Atomic notes are the compiler artefacts of learning. They should be small, self-contained notes that hold the understanding of a single topic as simply as possible.
Like software, atomic notes have:
- high cohesion: everything in the note belongs to one idea
- low coupling: multiple notes can be combined together easily without adding any more useless context
In this way, an essay can be easily written by just combining together atomic notes.
See also
- Daily Zettelkasten process, fleeting notes rewritten to atomic — the daily process that produces atomic notes from raw captures
- Zettelkasten — the broader system atomic notes live inside: connection, not collection
- On the symbiosis of remembering, forgetting, and learning — why writing in your own words works: retrieval strength grows through elaboration and connection, not repetition
- h(x) = g(f(x)) — Composing Functions With ∘ and Its Reverse — the structural analogy: just as function composition chains small functions into larger programs, atomic notes chain into essays