[discussion] Tiddlywiki as a learning tool ( not just a knowledge base)

[Jon Light]

Opinions / Share Experiences

In the last few months Tiddlywiki has really taken off for me, I have learnt a little more on how to customise and also added plugins, my Tiddlywiki is now a year old and approaching 20MB. It is a knowledge base in an area that is not a completely hard science so it involves different opinions from different sources and lots of comparison of those sources.

I am no longer thinking of Tiddlywiki as knowledge base but a learning tool because it allows me to find connections that my poor old organic memory just wouldn't be able find, after all learning is about connections between nuggets of information.

These are the two biggest factors that have turbo-charged my Tiddlywiki

1. Adding the bi-directional linking of BLINK opened up new doors - unexpectedly quickly, I spent hours creating new paths and new tags simply when I turned this plugin on - instantly more connections and more thoughts and observations.
   
2. I added sidebar tools to filter my story river not just on 'date since created' as it was before but now optionally 'date since last modified' and also random[30]. I found the random filter amazing because it shows how we like to walk down well trodden paths. I found that throwing a random element in to use when I have nothing else better to do than examine my own notes of say12 months ago on certain topic really opened - this disrupts the pattern that since created/modified filters otherwise impose, ie the stuff that gets most attention continues to get most attention. Adding 'since modified' helped to shake things up, at least old forgotten tiddlers of merit once remembered could float near the surface again but random is a disrupter in this context and really shakes it up. 
   

I am interested if others have experiences to share?

Also a massive thanks to Jerome for the gift that just keeps on giving

Jon

[PMario]

Hi Jon,

Very interesting report. Especially the "random" list is a cool element. .. A little bit of "shaking up" may be helpful from time to time.

have fun!

mario

[Jon Light]

Thanks Mario,

One observation I meant to add was that my current Tiddlywiki has ~200 subject tags, six months ago there were perhaps ~100 subject tags ( that's a guess ).

I found that old tiddlers that had settled to the bottom of the stream and were rarely 'caught' were not tagged as well as they could be simply because lots of tags did not exist when they were written and I suppose their were fewer tiddlers to link to. 

Going with the fishing in the 'stream' analogy ...

I am finding that part of the benefit of the random option is that these tiddlers are now appearing now and then at the surface of the stream and this is a a great opportunity to add newer tags that did not exist when they were written, if they 'deserve' it then they get more links and tags and 'come back to life' by being better connected.

I guess tiddlers that are not so useful just sink down to the bottom again until next time they are 'lucky' enough to be picked in the random list and so there is perhaps a Darwinian principle at work with ideas,  I like that ! Of course something that is just plain rubbish can be deleted but there are always inbetween cases and some tiddlers become more useful as understanding changes and improves, I like this concept of recycling from the bottom of the stream with a built-in tendency for good ideas to get promoted and that it changes and adapts over time.

[TiddlyTweeter]

 jonligh...@gmail.com wrote:

... I found that old tiddlers that had settled to the bottom of the stream and were rarely 'caught' were not tagged as well as they could be simply because lots of tags did not exist when they were written and I suppose their were fewer tiddlers to link to. 

Going with the fishing in the 'stream' analogy ...

I am finding that part of the benefit of the random option  (TT's added emphasis )is that these tiddlers are now appearing now and then at the surface of the stream and this is a a great opportunity to add newer tags that did not exist when they were written, if they 'deserve' it then they get more links and tags and 'come back to life' by being better connected.

In the spirit of discussion ... 

I absolutely agree the problematic you describe occurs and RANDOMness is a very viable and good salve for it.

Essentially it is cognitive issue. Learning is often serendipitous. Associational-ism is a common human cognitive pattern. Cross-connections (i.e. this should be labelled that!), in particular, often occur frequently from RE-seeing something in a NEW context (in your case via a special "random" ignition). 

In short, the stochastic is essential in learning and information design.

Just BTB, "structured randomness" has been and is used extensively in creative writing. Think: William Burroughs.

And in creative thought generation. Think: Edward de Bono.

Just thoughts

TT

[TW Tones]

Thanks for Sharing.

There is a change count maintained for each session of tiddlywiki, which is lost after save and reload. I have often felt we should also have a visit count (each time a tiddler is opened) And that both can be summed with previous values retained in the wiki. This would allow us to identify busy and neglected tiddlers, combined with a last view (opened in story) date, created and modified dates a lot of induction can start to occur.

Tones

[Odin]

Hi Jon! 

Thanks to your idea of have a list of random tiddlers, I have implemented something similar. If you put something inside $:/config/EmptyStoryMessage, it will show up in the story river when there are no tiddlers. So I entered the following to have it show me a random Zettel from my zettelkasten:

<div style="margin:2em">

<h1>Here is a random Zettel: </h1>

<$list filter="[all[tiddlers]tag[Zettel]]+[shuffle[]first[1]]">

<h2 class="tc-title"> <$link/> </h2>

<$transclude tiddler=<<currentTiddler>> field="text" mode="block"/>

</$list>

</div>

I used the shuffle operator plugin for the randomness. I helped me touch up some older notes. Because it now shows up, it is easy to just take a minute to do one note.

To me it is very interesting how you are describing how your TiddlyWiki went from a knowlegde base to a learning tool, finding new connections you hadn't thought of. It reminds of how Luhman described his zettelkasten as a conversation partner. He writes:

"As a result of extensive work with this technique a kind of secondary memory will arise, an alter ego with who we can constantly communicate. It proves to be similar to our own memory in that it does not have a thoroughly constructed order of its entirety, not hierarchy, and most certainly no linear structure like a book. Just because of this, it gets its own life, independent of its author."

He also notes that at first, the zettelkasten will just serve as a container to store things, and that it will take a while before new insights and links will arise. I am still mostly at the stage of just storing. I think this is in part because a broad range of interests of mine, I need more notes before different topics start to 'touch' each other. Although I've had some cases of 'ahah! This can be linked to this note!'.  

You wrote that your TiddlyWiki is nearing 20mb. I am wondering, is this only text, or are you also embedding images and the like?

Kind regards,
Odin

Op dinsdag 18 mei 2021 om 03:13:01 UTC+2 schreef TW Tones: