additional tags: [[discovery]], [[making connections]], [[personal knowledge management]], [[networked thinking]] # my notes on building a mind garden --- ## summary a collection of ideas & snippets for how to go about building a mind garden. this is the page that i do my own writing about a concept. can include direct links to content or just use backlinks. can also use this page as an annotated list of links, a table of contents sort of thing. moved the notes page to the public garden because it seemed silly to have info in both public and private sections of the mind garden. still figuring out how to format and present this but at least stuff is condensed into one location. --- ## questions **how do write/sort my notes?** this will have to be an evolving process that will be solved by actually making content and dealing with writing and sorting. no need to worry now. **how do I migrate understanding to website garden?** trying to create a workflow for exploring ideas through my stuff vault with links to clipped articles and other notes. this is meant to be the exploration of rough ideas. then move the more refined notes over to the website vault for publishing. the question becomes coordination and updates. still trying to figure this out. i seem to be finding a lot of connections between things but struggle devoting enough time to write out the understandings to make the connections relevant. the context and references are missing on the page. --- ## concepts **garden metaphor** the seeds are the [[curiosity]] you cultivate, the trees are the knowledge you've grown, the fruits are the new thoughts you've found. **[[architects vs gardeners]]** the architects plan everything out and have a solid understanding before starting; structured and planned. the gardeners plant what they can to see what comes up; organic and spontaneous. i think i want to be the gardener, but am struggling to get past the need to be an architect. it takes loosening up and letting go, focusing on content and not structure. i'm most definitely interested in finding and exploring that structure, those relationships. it has to happen organically, it can't be forced from outside the content. **building vs exploring** two different ways of interacting with the garden. can spend the time writing out content and building the relationships. can also spend time exploring the content that already exists to see where new connections can be found, where ideas can be expanded. **writing to learn** [[Writing as a thinking tool]]. the process of using writing (and linking) to explore knowledge and understanding. it is [[active learning]]; an [[exploration]] to discover what i know or what i think i know. it is also a way to document the concepts, an act of thought [[curation]]. **internal links** and **backlinks** used for [[making connections]] by combining different notes together, which builds the relationship structure. good to build a map of related content. **links vs tags** using a page with the internal links instead of tags means that i have a central location for the connected content instead of a list of notes that are surfaced when i choose a tag. i also have an easy way to see linked and unlinked notes in obsidian's sidebar for quickly finding related content. i started using tags a lot at first, but have decided internal links make more sense and are more flexible. **page structure** this page is built with header sections that can be opened/closed as needed. adapted from [[Why you should be building your personal knowledge base for Design]]. **obsidian** there’s a graph tool on the sidebar that shows linked articles so i can bounce around to related content. i can also search my topic with the double-brackets to get the articles in list format. another cool thing is when the notes are in preview mode, i can hover on the internal link and see a sense of the content. that’s neat. **public mind garden** writing in public. --- ## references can list specific articles and notes here as my TOC. can also include them above in the content section. https://github.com/MaggieAppleton/digital-gardeners/ ## examples in the wild - https://tracydurnell.com/ - like the visual style and structure - https://maggieappleton.com/garden - [mental