The Zettelkasten Method: The search for the ghost in the box

The promise of the Zettelkasten method is that—by writing and connecting notes in a specific way—it will allow you to create an artificial writing partner that will surprise you with new ideas and help you write high-quality texts.

Who wouldn’t want to enjoy these benefits?

As you might expect, expectations surrounding the Zettelkasten method are correspondingly high. Moreover, this is no mere toast to the sun. There are two reasons that reinforce these expectations:

• The founding father of this method, Niklas Luhmann, excelled professionally thanks to the help of his Zettelkasten.
• The Zettelkasten method is in vogue in the productivity community (similar to how cold water baths were in vogue in the fitness community).

The disappointment of «seeing it all»

However, the usual situation is feeling deeply disappointed when you visit someone else’s Zettelkasten. Or, if you don’t feel that disappointment, you are most likely getting excited by superficial aspects of the method (e.g., the aesthetics of a note editor or the use of tags).

Luhmann himself wrote a note in his Zettelkasten about this situation:

Ghost in the box? Spectators visit. They get to see everything, and nothing but that—like in a porn movie. And the disappointment is correspondingly high.

—Niklas Luhmann, ZK II Zettel 9/8,3¹

Spectators «see it all» but couldn’t see how a Zettelkasten fulfills its promise: they couldn’t see Luhmann’s artificial writing companion. Or, rather, Luhmann’s companion was actually a ghost hiding inside the note-box to dodge the spectators’ gaze (in German, Zettelkasten literally means “note-box”).

However, there is an even greater disappointment: starting your own Zettelkasten and not finding your own ghost in the box. Only lifeless notes. Which may lead you to think:

• Am I doing something wrong with my Zettelkasten?
• Is this method really worthwhile?
• Maybe I should look for the following method that promises something similar.

The true nature of a Zettelkasten

The underlying problem is that if you don’t understand the true nature of a Zettelkasten, you won’t be able to see the ghost in the box.

In fact, this problem is not unique to the Zettelkasten method. For example, a similar disappointment would occur if you looked at a brain expecting to see its thoughts or if you looked at a game of chess thinking that the game is its wooden pieces and board.²

The common problem in all three cases is the inability to grasp the true nature of what you see. Thoughts are not found in a brain; they are the consequence of living brain neurons’ connection and coordinated action. A game of chess is not its pieces and its board; it is the process of moving the pieces on the board in a certain specific way that creates a game.

So, what is the nature of a Zettelkasten? A Zettelkasten is an environment for thinking: that is its true nature. The ghost of the box is not in the notes or inside the box, it is in the private process that happens in a user’s mind when he uses his Zettelkasten to think.³

That’s where to look.

Conclusion: How to find the ghost in the box

“It is too clear and so it is hard to see. A dunce once searched for a fire with a lighted lantern. Had he known what fire was, he could have cooked his rice much sooner.”

—Joshu Washes the Bowl, The Gateless Gate

The ghost in the box is not found as Luhmann’s viewers expected. In fact, this search is misconceived at its root. There is nothing to find inside the box. The way to “find” the ghost in the box is to recognize «what is already there» when you interact with your Zettelkasten. And, when you can acknowledge that condition, you will realize that every effort to search had been in vain.

So, my solution to the search for the ghost in the box is: stop searching and, instead, try to…

• Use your Zettelkasten to think. A Zettelkasten is a universal thinking environment; don’t limit yourself to using it for your hobbies or a specific project. When you want to think about something, use your Zettelkasten.

• Increase the intensity. You need high concentration and motivation to follow the steps of the Zettelkasten method correctly and completely. If you only spend 15 minutes a day, you are unlikely to reach that level of intensity. Increase the time and concentration in your Zettelkasten sessions.

• Understand its true nature. Why does a Zettelkasten enhance your thinking? And vice versa, why does your thinking enhance your Zettelkasten? It is convenient to accept that this is simply the way it is. But why is this so? It is not enough to know that this is true, find your own answer to these questions.

Push your understanding of the true nature of things. Go out to find the fire you have been promised. If only to realize that you have always had it in your hands.

You can reply to me in the comments or directly to this email. In both cases, I will answer you :-)

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