Connecting Ideas

There have been some questions/discussions about my research-thinking-writing process and I thought I would address them here. First step is to gain input. I read voraciously- not just books but articles from other critical thinkers on a wide variety of subjects up and down the Dewey Decimal System. There is zero chance I can remember all of this input so I dump them into my custom built personal database that I call “Grey Matter” where I can retrieve at will.

The process is extensive but worth it. I’ll read something of interest and make notes and highlights which immediately transfers into my digital brain. Inside there I wrote code scripts to organize and catalog these ideas to be referenced for later.

Connected ideas on one subject in a customized graph view
Another view of connected ideas on a specific subject for easier reference
Highlights & notes automagically imported into my digital brain for reference

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Mesmerizing look inside my brain at how ideas are connected and grow on each other.

Personal knowledge management, or digital asset management can be daunting but if it is set up correctly to connect ideas and go down the rabbit hole of new thoughts. It is amazing to me to come across an article and then be immediately capable of connecting those thoughts expressed into my own while completely connecting them to other thoughts for an entirely new line of thought.