nodes](https://www.mentalnodes.com/a-gardening-guide-for-your-mind) is an experiment from Anne-Laure Le Cunff, founder of [Ness Labs](https://nesslabs.com/) - [andy matuschak notes in obsidian publish](https://publish.obsidian.md/andymatuschak/_Start+Here) - [raymond d sims has an inventory of digital gardens](https://medium.com/@raysims/a-digital-garden-inventory-d6450fe74b4) and mine made the list! ## [A Labyrinth of Digital Gardens](https://lukerambling.de/gardens/#a-labyrinth-of-digital-gardens-) clipped from Luke Rambling - [ABoppy’s Totally Integrated Machine](https://publish.obsidian.md/tim) on Being Human - [karlicoss’ exobrain](https://beepb00p.xyz/exobrain/) on Software and Science - [Andy Matuschak’s working notes](https://notes.andymatuschak.org/About_these_notes) on Note-taking and Knowledge Work - [Eleanor’s notes](https://publish.obsidian.md/eleanorkonik) on History and Worldbuilding - [Danny Hatcher](https://notes.dannyhatcher.com/Notes) on Education and Learning - [mnml’s vault](https://publish.obsidian.md/manuel) on Programming, Note-taking and Music - [Nicole van der Hoeven](https://notes.nicolevanderhoeven.com/) on Tech and TTRPGs - [jay l. colbert](https://wilde-at-heart.garden/) on Library Organization and Metadata - [Leah Ferguson](https://notes.leahferguson.com/) on Design and D&D - [Paul Bauer Codes](https://bauer.codes/notes) on Coding - [Nikola’s Digital Garden](https://notes.nikolamilekic.com/) on CS, Mathematics and Politics - [Joschua’s Garden](https://joschuasgarden.com/) on Christianity - [The Integral Guide to Well-Being](https://integralguide.com/) on Mental Health and Psychology - [Bryan Jenks](https://publish.obsidian.md/bryan-jenks) on ADHD and IT - [Obsidian Hub](https://publish.obsidian.md/hub) on everything Obsidian - [Data Engineering Wiki](https://dataengineering.wiki/) on Data Modeling and Processing - [lkadre’s brain](https://brain.lkadre.com/) on Law - [nitinpai’s notes](https://notes.nitinpai.in/) on Philosophy, Tech, Teaching and Policies - [mister chad](https://mister-chad.com/) on Art, Design and Creativity - [The Quantum Well](https://publish.obsidian.md/myquantumwell/) on Physics and Mathematics - [qwxlea’ Logseq page](https://qwxlea.github.io/#/page/Start%20here) on PKM and Psychology - [Alexis Rondeau](https://publish.obsidian.md/alexisrondeau/) on Developing and Business - [Anne-Laure Le Cunff’s Mental Nodes](https://www.mentalnodes.com/) on Metacognition and Networked Thinking - [Walk in the Forest](https://walkintheforest.com/) on Python and Bioengineering - [chromatically](https://publish.obsidian.md/chromatically) on Nursing and Medicine - [Santi Younger](https://publish.obsidian.md/santi) on Books - [SlRvb](https://publish.obsidian.md/slrvb) on CSS, Writing and TTRPG - [Linking Your Thinking](https://notes.linkingyourthinking.com/) on Personal Knowledge Management - [JT’s Digital Garden](https://notes.gnotract.com/) on Gastroenterology, Chronobiology and Statistics - [Tom Critchlow](https://tomcritchlow.com/wiki/) on Architecture - [daryllxd’s lifelong-learning repo](https://github.com/daryllxd/lifelong-learning) on Coding and Business - [Szymon Kaliski](https://szymonkaliski.com/notes/) on Learning and Cybernetics - [Things and Stuff Wiki](https://wiki.thingsandstuff.org/) on Networking and Programming - [Neil’s Hyper Commonplace Garden](https://commonplace.doubleloop.net/) on Tech and Politics - [louis030195](https://brain.louis030195.com/) on Philosophy and Science - [The Refined Mind](https://refinedmind.co/) on Thinking and Writing - [Jethro Kuan](https://braindump.jethro.dev/) on Emacs and Science - [Alexey Shmalko](https://www.alexeyshmalko.com/) on Software Deving - [argentum](https://publish.obsidian.md/argenos) on Tools for Research --- ## keeping a personal blog - [This used to be our playground](https://colly.com/articles/this-used-to-be-our-playground) - [Make it Personal on css tricks](https://css-tricks.com/make-it-personal/) - [Reasons you aren't updating your personal site](https://brianlovin.com/overthought/reasons-you-arent-updating-your-personal-site) - [Why you should be building your personal knowledge base for Design](https://uxdesign.cc/notion-pkb-for-design-e561621774d5) - [Incrementally correct personal websites](https://brianlovin.com/writing/incrementally-correct-personal-websites)