Zettelkasten Torso Differentiation

Zettelkasten is a note-taking method which involves connecting relatively small notes into a web. This method adheres to principles which are very similar to the approach to torso movement that Ido has taken us through.

Zettelkasten is a collection of notes of the smallest possible size (that still communicate a useful unit of information) and their links to other notes to produce webs of ideas. This produces notes which are simultaneously self-contained but capable of belonging to more complex topics and ideas. This is far more versatile compared to siloed information in which an idea can be reached at through very limited pathways.

Torso Segmentation

Ido has taken us through a process of gradually refining the torso into smaller and smaller discrete segments. Each segment can simultaneously articulate on its own as well as optimally contribute to entire kinetic chains for force transmission. In essence, the structure of the torso is dissolved and then the whole is rebuilt as a web of connections.

Benefits of Segmentation

For both movement and note-taking, there are benefits to this approach of reducing the system to the smallest discrete units of information or articulation and then creating a new upgraded system through webs of connections… 

1. A smaller but connected note can participate in multiple lines of reasoning. A segment of torso can contribute to multiple trajectories of force transmission.

2. Both the smaller note and the segment of torso can be tailored individually to fine tune the larger systems to which they belong. Discrete units can be organized, concatenated or spliced to better serve a bigger picture. 

The Zettelkasten Torso

Marcel Mauss observed that the way we walk depends on the cultures we are raised in (3). The way we move our spines depends on the way we walk (and the demands gait imposes on the skeleton). This results in a specific infrastructure, but that infrastructure can be deconstructed and reconstructed to produce a more versatile torso… the zettelkasten torso.

Fun fact: one of the major advocates and tinkerers in the zettelkasten space has frequently quoted Ido (1)