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A review by yourstrulyemi
How to Take Smart Notes: One Simple Technique to Boost Writing, Learning and Thinking – for Students, Academics and Nonfiction Book Writers by Sönke Ahrens
informative
slow-paced
4.0
It took me a very long time to finish this book (2 months!). It isn't to say that I disliked this book actually, my slow reading wasn’t its fault though (only partial). I’m just someone who’s just terrible at reading self-help books even if the content interests me.
However, there are still some faults in this book that need addressing. First, concepts are repeated over and over again to the point it feels like they’re there to fill a fixed amount of pages.
Second, it’s the examples that don’t speak to me at all. One that stands out particularly is the shipping container example, that the author mentions in the afterword as being one of the results of his using the slip-box. I have zero idea on how shipping containers or any shipments procedures are done so using it to illustrate a point made it even more confusing.
Other such examples were the use of the alphabet and the thinking inside the box which didn't make a lot of sense. Especially the latter. The author doesn’t recommend “thinking outside the box” because we should think “inside the box”, that is the slip-box. However, the slip-box is what allows us to liberate our ideas from their context and thus help us think outside the box aka the context of the idea in this case. So, to me, relating that imaginary box with the slip-box went against the expression itself.
Also, aside from the complicated examples, there’s also the problem of lack of examples when they are needed. Many times, the author spoke of a feature of the slip-box or the type of notes to be taken only to not follow it with any example that might illustrate the argument he’s making. Of course, I get that his field of interest is very different from that of his readers and that his type of notes might not make sense to a lot of people. Still, a little reasoning behind the why’s and how’s would have been appreciated. I remember there being only one such example in the entire book.
Another point that I disliked is his style of writing that I find very convoluted. It might be just me though who’s not used to complicated and/or academic writing.
Nevertheless, despite all that I’ve said above, it was still a good and fruitful reading. Which is quite funny because I went into this book expecting advice on how to take notes during a lecture which isn’t exactly what this book is about. But hey! It’s still a nice discovery.
As someone who thinks a lot and comes up with lots of ideas only to forget them the next day, the slip-box is indeed a serendipitous solution. What’s more is that it seems very easy to apply compared to the many productivity methods I’ve seen online. I’m still confused about how I should apply this in my medical studies, but I plan to work on it. If it fails, at least it will still keep track of my thoughts, ideas and research.
Overall, it is a 4-star read from me.
However, there are still some faults in this book that need addressing. First, concepts are repeated over and over again to the point it feels like they’re there to fill a fixed amount of pages.
Second, it’s the examples that don’t speak to me at all. One that stands out particularly is the shipping container example, that the author mentions in the afterword as being one of the results of his using the slip-box. I have zero idea on how shipping containers or any shipments procedures are done so using it to illustrate a point made it even more confusing.
Other such examples were the use of the alphabet and the thinking inside the box which didn't make a lot of sense. Especially the latter. The author doesn’t recommend “thinking outside the box” because we should think “inside the box”, that is the slip-box. However, the slip-box is what allows us to liberate our ideas from their context and thus help us think outside the box aka the context of the idea in this case. So, to me, relating that imaginary box with the slip-box went against the expression itself.
Also, aside from the complicated examples, there’s also the problem of lack of examples when they are needed. Many times, the author spoke of a feature of the slip-box or the type of notes to be taken only to not follow it with any example that might illustrate the argument he’s making. Of course, I get that his field of interest is very different from that of his readers and that his type of notes might not make sense to a lot of people. Still, a little reasoning behind the why’s and how’s would have been appreciated. I remember there being only one such example in the entire book.
Another point that I disliked is his style of writing that I find very convoluted. It might be just me though who’s not used to complicated and/or academic writing.
Nevertheless, despite all that I’ve said above, it was still a good and fruitful reading. Which is quite funny because I went into this book expecting advice on how to take notes during a lecture which isn’t exactly what this book is about. But hey! It’s still a nice discovery.
As someone who thinks a lot and comes up with lots of ideas only to forget them the next day, the slip-box is indeed a serendipitous solution. What’s more is that it seems very easy to apply compared to the many productivity methods I’ve seen online. I’m still confused about how I should apply this in my medical studies, but I plan to work on it. If it fails, at least it will still keep track of my thoughts, ideas and research.
Overall, it is a 4-star read from me.