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The memex is the name of the hypothetical proto-hypertext system that
Vannevar Bush described in his 1945 The Atlantic Monthly article "As We May
Think". Bush envisioned the memex as a device in which individuals would
compress and store all of their books, records, and communications,
"mechanized so that it may be consulted with exceeding speed and
flexibility". The memex would provide an "enlarged intimate supplement to
one's memory".
(from [here])
another similar one, also analog, but more methodological:
A zettelkasten consists of many individual notes with ideas and other short
pieces of information that are taken down as they occur or are acquired. The
notes are numbered hierarchically, so that new notes may be inserted at the
appropriate place, and contain metadata to allow the note-taker to associate
notes with each other. For example, notes may contain tags that describe key
aspects of the note, and they may reference other notes. The numbering,
metadata, format and structure of the notes is subject to variation depending
on the specific method employed.
(from [here])
interestingly there are also similar physical concepts:
Commonplace books (or commonplaces) are a way to compile knowledge, usually
by writing information into books. They have been kept from antiquity, and
were kept particularly during the Renaissance and in the nineteenth century.
Such books are essentially scrapbooks filled with items of every kind:
recipes, quotes, letters, poems, tables of weights and measures, proverbs,
prayers, legal formulas. Commonplaces are used by readers, writers, students,
and scholars as an aid for remembering useful concepts or facts. Each one is
unique to its creator's particular interests but they almost always include
passages found in other texts, sometimes accompanied by the compiler's
responses. They became significant in Early Modern Europe.
(from [here])
another way of talking about the same concept that i have seen in various places
on the web are the idea of a digital garden. where rather than a museum, a gallery,
a portfolio, or a journal - it's a place where you can tend to ideas to watch them
grow, and share with other's if they want to visit. i like the idea more generally,
as it seems like it strikes a really reasonable balance between the external and
internal worlds we live in. futher more, the concept of coming back to the same
idea (i.e. page, theory, writing, notes, etc) and adding to that at a later date
is also antithetical to the fast consumption we're used to online. the same
essay doesn't have to stay the same. it's ok to update things - or to rip things
out when space is needed for other things to grow.
there are many tools that already exist that help people try to organize their
thoughts in similar ways - but there is also value in figuring it out for
yourself. similarly, there are ton of options out there for static site
generators. at least for me, i see value in often doing something for yourself,
even if there is an easier way. like gardening, or riding your bike maybe.
this iteration is my first attempt at sharing ideas in this manner. i spent a
lot of time thinking about how i could plan for longevity while also keeping
the writing process simple. in the [merveilles]
community, writing your own static site generator is something of a rite of
passage. and while it is fun to some, and can be a fun little challenge, it
represents a deeper idea about building tools that work exactly in the way the
user needs them to work. i considered using a variety of different tools to do
this, but none exactly met my need. in the end, it made more sense to write my
own.
for me, the requirements were:
the plain text is the most important. if later, i want to try to use some other
system, i don't have to import or export any files out of different formats. the
content itself is in a pretty raw form. you can see the source code of this
memex [on sourcehut].
the above outlines what a memex is, and how this one is created. however, why
would one want to do this? i think the idea of a memex, zettelkasten,
commonplace, digital garden is relaxing - in contrast with so much of the rest
of my interactions with other's online. it feels like a journal, but also a
blog. it feels like a portfolio, but also a scratchpad. it also is _under your
control_. if you want to change your mind about something, you can just update
whatever you want. at the end of the day, making a memex feels more like
learning, and documenting your ideas, in public.
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