Commonplace

Commonplace Example: Personal Knowledge Base

Overview

A personal knowledge base is a system for capturing, organizing, and connecting your ideas, notes, research, and other information. Commonplace provides an ideal platform for building a personal knowledge base due to its flexible card-based system, powerful connection capabilities, and progressive complexity approach.

This example demonstrates how to use Commonplace to build a comprehensive personal knowledge base that grows with your needs and thinking.

What it does

This example shows how to:

  • Create a structured system for capturing and organizing knowledge
  • Build connections between related pieces of information
  • Develop a personalized tagging and categorization system
  • Create different views for different thinking modes
  • Integrate reference materials with your own thoughts
  • Build a system that evolves with your understanding

Implementation

Schemas

We'll create several primary schemas:

  1. Note Schema

    • Title: The note's title
    • Content: Markdown text for the note body
    • Tags: List of tags for categorization
    • Source: Optional reference to source material
    • Status: Draft, Refined, or Archived

  2. Concept Schema

    • Name: The concept name
    • Definition: Clear definition of the concept
    • Examples: List of examples illustrating the concept
    • Related Concepts: Links to related concepts
    • References: Sources that discuss this concept

  3. Question Schema

    • Question: The question being explored
    • Current Understanding: Your current thoughts on the answer
    • Evidence For: Supporting evidence or arguments
    • Evidence Against: Contradicting evidence or arguments
    • Status: Open, In Progress, or Answered

  4. Source Schema

    • Title: The source's title
    • Author: Who created the source
    • Type: Book, Article, Video, Podcast, etc.
    • URL: Link to the source if digital
    • Notes: Your notes about this source
    • Key Points: Main takeaways from the source

Collection Structure

  1. Knowledge Hub (Home Collection)

    • Central starting point for your knowledge base
    • Contains links to main topic collections
    • Includes recent notes and active questions
    • Provides a dashboard view of your knowledge system

  2. Topic Collections

    • Collections organized around main areas of interest
    • Each can contain notes, concepts, questions, and sources
    • Can be nested for hierarchical organization
    • Include both reference materials and your own thoughts

  3. Specialized Views

    • Concept Map: Spatial view showing relationships between concepts
    • Question Board: List view of open questions and investigations
    • Reading List: Collection of sources to process
    • Daily Notes: Chronological collection of daily thoughts and captures

Connection System

  1. Basic Connections

    • Connect related notes, concepts, and questions
    • Show supporting or contradicting relationships
    • Link sources to the notes and concepts they inform

  2. Structured Inlets

    • evidence-for: Inlet for supporting evidence on questions
    • evidence-against: Inlet for contradicting evidence
    • defines: Inlet connecting sources to concepts they define
    • expands: Inlet for notes that expand on concepts

  3. Automated Connections

    • Set up Commonscript to suggest connections based on content similarity
    • Automatically link notes with matching tags
    • Suggest concept relationships based on co-occurrence in notes

Capture Workflow

  1. Quick Capture

    • Create a "Quick Capture" card for rapid note-taking
    • Later process these notes into appropriate schemas
    • Use Commonscript to suggest categorization based on content

  2. Source Processing

    • Create a source card when encountering new material
    • Extract key concepts and questions while reading/watching
    • Link extracted notes back to the source
    • Track which sources have been fully processed

  3. Concept Development

    • Start with basic concept definitions
    • Gradually refine as understanding develops
    • Connect to supporting evidence and examples
    • Link to related concepts to build a network

Retrieval and Review

  1. Search and Filter

    • Set up saved searches for common queries
    • Create filters based on tags, status, and other metadata
    • Use full-text search across all cards

  2. Spaced Repetition

    • Tag important concepts for review
    • Set up a spaced repetition system using Commonscript
    • Get notifications when items are due for review

  3. Knowledge Gaps

    • Identify areas with few connections or notes
    • Highlight questions without sufficient evidence
    • Create a "Knowledge Gaps" collection to focus future learning

Benefits

  • Flexible Capture: Quickly capture thoughts without disrupting flow
  • Meaningful Connections: Build a network of related ideas
  • Progressive Organization: Start simple and add structure as needed
  • Multiple Perspectives: View your knowledge in different ways
  • Active Learning: Engage with material through questions and connections
  • Evolving System: Knowledge base grows and adapts with your understanding

Customization Ideas

  • Project Integration: Link knowledge base to project collections
  • Goal Tracking: Connect knowledge to personal goals and objectives
  • Learning Paths: Create sequences of concepts for learning new subjects
  • Collaboration: Share specific collections with collaborators
  • Publication: Prepare and publish selected content from your knowledge base

This example demonstrates how Commonplace can serve as a powerful personal knowledge management system that adapts to your thinking style and grows with your needs.