memex/system/skills/AtomicNotes.org

SKILL: Atomic Notes (Zettelkasten) (Permanent Knowledge)

• Philosophy
• The Workflow
  • 1. Fleeting Notes (`$MEMEX_DAILY/`)
  • 2. Literature Notes (`$MEMEX_RESOURCES/`)
  • 3. Permanent Notes (`$MEMEX_NOTES/`)
  • 4. Structuring
  • 5. Discovery
• The Distillation Pipeline
  • 6. Nightly Distillation
  • 7. Weekly Interlinking (Maintenance)

Philosophy

Atomic notes. Stand-alone knowledge. Linked by ideas, not categories. Use the second-degree connection to build a brain.

The Workflow

1. Fleeting Notes (`$MEMEX_DAILY/`)

• Temporary captures from today's sessions or conversations.
• Put these in the daily file: `YYYY-MM-DD.org`.
• Don't worry about structure; just get the facts down.

2. Literature Notes (`$MEMEX_RESOURCES/`)

• Summaries of external material (books, articles, podcasts) in your own words.
• Always include a source link.

3. Permanent Notes (`$MEMEX_NOTES/`)

• Atomic: Each note covers exactly ONE concept or idea.
• Stand-alone: A developer or researcher should understand it without context.
• Linked: Every new note must link to at least one existing note. Look for non-obvious connections.

4. Structuring

• Use `ID` properties for Org-roam style linking.
• Avoid deep folder hierarchies; let the links provide the structure.
• Review and prune. Knowledge that isn't connected is forgotten.

5. Discovery

• When researching a new topic, always search the existing Atomic Notes (Zettelkasten) first.
• Link new findings to old assumptions.
• Identify "Second-Degree" connections (A -> B, B -> C, therefore A -> C).

The Distillation Pipeline

6. Nightly Distillation

• Dailies (`$MEMEX_DAILY/`) are raw, immutable logs. They are never destructively modified during processing.
• A state file (`$MEMEX_SYSTEM/distillation-state.json`) tracks the last processed Git commit hash.

• Process:

  1. Read state file for the last processed commit.
  2. Diff `$MEMEX_DAILY/` since that commit to identify new Atomic Notes (Zettelkasten) captures.
  3. Extract these captures.
  4. Generate a descriptive, concept-based filename (e.g., `proof_of_work.org`). NO DATES IN PERMANENT FILENAMES.
  5. Create the new atomic note in `$MEMEX_NOTES/` with an `#+ID` and a `Source:` link pointing back to the specific daily log heading.
  6. Update `distillation-state.json` with the new commit hash.

7. Weekly Interlinking (Maintenance)

• A deeper pass over the graph in `$MEMEX_NOTES/`.
• Goal: Find orphaned notes, merge conceptually similar notes, flesh out stubs, and establish new connections.
• Constraint: Ensure notes maintain their evergreen, atomic nature even when expanded. Do not let them turn into sprawling essays.