The Exploration of New Ideas through Zettelkasten
“Ask yourself an interesting enough question and your attempt to find a tailor-made solution to that question will push you to a place where, pretty soon, you’ll find yourself all by your lonesome — which I think is a more interesting place to be.” ~ Chuck Close¹
“Always the beautiful answer / who asks a more beautiful question.” ~ E.E. Cummings²
A Zettelkasten should represent the arc of various learning curves as we traverse the distance between one understanding and the next. Where these arcs intersect is the more intriguing spot to explore.³
The Big Bang
Niklas Luhmann designed his Zettelkasten to be a brilliant thought machine, and like the universe, the beginning of the whole starts from a singularity. A single notation then expands and grows, in every direction, as large as we have imagination.
We add to our Zettelkasten layers of existing knowledge that we collect through reading. We investigate the interpretations made by others; we sort and catalog our interpretations. We ask questions and scrutinize other inquiries, synthesizing the information and data in such a way as to lead toward new insight.⁴ A Zettel notations’ resulting arc is the learning curve for that topic.
Questions determine the shape of the arc; however, getting to the right question, or perhaps even the next question, isn’t easy, and we often find the resulting shape of our knowledge more closely resembles a tree instead of the arc of a rainbow with an infinitely more complex pattern that results in both dead ends, solid trunks, and limbs.⁵
Warren Berger has given us a definition of what, he believes, constitutes a beautiful question:
A beautiful question is an ambitious yet actionable question that can begin to shift the way we perceive or think about something — and that might serve as a catalyst to bring about change.⁶
The best questions to ask within the confines of a Zettelkasten are those questions that can begin to shift our perception of how we think about something. Are there relationships in our notes that we still need to think through? Relationships that belong together in a series, and we need to begin tracking the layers of knowledge to close the gap?⁷ Niklas Luhmann believed that the key aspect of a reference should “selectively lead away” from the main material and take our thoughts in a new direction.⁸
Mapping the Arc of Questions in a Zettelkasten
Existing knowledge sometimes gets a bad rap in the Zettelkasten world, confusing the “collectors' fallacy” with base layers of understanding. All knowledge is important regarding a topic, and when you skip bits and pieces on the ground floor, the resulting gaps will create an unstable whole. Sometimes, a fact is just a fact. Articulating the fact, however, and providing the necessary commentary to show its relation to relevant text allows us to integrate the fact into our broader understanding.⁹
Most knowledge arcs start with a question about a fact, a claim, or, at the very least, a spark.¹⁰ The conscious inspiration of “that’s interesting,” is the outward manifestation of the internal sub-conscious question of “What does that mean?” “Is that true?” Or “How can I learn more?” Arcs can also leave gaps in the knowledge tree. When starting a new branch, pay attention when reading, writing, or even speaking about the new topic; every “I think,” “we believe,” or “in my opinion” represents a knowledge gap.¹¹ The current source (including yourself) doesn’t know. Once we discover a gap, we can work to fill in the data by asking questions. Bloom’s list of questions is an excellent place to start.
Bloom’s Critical Thinking Cue Questions
In 1940, the head of the Educator’s Committee, Benjamin Bloom, held a series of conferences to “improve the way educators communicate.”¹² The result was a series of published objectives: Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: The Classification of Educational Goals. Revised in 2001, the Taxonomy focuses on “learning activities, objectives, and assessments.”
Adapted in January 2013 by C. Allen from the Public Consulting Group’s Center for Resource Management and in partnership with the Council of Chief State School Officers, Mr. Allen created a list of Bloom’s Critical Thinking Cue Questions; they include:
1. Remembering Information (Knowledge; recalling facts and information)
What is …?
How is …?
How would you explain …?
2. Understanding (Comprehension; Explaining the meaning of information)
How would you compare …? contrast …?
What facts or ideas show …?
What can you say about …?
3. Applying (Using learned knowledge in new situations or to solve a real life problem)
How would you use …?
What examples can you find to …?
What would result if …?
4. Analyzing (Breaking down a whole into component parts; Examining critically)
Why do you think …?
What motive is there …?
What is the relationship between …?
5. Evaluating (Making judgments about the merits of ideas, materials, or phenomena based on criteria)
How would you prove …? disprove …?
What would you recommend …?
