Ahrens argues that the value of note-taking lies not in isolated records, but in a living system of interconnected thoughts. Writing itself is thinking, and by writing iteratively in small, reusable units (atomic notes), we create a network that both preserves understanding and generates new insights.

Key Components

Writing as Thinking

Iteration and Refinement

Atomic Notes

Insight Through Connection

Flow of Ahrens’s Reasoning

  1. Writing itself is thinking.
  2. Thinking matures through iteration.
  3. To support this process, we capture single, self-contained ideas (atomic notes).
  4. Notes remain modular so they can be recombined into many arguments.
  5. Arguments emerge from recombining notes
  6. Linking these notes produces unexpected insights.
  7. The network, not the isolated note, is where real knowledge resides.

Connections