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The Gist || The Lit Snippets podcast is the fast track to your next great read. • Whether you are looking for quick book summaries or searching for time-saving book insights to help you decide what to read next, Lit Snippets has got you covered. With brief book breakdowns that skip the fluff and focus on the core ideas, Sam and Alex make reading easy for busy readers. Each episode delivers a concise book overview that fits perfectly into your day, so you can always stay in the loop with the latest bestsellers or timeless classics. • Note || Please note that Lit Snippets is a generated podcast, meaning that episodes may contain occasional inaccuracies or unintended spoilers. We encourage you to listen for entertainment purposes only.
ever feel like you're just bombarded with information constantly, but still you're like craving real knowledge. It's like you're drowning in it, but you're still thirsty. Exactly. Yeah. And then you hear about someone like the sociologist who published more books after he died than most people do their whole lives. And you think, what's the secret? Yeah. Nicholas Luman, incredibly prolific. And get this, he credited it to his note taking system, not some kind of like genius gene. Just a really good system. So we're doing a deep dive into this whole thing, the slip box method, right? You sent over those excerpts from, what was it called? How to take smart notes. Right. How to take smart notes. So should we just jump right in? Yeah, let's do it. Okay. So most of us, we think about writing in this really linear way, right? Yeah. You plan it all out. You write the draft. You edit, rewrite. Exactly. But the slip box thing, it kind of flips the script, doesn't it? It does, yeah. It's a writing part of the whole learning process from the very beginning. So tape me a picture here. I'm sitting down with an article, my trusty highlighter. See, you're already going wrong. That's not what this is about. Really? Okay, so no highlighting allowed. Think reading with a pen, but not just highlighting. You're distilling the information down, putting it into your own words. So you're not just trying to remember the information. You're trying to understand it.
Arin's calls these permanent notes. Permanent notes, okay. So it's like that thing, you only really understand something when... When you can explain it to somebody else, right? Exactly. And that's what the slip box forces you to do. Reminds me of Richard Feynman, the physicist. Oh yeah, the Feynman technique, right. Exactly. He always said, "If you can't explain it simply, you don't really understand it." And the slip box kind of makes you explain it simply because you're writing these concise notes like you're saying. Exactly. You're making the information make sense to you, not just trying to memorize what someone else said. Okay, so I'm starting to see where this is different. Some of my notes are just this jumbled mess of "half-baked" ideas. Right, and that's where the slip part comes in. It's not linear.
It's designed to be messy, more like how our brains actually work. Instead of organizing notes by topic... You're focusing on connections, building a web of ideas. Not just a file cabinet of facts. Exactly. A toolbox for thinking. Okay, so no more highlighters, got it. Using a web, not a file cabinet, but let's say I've made one of these permanent notes, right. What do I do with it? Where does it go in the slip box of mine? Well, you don't just file it away. You think, "How does this connect to what's already in there?" So instead of just like storing the information... You're immediately putting it to work. Does it back up something you already wrote? Does it challenge another idea? Or maybe it sparks a whole new direction, you know? Right, because those connections are where the real value is. Exactly. And you know what's really interesting? This whole process, it actually helps us get over forgetting things. Wait, forgetting is a good thing now. I thought notes were supposed to help us remember stuff. Sure, but our brains, they aren't wired for just memorizing a bunch of facts in isolation. So how do we learn them? By making connections.
And to do that well, we actually have to forget some of the details. Okay, now you're just messing with me. No, seriously. It's like, ugh. Imagine you're trying to learn something new, right? Your brain needs to make room for it. Clear out some space for those connections to form. So it's like decluttering, but for your brain. Exactly. Out with the old to make room for the new. So by letting go of certain things, we're actually making room for like a deeper understanding of the stuff that matters. You got it. And this is how it ties back to the slip box. When we go back over our notes, make those connections, we're making our brains really work. It's like that thing, right? You lose it. Yeah, kinda. Each time we revisit a note, those neural pathways, they get stronger. The information sticks. Makes sense. You know, this whole idea of not being afraid to forget stuff, that really resonated with me in the excerpt you sent. It's like freeing, you know? It is. The slip box, it's not about remembering every little detail perfectly. It's about getting that thinking out of your head onto paper. Okay, that takes the pressure off, for sure. But here's the thing. If I'm not just filing these notes away by topic, how am I supposed to find anything later? It's not like my brain has a search bar. Well, that's where keywords come in. Like breadcrumbs, leading you back to what you need. Okay, so they're like the search terms for my slip box. Yeah, but they're also much more than that. You're not just categorizing, you're anticipating. Anticipating, what do you mean? Thinking about how you might use that information in different situations, you know? You mean an example. Okay, so let's say you have a note about, I don't know, a study on cognitive biases. Right. Instead of just putting psychology as a keyword, you might also add decision making, marketing, maybe even something like political campaigns. So I'm thinking about all the different ways this note might connect to other ideas. Yes. The keywords become these like bridges between concepts. They can spark new insights you wouldn't have stumbled on otherwise. It's like those, you might also like algorithms, but for your brain. Exactly. It's like being a system that's constantly surfacing relevant information at the perfect time. So instead of just like a jumble of notes, it's more like, I don't know, this tapestry of knowledge. That's a great way to put it. And you know, the more we talk about this, the more I realize it's not really about the notes themselves. Right. It's more about... It's the process. That's where the magic happens. Engaging with the material, making the connections, challenging your own assumptions. Yeah, yeah. It's like, like, what is it? The journey is the destination. Exactly. You're documenting your intellectual growth. How your understanding evolves over time. And that's how we develop real expertise. Not just like memorizing a bunch of facts. Right. Nobody wants to be a walking encyclopedia. It's about understanding how things connect, seeing the bigger picture. And being able to actually do something with that knowledge. Right. Make better decisions, solve problems. Exactly. You develop these mental models, frameworks for understanding the world. Which brings us back to that idea of constraints, right? How limiting ourselves can actually make us more creative. Absolutely. It's like, think about trying to navigate through a dense forest with no paths, no trails. Overwhelming. Right. But with a few well-placed paths, you can explore with more freedom. You know where you're going. So the slip box, it's kind of like those paths. In a way, yeah. It gives you just enough structure to help you explore these ideas in a more focused way. And you're getting lost in the weeds. Exactly. And here's something else that's really cool.
The slip box. It actually works with our natural tendencies, you know? Like we as humans, we crave novelty. Oh, tell me about it. Right. And the slip box, with its emphasis on always adding new notes, making new connections, it keeps things interesting. So it's not about forcing yourself to stick to some rigid plan. It's about creating space for discovery. Finding those threads of curiosity wherever they lead. I like that. So for our listeners who are ready to ditch the highlighter, embrace a little bit of chaos, what's the best way to actually get started with the slip box? Honestly, just start. Don't worry about having the perfect system right away. Just start taking notes, making connections, see what happens. The beauty of the slip box is that it's so adaptable. It's like you figure it out as you go. Exactly. This has been fantastic. I think I have a whole new set of tools for learning and actually using what I learn. Me too. Yeah. And the best part is, it's a system that anyone can use. You don't need any special software, just a willingness to experiment. Just dive in. Well, on that note, I think we've reached the bottom of the slip box for today. Tackles. Big thanks to our expert for diving in with us. And to everyone listening, we'll catch you next time.