In light of my recent discovery regarding the Obsidian plug-in "Graph Analysis" and the algorithm that will allow me to create deeper referencing between notes, I return to one of Niklas Luhmann's original concepts regarding the Zettelkasten Methodology. "In what context do I want to see this Zettel note again?" [^1]
At first, I thought perhaps that context merely meant a concept, and I could escape easily by relying on Ayn Rand's "every word of man's language, with the exception of proper names, denotes a concept." [^2]
However, context means more. It means those parts written or spoken 'around' the word "clarify its meaning." In other words, context is more closely associated with conceptualize than a concept. Speed, for example, is the concept. Miles per hour is how we conceptualize speed. So when placing a Zettel note in context, I might look at "speeding tickets I have received doing 100 miles per hour or greater."
Eva Thomas, in her paper "Understanding Zettelkasten," comments that "there is no point in finding (an) idea out of context." Our notes become more harmonious when the referencing occurs around a shared context that allows you to find something you were surprised to discover. [^3]
Leaving the single-word world of concept and Ayn Rand, we enter the sphere of conceptualize, and as Eva Thomas says, referencing "represents more than just a relation between two notes. It says that two notes are contextually congruent." [^4]
In contextually congruent articles, we consider a combination of words to answer questions or solve problems. This combining of citations is where I believe the algorithm of Obsidian's plug-in Graph Analysis holds potential power over a more general "top of my mind" referencing approach.
In the author's video [^5] discussion of Graph Analysis, the 'co-citations' feature is introduced to formulate questions around multiple single-word observations. The example Emile Van Krieken presents is as follows:
"On (30-10-2021), leaders at (G20) approved a (Global Tax), which will tax businesses 15+%. This was proposed by (Joe Biden) and (Emmanuel Macron) asked the (EU) to follow this example." [^6] Emile then proposes if we can answer the following questions.
What is the news of 30-10-2021?
Why do I care about Biden/Macron/global tax/G20/EU?
What is the relationship between Biden and Macron?
What does Biden/Macron think about global tax?
According to Emile, if I want to know what Biden thinks about the global tax, I can navigate to my keyword entitled (global tax), and the software will highlight every occurrence of (Biden) and (global tax) that occur in the same document. A strength rating is assigned depending on how close the two events are to each other, i.e., the same sentence, paragraph, page, etc.
In the future, I plan on asking the question, "In what context do I want to see this note again?," and I'll create a combination of citation words to provide context, perhaps in the form of a question.
Written December 12, 2022
Footnotes:
[^1]: Thomas, E. (2020, August 23). Understanding Zettelkasten - What it means to communicate with the slip-box. Retrieved September 11, 2020, from https://medium.com/@ethomasv/understanding-zettelkasten-d0ca5bb1f80e
[^2]: Rand, Ayn (1964-11-01). The Virtue of Selfishness. Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. Location 307.
[^3]: Thomas, E. (2020, August 23).
[^4]: Ibid
[^5]: Graph Analysis' Co-Citations plug-in for Obsidian. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rK6JVDrGERA
[^6]: Each word or grouping surrounded by ( ) represents an individual citation.