>[!Some Links]- > [[Source - Building a Second Brain]] > [Video with Ali Abdaal](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Y_6U0FoqDk) > “One cannot think without writing.” (Luhmann 1992, 53) ## Introduction A Second Brain is a tool used to outsource our thoughts and insights, to help us remember them, reflect on them and create connections and new insights between them. It is *not* primarily a knowledge retention or knowledge sharing tool, it is a thinking tool and therefore a creation tool. This pushes our endeavour forward as it is accumulative, and creates flow. It is also the environment we need to be successful[^2]. Basically what we do is to retain all of the information we consume that resonates with us in a system that allows for connectivity (so that the notes are contextualised), and retrievability (so they can be resurfaced). By colliding ideas and resonances together we can be *creative*. ## Prerequisites - A *reliable* [[My Second Brain Workflow|Second Brain Workflow]] to create this is essential. Remember that chefs create a [mise-en-place](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09MDNDYYF&location=2623), knowledge workers create a second brain workflow. - A [[growth mindset]], and a habit of deliberate practice and continual improvement: > "The mind is reliant upon external scaffolding.” (Levy 2011, 270) - A [[Spaced repetition]] approach is also very useful. ## Background The idea of a digital second brain was first postulated by Vannevar Bush in 1945 as a "[[Memex Device]]".[^1] [[Sönke Ahrens]] suggests that if all of this works essay writing or other complicated writing is simple, because: > The ideas, the arguments, the quotes, long developed passages, complete with bibliography and references. And not just readily available, but already in order, sorted by chapters that have descriptive headlines. ([Location 471](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B06WVYW33Y&location=471)) However the idea of a second brain goes back much further- see for example 'Commonplace books' where quotes were captured from books and carried everywhere a person went. ## Process [[Tiago Forte]] advocates the [[CODE model]]: - Capture the most resonant knowledge/ ideas you come across. - Organise those ideas according to the [[PARA Method]] - Distill these ideas down to their core essence. - Express. Create by bringing notes (ideas, thoughts) together. Another way to look at it is that it is made up of 5 parts: - **A capture toolkit** – a way to save bits of information in a place you control - **An organizational system** – a way to organize the information you value long-term - **A practice of distillation** – a way to identify the most important ideas and takeaways - **A publishing medium** – a way to express or communicate what you’ve discovered - **A review ritual** – a way to refresh and reset your system as your life changes ## Intermediary Packets Forte suggest creation of 'Intermediary Packets'- notes that can be easily recycled and reused, to avoid - Distilled notes: Books or articles you’ve read and distilled so it’s easy to get the gist of what they contain. - Outtakes: The material or ideas that didn’t make it into a past project but could be used in future ones. - Work-in-process: The documents, graphics, agendas, or plans you produced during past projects. - Final deliverables: Concrete pieces of work you’ve delivered as part of past projects, which could become components of something new. ## 12 Favourite Questions/ Problems Forte also recommends condensing your enquiry into 12 favourite problems. See [[Twelve (12) Favourite Questions]] ![[Why I'm sharing my second brain]] ## See also - [[Ed's Second Brain]] - *how I've applied these ideas* - [[So, you want to start a second brain?]] - *advice on how to get started* - [[Obsidian App]] - [[Claim making Second Brain]] - [[Second Brains are heutagogy in action]] - [[Source - Building a Digital Garden by tomcritchlow.com|Building a Digital Garden]] - [[Second brain benefits to empowerment vs laizzes faire]] - [[Are there any cosmopolitan or global leadership benefits to a second brain? ]] ## Footnotes [^1]: https://www.w3.org/History/1945/vbush/vbush1.shtml [^2]: Studies have concluded that success is not the result of strong willpower and the ability to overcome resistance, but rather the result of smart working environments that avoid resistance in the first place (cf. Neal et al. 2012; Painter et al. 2002; Hearn et al. 1998).