3a4 - Defining higher order notes and MOCs

Last updated Aug 15, 2023

• What is a note again? A note is any container of thought.
• We are all familiar with notes. But in the age of the linked note, there is a new type of note we can generally call a “higher-order” note.

1. Regular notes are notes focused on words within the note
2. Higher-order notes are notes focused on relationships between notes

• Higher-order notes are still just basic notes, but all of their links inside help to give you structure.
• Reviewing “complexity”
  • Regular notes are usually less complex than higher-order notes because each link in a higher-order note adds more complexity (review “complexity” in our lessons about systems:
    • 1b4 - Idea Emergence - Part 1
    • 2d2 - Fluid thinking is idea emergence plus systems thinking

• Let’s explore the wonderful world of higher-order notes. You mean, there is more than one type?
• Yep. Limiting our vocabulary—like Big Brother does in George Orwell’s 1984—is a sinister way to limit our thinking. Instead, having more words in our vocabulary opens up new ways of thinking and expressing.
• With that in mind, instead of putting a limit on what we can call higher-order notes, we should explore the many flavors of them. Here are a few things we can call higher-order notes:
  • Link note - A note with a bunch of links.
  • Hub note - A navigational note, like an airport hub (a Luhmann term).
  • Index note - A note that references other notes (sometimes alphabetical, usually fairly static).
  • Workbench - A brainstorming note with links and ideas usually quickly assembled.
  • Outline note - A note for the early-stage outlining of content.
  • Structure note - A term that describes what it does: structures stuff.
  • Structure zettel - A term from [zettelkasten.de](https://zettelkasten.de/) - Usually shown as a linear table of contents, often with annotations.
  • TOC (Table of Contents) - A static, finalized structure that references material.
  • MOCs

• MOCs (Maps of Content)  are flexible higher-order notes that serve countless purposes.
  • MOCs can be used to gather, outline, structure, and navigate thought. 
  • MOCs can structure links to notes in countless ways.
  • MOCs can include a mixture of links, tags, queries, embeds, and anything you can think of.
  • MOCs can be used as active thinking tools that encourage the reshaping, connecting, and building of ideas.
    • That last bullet is perhaps the most valuable of them all: MOCs can concentrate and accelerate thought collisions.

In a nutshell: MOCs helps you manage ideas by gathering, developing, and navigating them.

• As the map-maker—the cartographer—you get to decide what makes it on the map.
• Then you get to develop those ideas.
• And all the while, you can use the MOC to navigate your ideas—both now and into the future.

I call higher-order notes “MOCs” because they pass three important thresholds.

• The definition is clear
  •  It stands for a “Map of Content”. It is mapping the contents of some of your notes. The term “map” is a familiar term that we understand. The connotations and imagery associated with “maps” are also helpful.
• The definition is not too clear
  • MOCs have linguistic wiggle room. This is a surprising power.
  • Because an MOC note can be used in countless ways, any word that describes it requires an equally flexible definition. Preexisting words with preexisting definitions are too narrow in scope to define the breadth of what an MOC can do.
• The acronym serves practical purposes
  • It is easy to append to the filename. I.e., like Habits MOC.
  • It is a visually clear representation of the note at a glance.
  • It is a fairly unique search term.
  • It doesn’t use any non-standard characters that can get your filenames in trouble.
  • It is easy to reference in conversations so everyone is quickly on the same page.