The brain is an absolutely amazing part of the human body. This three-pound organ is composed of 86 billion neurons making an estimated 60 trillion neuronal connections. Each of these synapses form the bridge between the physical world of our body and the metaphysical world of our consciousness and soul. It is the control center and data center that processes all of our sensory inputs, regulates the rest of the body, and stores the data that we consume.
The brain is great at thinking, integrating ideas, and being creative. It is great at creating associations and attaching meaning or significance to the things that it encounters. But the brain does a pretty lousy job of archiving information with a high degree of fidelity. It seems, though I doubt scientifically validated, that for every new piece of information that we store, a random old memory is lost. And for the those that remain, time degrades details. It is disheartening to think that I once knew the origin, insertions, and innervations for all of the muscles of the body. But now, I would be able to recite only a small fraction on command. As a rule, it is difficult to keep and organize information in our brains long term.
A second brain, then, is a place to keep, organize, and connect information that we encounter. It is a place to take and make notes and archive key information. In our current digital age, we each encounter and process approximately 34 Gb of data on a daily basis. And in an age where information is the key currency of the modern economy, having a system to capture, organize, and connect this information is critical to be productive and successful.
In this book, productivity expert Tiago Forte discusses the process of creating a second brain. Rooted in his personal life experience with a challenging medical condition, he describes how taking and saving copious notes on virtually everything can help you identify previously unseen patterns and be the source material for creative expression.
Creating a second brain can be summarized in 4 simple steps. It all starts with capturing information in the form of notes. Capture what you are thinking. Capture what resonates. Capture what is potentially helpful. Second, organize your notes. Create a system where you can store your notes across all your different data sources (files, email, cloud, etc). Third, distill each note that you create with a brief summary so you can easily see the key information. And finally, use your notes for productive and creative expression. For each of these 4 steps, Forte elaborates and answers the how and why questions as well as gives practical examples.
I ran across this book as I was setting up my Obsidian vault and beginning my journey of capturing and creating notes, inspired by Nick Milo with Liking Your Thinking. I have personally benefitted from many of the insights that are in the book and have incorporated some of his methods in my own note taking. Personally, I favor the Zettelkasten method of organization as compared to Forte's PARA method. But the key is that you choose a system and use it. Too many people, myself included, maintain far too casual of a relationship with our most valuable assets - our data and our thoughts. So, pick up the book. You will definitely find benefit and be inspired to create your second brain and unlock your creative potential.
Comentarios