How would you prioritize …?
6. Creating (Putting ideas together to form a new and different whole)
What changes would you make to solve …?
How would you improve …?
What would happen if …?
These are only a few examples of the questions in Bloom’s Taxonomy of Critical Thinking.
Shit Happens
In 1928, microbiologist Alexander Fleming left his London lab with his family for a two-week holiday in Suffolk, England. A petri dish containing Staphylococcus bacteria had been left unattended in his lab, and upon his return, Fleming discovered that mold had contaminated the dish. On closer examination, Fleming discovered the patch of mold had destroyed the bacteria surrounding it, and Fleming’s “mold juice” would later become known as penicillin.¹³
We call these events luck, fate, or serendipity; “the occurrence or development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way.”¹⁴ In a study by Dr. Yaqub based on Robert K. Merton’s archives, Yaqub identified dozens of discoveries resulting from luck, blunder, broken, dropped, or spilled goofs, accelerating breakthroughs.¹⁵
You can work all you want following the threads of logic and answer each of Bloom’s critical thinking questions, and in the end, it might all boil down to a typo that solves the mystery of the universe.
Thanks for Reading!
While coffee may not be my cup of tea, I do have a passion for beautiful jewelry. If you enjoyed reading my article, I invite you to visit Jewelry Art by Linda, where every piece is lovingly crafted by hand with meticulous attention to detail.
Written November 4, 2023
Editorial assistance by Grammarly.
Published simultaneously at Linda’s Brick Barn.
Footnotes and References
[1]: Berger, Warren. A More Beautiful Question (p. 3). Bloomsbury Publishing. Kindle Edition.
[2]: Ibid. (Berger) p.3.
[3]: Scholle, Gerrit (Gescho) (September 4, 2019). “The Zettelkasten as a Lattice of Thought Strings.” Zettelkasten.de. Retrieved from https://zettelkasten.de/posts/lattice-of-thoughts/
[4]: Wilson, Allen (pseudoevagrius). (February 16, 2020) “Introduction & Teaching Using ZettelKasten and Paskian Entailment Meshes.” Zettelkasten Forum. Retrieved from: http://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/comment/4211/#Comment_4211
[5]: Editorial comment: I decided against using the term Fractal although fractal mathematics is used to model natural phenomena such as clouds, trees, mountains, and snowflakes. Bing Chat: “What is the definition of a Fractal?” October 22, 2023 7:47 am. Definition included this reference from: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fractal
[6]: Berger, Warren. A More Beautiful Question: The Power of Inquiry to Spark Breakthrough Ideas (p. 8). Bloomsbury Publishing. Kindle Edition.
[7]: Ibid. (Wilson, 2020)
[8]: Thomas, E. (2020, August 23). Understanding Zettelkasten — What it means to communicate with the slip-box. Retrieved September 11, 2020, from https://medium.com/@ethomasv/understanding-zettelkasten-d0ca5bb1f80e
[9]: Doto, Bob (March 12, 2023) “How to Handle Facts in Your Zettelkasten.” Writing by Bob Doto. Retrieved on October 22, 2023 from: https://writing.bobdoto.computer/how-to-handle-facts-in-your-zettelkasten/
[10]: Chapman, Ev. (July 12, 2022) “The Simple Process I Use For Turning Notes Into Knowledge (& Knowledge Into Content)” Medium. Retrieved from: https://medium.com/@evchapman/the-simple-process-i-use-for-turning-notes-into-knowledge-knowledge-into-content-a78c4711316b
[11]: Fox, Jeffrey J. “How to Become CEO: The Rules for Rising to the Top of Any Organization.”” Hyperion, 1998. p.85.
[12]: Reference?
[13]: Robbins, Brian. “Christmas Movies ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ and ‘Serendipity’ Get Copyright Extension.” The Wall Street Journal, 17 Dec. 2020, https://www.wsj.com/articles/christmas-movies-wonderful-life-serendipity-copyright-11671663411?mod=wsjhp_columnists_pos2.
[14]: Serendipity definition — Search (bing.com). Retrieved from: https://www.bing.com/search?q=serendipity+definition&form=ANNTH1&refig=af5cf363458f4edcb9095f7e9f1b47b3
[15]: Ibid. (Robbins, 2020)
