Literature notes vs permanent notes.
Short answer: a literature note is someone else's idea in your words; a permanent note is your own idea, titled as a claim you could disagree with. You read into literature notes and think into permanent ones. The second kind is where your thinking compounds.
The ladder, with one example
| Step | What it holds | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Source | Other people's material, as it is | A study on how long habits take to form |
| Literature note | Their idea, in your words | "Lally on how long a habit takes": automaticity built over many weeks, and one missed day barely mattered |
| Permanent note | Your own idea, titled as a claim | "One missed day does not break a habit" |
The permanent note makes sense without the study. It links to the literature note as its evidence, and to other ideas of yours, such as "The rule that forbids missing is the rule that turns one miss into ten".
Five steps from source to idea
- Keep the source as it is, in a folder for other people's material.
- Write a literature note: why you read it, the main ideas in your words, what you disagree with.
- Find the idea that is yours. It often appears where two sources meet, or where a source meets your own experience.
- Write a permanent note titled as a claim. One idea per note, three to six sentences, explained to a smart friend.
- Link it to what it supports, contradicts or leads to.
Free template
Literature noteFree template
Permanent noteTheir words, then their idea in yours, then your own idea. Only the last one compounds.
Questions
What is a literature note?
A literature note is your summary of one source, written in your own words. It records the author's ideas, not yours, along with why you read it and what you disagree with.
What is a permanent note?
A permanent note holds one idea of your own, written so it makes sense without the source, titled as a claim you could disagree with, and linked to related ideas. It is never archived.
Do I need both literature and permanent notes?
Literature notes are where understanding happens; permanent notes are where your thinking accumulates. Skipping literature notes leads to shallow ideas; skipping permanent notes leaves you with a library of summaries and no thoughts of your own.
How Sylvics does it
Sylvics has a folder for each rung, templates for each note type, and a Knowledge Compass on every permanent note that shows what it comes from and what it connects to. See how an idea matures or watch a year of ideas compound.