannot be rushed.
3. Skillfully using electronic tools to build a better system.#
In the Internet age, valuable things spread rapidly. As they are continuously disseminated, their value increases. Many advanced concepts are quickly developed into corresponding software for users to utilize. Therefore, in the process of constructing my personal knowledge system, I believe that effectively using current software is a way to enjoy the benefits of the era and leverage the help of others to improve myself.
Structure of the Knowledge Base#
Overview of Tools Used#
1. Physical notebooks#
Previously, all learning processes were completed in physical notebooks, and I have tried several note-taking methods. However, I faced a problem: as the number of notes accumulated, there was no time to review them. It became a situation where I was taking notes just for the sake of taking notes, which I felt had limited impact on the construction of my knowledge system.
2. Note-taking software#
Since I used to work from home, I spent most of my time near a computer. Compared to handwriting, I found it more convenient to record information in electronic format, as it is easier to store and search for. I have used various note-taking applications such as Youdao Cloud, Evernote, and Shimo. However, I realized that although I took notes diligently, each note existed independently. This meant that after writing them, there was a high possibility that I would never open them again, resulting in limited impact on the construction of my knowledge system.
Current Tool Combination#
Through various tools and methods, I have discovered the following during the process of constructing my personal knowledge system:
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As more things are recorded, and the classification hierarchy becomes deeper, the possibility of revisiting and reviewing previous notes increases with the increase in the volume of records. In other words, the more notes I take, the more difficult it becomes to find previous notes.
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As knowledge is recorded, each piece of knowledge is continuously subdivided until it is placed in a specific folder. This brings about a problem: the connection between knowledge in different categories is reduced. However, the more links there are between different pieces of knowledge, the more opportunities there are for them to combine and create new knowledge.
Only when problems arise can we take relevant actions and find solutions. Therefore, I have explored and used various mainstream tools and software to address the above problems, resulting in my personal tool combination for building a knowledge system:
Personal blog + Obsidian + GitHub
This combination consists of three parts:
External: This is where I showcase articles and thoughts on my blog.
Internal: All thoughts and accumulated knowledge are recorded in Obsidian.
Storage: Both the blog and Obsidian files are synchronized and managed on GitHub.
The choice of tools in the tool combination is based on individual needs and can be configured differently. What is important is that I am aware that these are just tools, and if there are more suitable tools in the future, I will choose them. The main point is that they all serve a purpose - to help me build a personal knowledge system more effectively and conveniently.
Twitter: Hoodrh