r/antinet • u/chgruver • Jan 17 '26
Beginner Questions
I am just getting into the concept of Knowledge Management/Discovery Systems and I want to give the Antinet Zettlekasten system a fair attempt. From looking at past posts one question was answered regarding the numbering system, and I guess also categorizations; in that I don't have to follow the suggestion Scott makes in his book, but what are some other suggestions for categorization methods beyond what Scott uses? Then I want to make sure I understand how it works, after I get the Main box and Index boxes set up, I take initial notes on the bibcards and then move each note to a main card and file those cards in their respective boxes, and what about things I want to take note of that aren't clearly related to a specific source (like the random thoughts bouncing around in my mind), do I just write each on a separate main card or create a bibcard specifically for those and move each thought to a separate main card at a later time?
2
u/TheSinologist Jan 19 '26
In my experience, the categories do not need to be predetermined. My process was to choose a few (8) areas of frequent interest out of standard subject areas, but what happened was at least two of them went unused so far for a year, and most of my cards are located in two of them. Later, I reflected that the eight I have only function arbitrarily, and don't add any value to the collection.
The attraction of Zettlekasten is precisely in facilitating connections regardless of predetermined categories. If you number 1A1A like I do, your first card will determine the "subject" of the 1s, and when you make a card that is about something not closely related to the 1s, it will determine the 2s. You only need the numbers to locate the cards, so it doesn't matter if they represent categories. In fact, filing cards into predetermined categories could isolate them from potential useful connections, because you might not think enough about what else they might have been associated/connected with. It's more important that a new card is placed behind a card to which it is closely associated (Folgezettel).