漸進式總結法

Jul 3, 2023 · 6 min read · productivity  ·
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漸進式總結法是一種知識管理辦法, 透過 5 個 Layer 來將數位資訊收成筆記. 不單存是複製貼上, 要盡可能轉成知識體系.

Progressive Summarization: A Practical Technique for Designing Discoverable Notes

這是一個使用漸進式總結數位資訊的方法, 此篇透過 5 個 Layer 來將數位資訊總結成文件. 文件可以進而轉成知識建構模型 DIKW([[note-data-information-knowledge-wisdom]]) 中的 data、information 甚至是 knowledge, 為金字塔的底層是築起知識的根基. 另外也有提到使用 PARA([[what-is-the-para-method]]) 來做文件的分類.

再來提及了目前主流的兩種知識管理之方法 Tagging-first、notebook-first, 但作者列出了兩種方法的優劣, 並提出了 note-first approach.

數位資訊大多是擷取其他來源, 在擷取的過程中不外乎會做壓縮, 作者提到摘錄重點, 但不要過度壓縮. 若失去了上下文的意義, 可能會造成未來的我看不懂; 但也不要摘錄過於攏長, 將重要資訊淹沒在文字中. 這是個兩者的 COMPRESSION VS. CONTEXT 平衡.

下面則為 5 個 Layer, 少說至少會看文章 5 遍:

  • Layer 5: 最後混合 Layer 1~4 做不同角度的頗析, 融會貫通.

  • Layer 4: 第三次的總節. 用自己的觀點來描述 Layer 2~3 的內容, 並將內容另放在筆記上方.

  • Layer 3: 第二次的總節. 透過 Layer 2 做螢光筆, 此次螢光部分為重點中的重點, 可節省我們以後閱讀的時間成本. 再做一次審視, 做筆記螢光最獨特且有價值的部分.

  • Layer 2: 第一次的總節. 透過 Layer 1 的節錄將重要的資訊標註成粗體重點. 再做一遍審視, 補充筆記的不夠明確的部分, 尋找原文的關鍵字、片段文章、句子來解釋不夠明確的核心.

  • Layer 1: 擷取數位資訊, 將有興趣的部分剪貼至筆記中. 要注意擷取但不失上下文, 保持文章的語境通順.

Modern digital tools make it easy to “capture” information from a wide variety of sources. We know how to snap a picture, type out some notes, record a video, or scan a document. Getting this content from the outside world into the digital world is trivial.

What is difficult is not transferring content from place to place, but transferring it through time.

You read a book, investing hours of mental labor in understanding the ideas it presents. You finish the book with a feeling of triumph that you’ve gained a valuable body of knowledge.

But then what?

You may try to apply the science-based methods the book recommends, only to realize it’s not quite as clear-cut as you thought. You may try to change the way you eat, exercise, communicate, or work, trusting in the power of habits. But then the everyday demands of life come rushing back, and you forget what motivated you in the first place.

At this point, people take different paths. Some give up, labeling all "self-help" books a waste of time. Others decide it’s just a problem of remembering everything they read, and invest in fancy memorization techniques. And many people become "infovores," force-feeding themselves endless books, articles, and courses, in the hope that something will stick.

At that future point, when you’re applying that knowledge directly to a real-world challenge, you won’t have to worry about memorizing it, integrating it, or even fully understanding it. You will only have to apply it, and any gaps in your understanding will very quickly reveal themselves. By the time you’re done solving a real problem with it, book knowledge has become experiential knowledge. And experiential knowledge is something you carry with you forever.

This is the job of a "second brain" -  an external, integrated digital repository for the things you learn and the resources from which they come. It is a storage and retrieval system, packaging bits of knowledge into discrete packets that can be forwarded to various points in time to be reviewed, utilized, or deleted.

In The PARA Method([[what-is-the-para-method]]), I described a universal system for organizing any kind of digital information from any source. It is a “good enough” system, maintaining notes according to their actionability (which takes just a moment to determine), instead of their meaning (which is ambiguous and depends on the context).

There are two primary schools of thought on how to organize a note-taking program (or really any body of information, but I’ll use terms specific to note-taking apps):

Tagging-first approaches argue that there should be no explicit hierarchy of notes, notebooks, and stacks. Notes are envisioned as an ever-changing, virtual matrix of interconnected, free-floating ideas. Because many tags can be applied to one note, there are multiple pathways to discover any given note. Locating notes in specific notebooks and folders is seen as limiting and static.

The second conventional approach to organizing notes is notebook-first. This basically translates how we organize things in the physical world — in a series of discrete containers — into the digital world.

I propose we make the design of individual notes the primary factor, instead of tags or notebooks. With a note-first approach, your notes become like individual atoms — each with its own unique properties, but ready to be assembled into elements, molecules, and compounds that are far more powerful.

A note-first approach to knowledge management means we have to think about design. You are, in a very real sense, designing a product for a demanding customer — Future You.

Future You doesn’t necessarily trust that everything Past You put into your notes is valuable. Future You is impatient and skeptical, demanding proof upfront that the time they spend reviewing notes will be worthwhile. You’ve gotta “sell them” on the idea of reviewing a given note, including all the stages any salesperson has to master: gaining attention, inspiring interest, establishing credibility, stoking desire, and making a case for action NOW.

There’s a natural tension between the two, compression and context.

To communicate anything, you have to compress it, like communicating a huge amount of life experience in a wise saying. But in doing so, you lose a lot of the context that made that wisdom valuable in the first place.

Progressive Summarization works in “layers” of summarization. Layer 0 is the original, full-length source text.

Layer 1 is the content that I initially bring into my note-taking program. I don’t have an explicit set of criteria on what to keep. I just capture anything that feels insightful, interesting, or useful.

Layer 2 is the first round of true summarization, in which I bold only the best parts of the passages I’ve imported. Again, I have no explicit criteria. I look for keywords, key phrases, and key sentences that I feel represent the core or essence of the idea being discussed.

For Layer 3, I switch to highlighting, so I can make out the smaller number of highlighted passages among all the bolded ones. This time, I’m looking for the “best of the best,” only highlighting something if it is truly unique or valuable. And again, I’m only adding this third layer when I’m already reviewing the note anyway.

For Layer 4, I’m still summarizing, but going beyond highlighting the words of others, to recording my own. For a small number of notes that are the most insightful, I summarize layers 2 and 3 in an informal executive summary at the top of the note, restating the key points in my own words.

And finally , for a tiny minority of sources, the ones that are so powerful and exciting I want them to become part of how I think and work immediately, I remix them. After pulling them apart and dissecting them from every angle in layers 1–4, I add my own personality and creativity and turn them into something else.