[needs image URL — source: https://notes.andymatuschak.org/]
A public, continuously evolving collection of linked notes — both a methodology (evergreen notes) and a live demonstration of it (notes.andymatuschak.org).
Type: blog series / public knowledge base
By: Andy Matuschak
When: Public since 2019 (continuously updated)
Where it sits in their arc: the landmark
Where to get it / join: https://notes.andymatuschak.org/
What it is
Matuschak’s working notes are the public face of his thinking. Rather than write finished essays, he maintains a web of interlinked notes that he revises over years — and publishes them openly as an experiment in “working with the garage door up.” The notes are written for himself first, so some are terse, but together they articulate the evergreen notes methodology: a discipline of writing notes meant to evolve, link, and accumulate across projects, in service of better thinking rather than better storage.
Core ideas
- Evergreen notes — Notes written and organised to evolve, contribute, and accumulate over time and across projects, unlike fleeting or reference notes.
- Notes should be atomic — One idea per note, so notes can be densely linked and recombined. See Atomic Notes.
- Notes should be concept-oriented — Titled by the claim or concept, not the source or date.
- Better thinking, not better notes — The point is developing insight; the notes are a means.
- Work with the garage door up — Sharing in-progress thinking publicly, modelled by the site itself.
How it connects to the Guild’s practice
This is the closest thing the field has to a reference implementation of a well-maintained personal knowledge system. A member building a linked-note vault in Obsidian is, knowingly or not, working in the lineage Matuschak named. It sits squarely in the notes / Zettelkasten lens (see The Disciplines — Many Lenses, One Room) and pairs naturally with smart-notes and MOC practices.
Related works
- Quantum Country — the other half of his project: where evergreen notes are about developing ideas, the mnemonic medium is about retaining them.
- How can we develop transformative tools for thought — the essay that frames why notes alone are not enough.
Notes from the room
Space for members to add takeaways and how they used it.