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A place for knowledge to grow.

note.garden is personal knowledge base designed to connect what you’re learning to what you, and your network, already know.

A screenshot of the note.garden app

Why build a personal knowledge base?

You’re learning new things every day, but how much of the information you encounter becomes permanent knowledge you can draw on in the future? The science of learning tells us there are two key practices for turning new information into lasting knowledge:

  • Spaced repetition: to retain knowledge, you have to engage with it frequently, especially soon after learning it.
  • Consolidation: Connecting new information to existing knowledge deepens understanding and enhances retention. Neurons that fire together wire together.

A personal knowledge base that supports rich interlinking is an ideal tool for learning. Writing and revising your notes triggers spaced repetition, and connecting notes to each other consolidates knowledge and encourages further re-engagement.

note.garden is inspired by the Zettelkasten method of taking permanent notes.

Why note.garden?

There are already many excellent tools for building a personal knowledge base. But they all focus on the personal aspect. Inspired by the digital garden movement, note.garden makes it easy to learn in public. Easily share your knowledge with others, and grow it by following serendipitous connections between your own notes and others'.

Why not note.garden?

  • It’s an experiment and might go away, though I’ve been using it for almost three years and can’t imagine my intellectual life without it, so I plan to maintain it for a long while. If it does go away, or if you try note.garden and it’s not for you, you can export all your notes as markdown files to import into most other note-taking tools.
  • It’s a work-in-progress. Today, note.garden can help you grow, navigate, and share your knowledge graph, but many of the features I envision to make it a true collaborative learning tool are yet to be built.

Want to try note.garden?

Great! You can sign up here.

With love and learning,

Steve
note.garden/stevegrossi