The Origin of Building a Personal Knowledge Base#
Initial Thoughts#
Over the past week, I have been thinking about what is truly important, or to be more precise: what is worth investing my time and energy into at this stage of my life? Many people are searching for trends and trying to predict future changes, but as an individual, I do not have the power to control the development of the era. Instead, I am more concerned about what will remain unchanged in the next ten years. I will use these unchanging elements to build my own "core," which will eventually define my content.
Taking Action#
Based on this idea, I have identified several skills that I want to continuously improve in the coming years. For more details, please refer to the content on the "About" page.
I hope that the personal knowledge system I spend time learning and improving has the following characteristics, which are also some of my product concepts for self-construction:
1. Extracting paths to create models.#
The purpose of learning any knowledge is not the end goal itself, but rather to extract and organize the supporting architecture behind the knowledge through learning. Only by doing so can we use the model architecture to learn new knowledge in the next learning process. Through this learning method, knowledge transitions from being the purpose of learning to an additional gain from learning, ultimately acquiring a more fundamental framework that supports the operation of knowledge.
2. Learning is a process of growth.#
I remember reading a few pages of the Tao Te Ching in middle school, and there was a sentence that roughly said, "All things have a way, and they move without danger." Everything has its own lifecycle, and rushing to achieve results often leads to counterproductive outcomes. I hope that the process of constructing my knowledge system is solid and steady, just like a seed growing into a mature tree, without rushing.
3. Making better use of electronic tools to build systems.#
In the Internet age, valuable things spread rapidly. As they are continuously disseminated, their value increases. Many advanced ideas are quickly developed into corresponding software for users to utilize. Therefore, in the process of constructing my personal knowledge system, I believe that effectively using current software is an opportunity to enjoy the benefits of the era and leverage the efforts of others to improve myself.
Structure of the Knowledge Base#
Overview of Tools Used#
1. Physical Notebooks#
Previously, all learning processes were completed using physical notebooks. I have tried several note-taking methods, but I faced a problem: as the number of notes accumulated, there was no time to review them. It felt like I was taking notes just for the sake of taking notes, which had limited impact on the construction of my knowledge system.
2. Note-taking Software#
Since I used to work from home, I spent most of my time near the computer. Compared to handwriting, I found it more convenient to record information in electronic format. It was easier to store, search, and retrieve. I have used various note-taking applications such as Youdao Cloud, Evernote, and Shimo. However, I realized that although I took notes seriously, each note existed independently. This meant that after taking notes, there was a high probability that I would never open them again, resulting in limited impact on the construction of my knowledge system.
Current Tool Combination#
Through various tools and methods, I have discovered the following:
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As more things are recorded, the depth of categorization increases. The possibility of revisiting previously recorded knowledge also increases. In other words, the more notes I take, the more difficult it becomes to find previous notes.
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As knowledge is recorded, each piece of knowledge is continuously subdivided until it is placed in a specific folder. This brings about a problem: the connection between knowledge in different categories decreases. However, the more links there are between different knowledge, the more opportunities there are for combination, leading to the possibility of generating new knowledge.
Only when problems arise can we take relevant actions and find solutions. Therefore, I have searched through the currently popular tools and used them to build my personal knowledge system. As a result, I have come up with the following tool combination:
Personal Blog + Obsidian + GitHub
This combination consists of three parts:
For external use: This is where I showcase articles and thoughts on my blog.
For internal use: This is where I record my thoughts and accumulated knowledge using Obsidian.
Storage: Both the blog and Obsidian files are synchronized and version-controlled on GitHub.
The choice of tools depends on individual needs and preferences. What is important is that I am aware that these are just tools. If there are more suitable tools in the future, I will choose them. The main point is that they all serve the purpose of helping me build my personal knowledge system more effectively and conveniently.
Twitter: Hoodrh