long-form arguments are just strings of evergreen notes

[[ 2020-12-25 ]] #zettelkasten

By sticking to the principle of each zettel should be a unit of thought, constructing long-form arguments should be much less challenging. Much of the effort involves searching through one’s zettelkasten and collecting all the required unit of thoughts that build the argument.

The process could look something like this:

• search through knowledge base to gather all relevant ideas, thoughts, statements and other units of thought
• organize the order of these zettels to best communicate the argument
• determine which facts, examples, and stories (from looking at the content of the zettels: [[ facts, examples, and stories go in the content of a zettel ]])
• complete rough draft
• revise and add further content until complete

It is important to note that the end product of the long-form argument should not just be copied directly from the notes, but translated to suit the context of the argument:

[When turning] your notes into a rough draft […] Don’t simply copy your notes into a manuscript. Translate them into something coherent and embed them into the context of your argument while you build your argument out of the notes at the same time. Detect holes in your argument, fill them or change your argument. (418-420) [@ahrensHowTakeSmart2017]