We learned in the New York Times recently that storing a single human brain’s connectome (the complete map of all neurons and the interconnections between them) would take half the planet’s digital storage capacity: 1.3 billion terabytes. Are we really claiming that a software program can think? Evernote is most valuable not as a remembering tool, but as a thinking tool.īut this presents us with a tall order. This is “dumb” information by design, so an intelligent tool doesn’t add much value. This includes the storage and retrieval of straightforward factual information: parking tickets, receipts, user manuals, packing lists, recipes, menus, business cards, language materials, doctor’s notes, government documents, tax documents, logins/passwords, school assignments, etc. I want to dispel a myth: It’s not just “remembering things.” Our brains are not particularly good at that anyway, so having a second one wouldn’t help much. What does that mean exactly? What, in fact, would we use a second brain for?
To answer it, we have to drill down into Evernote’s original mission:
What would it look like to use Evernote as the basis for a creative workflow, in line with known neuroscience principles? I previously explained how the standard tag-based approach basically contradicts everything we know about creativity and how the human brain works.Īfter a few months of tinkering, I’m ready to attempt an answer to the reverse question: Let’s imagine how you would use Evernote if you had a brain. To learn more, check out our online bootcamp on Personal Knowledge Management, Building a Second Brain. This post was republished on the Evernote blog.
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