Idea Ripper // ArchiveCards: 1555 [Live] | Updated: 2026-10-14
Card #c1208IR // #c1208Synthesis

"The trick is that he did not organise his notes by topic, but in the rather abstract way of giving them fixed numbers. The numbers bore no meaning and were only there to identify each note permanently."

— In our words · Source: How to Take Smart Notes (Sönke Ahrens)

[Use when]

Your files or notes are sorted into categories that no longer match how you actually think about the work.

[Why it matters]

Luhmann filed each new note directly behind the note it answered, so 22 became 22a and then 22a1. A topic folder forces you to decide in advance what an idea belongs to. A fixed number lets an idea grow wherever it connects.

Filed under situations:When you’re building the thing, not just planning it

More from How to Take Smart Notes

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Same situation, different book

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