Knowledge/Garden

• Knowledge Gardens (KGs) and Knowledge/Base Knowledge Bases (KBs)

  • About

    • Knowledge Gardens, also known as Digital Gardens or Zettelkastens (a term derived from the German word for "slip box"), represent a method for personal knowledge management and nonlinear note-taking that emphasizes growth and interconnections of ideas. This approach has evolved over time and draws upon various historical threads.

  • Examples of Knowledge Gardens

    • Other Examples of Knowledge Gardens

      • A Brief History & Ethos of the Digital Garden by Person/Maggie Appleton
      • Learn In Public by Person/Shawn @swyx Wang
      • James' Digital Garden by Person/James Ravenscroft
      • jzhao.xyz by Person/Jacky Zhao
      • Introduction - The Blue Book by Person/Lyz
      • https://gwern.net/ by Person/Gwern Branwen
      • https://arvid.xyz/commonplace-book/ by Person/Arvid Lunnemark
      • https://wiki.xxiivv.com/ by Person/Devine Lu Linvega
      • Second Brain by Person/Simon Spati

    • My Knowledge Gardens

      • My/Knowledge/Garden/logseq-encode-garden

        • logseq-encode-garden - My public coding / technology (and some music) knowedge garden

          • If you are looking at this page you are probably already in the middle of the garden.
          • Welcome to My Knowledge Garden

            • Front door

              • available on the web at https://codekiln.github.io/logseq-encode-garden/, published with Person/codekiln/GitHub/logseq-gardener by Person/codekiln/GitHub/logseq-encode-garden/mise/Task/site/build

            • Back door

              • It's also available on GitHub at Person/codekiln/GitHub/logseq-encode-garden (GitHub - codekiln/logseq-encode-garden: codekiln's knowledge garden · GitHub)

  • Douglas Lenat's knowledge principles

    • Person/Douglas Lenat and Edward Feigenbaum's On the Thresholds of Knowledge offer a useful set of design principles for a knowledge garden:
      • Keep knowledge explicit and inspectable so it can be questioned, connected, and revised.
      • Grow breadth as well as depth; unexpected questions often require general knowledge and analogies to distant domains.
      • Preserve declarative knowledge even when some of it is compiled into faster operational forms.
      • Test the garden through real use on substantial problems, because small toy examples can conceal missing context.
    • These principles describe how a knowledge garden can support intelligent work; they are an application of Lenat and Feigenbaum's AI principles rather than a definition of the garden form itself.

  • #History

    • Early Roots

      • 1. Zettelkasten Method (Late 20th Century): The term "Zettelkasten" was popularized by German sociologist Niklas Luhmann in the late 20th century. Luhmann used a system of index cards to capture ideas and notes, linking them through a numbering system, which allowed for a web of interrelated thoughts. His method emphasized the importance of context and connections over linear organization.
      • 2. Hypertext and Early Computing (1980s): The advent of hypertext in the 1980s, exemplified by the works of pioneers like Person/Ted Nelson and Person/Tim Berners-Lee, laid the groundwork for the interconnected nature of digital content. This technology allowed for the creation of non-linear pathways through information, which resonated with the principles behind Zettelkastens.

    • The Digital Age

      • 3. Personal Knowledge Management (1990s – 2000s): As personal computing became widespread, knowledge management tools emerged. Programs like App/Evernote and App/OneNote allowed users to collect and organize notes digitally, but often maintained a more traditional hierarchical structure rather than the interconnected, organic growth seen in Zettelkastens.
      • 4. Rise of Wiki Culture (2000s): The development of wikis, such as Wikipedia, highlighted collaborative knowledge sharing and the non-linear organization of information. Wikis introduced concepts of linking and creating knowledge networks that aligned closely with the ideas behind Digital Gardens.
      • 5. Digital Gardens and Notetaking (2010s): The term "Digital Garden" began to gain popularity in the 2010s. Influencers and knowledge workers started promoting more aesthetically pleasing and navigable representations of personal knowledge systems. Digital Gardens are designed to be public-facing, emphasizing growth over curation, where ideas evolve over time.

    • Recent Developments

      • 6. App/Roam Research and App/Obsidian (Late 2010s – Present): The launch of tools like Roam Research and Obsidian has further propelled the Digital Garden concept. These applications facilitate bi-directional linking, graph views of notes, and easy navigation through a network of thoughts. Users can create an interconnected web of notes, mimicking the Zettelkasten philosophy in a modern digital context.
      • 7. Community and Sharing: The Digital Garden concept has fostered online communities where users share their gardens publicly. This has led to a culture of openness and collaboration, diverging from traditional note-taking practices where information was often siloed.
      • 8. Adaptation Across Fields: The Digital Garden approach is being adopted across disciplines, from academia to creative writing, innovation, and personal development. It reflects a shift towards valuing process, exploration, and the dynamic nature of knowledge.