Scott P Scheper, page 16
the problem in trying to explain a second mind
Niklas Luhmann was one of the major thinkers involved in the establishment of systems theory, especially within the sociological sphere.285 It is therefore rather intriguing that he did not use systems theory as the basis for his explanation of the Antinet; rather, he used communication theory to explain it. One problem with Luhmann using communication theory, however, is that a core part of human experience and knowledge is more than that which is acquired through theory. Rather, truth and reality, at least for humanity, are also influenced by the metaphysical realm. Both Eastern and Western philosophies share one common assumption: that there is such a thing as incommunicable truth.286 This concept suggests that in order to truly understand the power of the second mind, it cannot be taught; rather, it can only be experienced.
Another issue with trying to explain an Antinet is the fact that it could take a number of years of working with it before the second mind emerges. This is one factor all too conveniently omitted from books like How to Take Smart Notes. Again, for better or worse, Luhmann declares in his paper that it will be a number of years before the second mind emerges; until then the Antinet operates as a mere container for storing notes.
In my experience, however, the emergence of the second mind comes sooner than several years into the practice. It is likely to emerge several months after regular and committed use. For me, it emerged perhaps three or four months after I began working with it. However, it should be noted that I worked with it five days a week. In addition, the presence of the second mind grows stronger every single day.
The bottom line is this: the more time you spend with a thing, the more of you it becomes, and, the more of it becomes of you.
The Nature of the Second Mind
The Antinet is a unique type of system; more so than the novelties preached in digital-Zettelkasten-land which over-emphasize its features, yet overlook the magic.287 An Antinet is an intrapersonal knowledge system. It possesses a unique proclivity for inducing internal dialogue (as opposed to internal monologue). Its evolution over time happens in a self-organized fashion that cannot be pre-planned. It’s also consciousness-oriented, instead of comprehension-oriented. It works in tandem with its creator and is not designed to be a stand-alone system that is easily comprehensible to the public eye. The material and content it contains stem from deep-thinking, from working out ideas on paper, through rumination, and in the seeking of deep understanding. The ideas that emerge from it will surprise you. What makes it even more surprising is seeing how the ideas stem from you—from your own handwriting. The nature of the Antinet is founded on a communication theory because it really is a communication relationship between you, and your past self. When you try and transition such a system to digital, you’re destroying a core aspect of the Antinet. You’re destroying a key piece of the second mind—you’re ripping away that person, and its personality, before it even has a chance to be born.
When I read my handwritten notes, and observe the material of the notecards it was written on from fifteen years ago, it communicates something to me—something special that cannot be communicated in digital-file format. I see myself in my handwriting. I see the state of my life I was in at the time. I see the state of my mind at the time. Sometimes I have a reverence and respect for what I’ve written. Did I really write that and come up with that? And sometimes I see something where I think, Geez, I’ve really developed my thinking, and my mind, and have grown a lot since then. This is one aspect and one experience you’ll have when working with your second mind. I’m excited for you to experience it, but that’s really all I’m going to say for now. I’ll share more in detail later in the book; however, as I’ve mentioned before, much of it is incommunicable.
The reason one ought to take the four principles Luhmann outlined so seriously is that they’re key ingredients for transforming an Antinet into what it really is, which is a second mind.
I’ve touched on the importance of the four principles already; however, it’s worth restating how intentional Luhmann was in the construction of the Antinet. One scholar observed Luhmann’s system is “clearly constructed as a cybernetic machine.”288 Luhmann was influenced by cybernetics, the field concerned with the study of goal-oriented systems founded on communication and feedback. Ultimately, Luhmann’s Antinet “reproduces itself recursively” in order to produce knowledge.289
The Antinet also relates to another concept Luhmann introduced to the field of sociology—autopoiesis.290 This term stems from two Greek terms (1) αὐτo- (auto), which translates to self, and (2) ποίησις (poiesis), which means creation. In brief, autopoiesis means self-creation and concerns the study of systems which create themselves.
While it could be argued the Antinet exhibits autopoiesis, it technically doesn’t create other Antinets; rather, it creates a different entity altogether—a metaphysical second mind with whom you communicate. While the Antinet itself may not be autopoietic, the second mind that emerges from the system, and specifically its memory, could be said to “function as an autopoietic system,” observes the scholar, Alberto Cevolini.291
Conclusion
By now, you’re starting to understand the depth of this seemingly-simple system of notecards. Before moving forward let’s recap what we’ve covered.
As you may recall, we defined an Antinet as a system comprising four principles which form a thinking system. This thinking system transforms itself into a second mind.
You know what the four principles of the Antinet are (analog, numeric- alpha, tree, index). You understand the Antinet is a network. You know what is meant by the Antinet as a thinking system. You are also familiar with the concept of the second mind.
What we’re going to cover next concerns the scientific reasoning for devoting so much energy and commitment to such a system. We’re going to explore this by taking a closer look at the explicitness in Luhmann’s design of the Antinet. We’ll be doing this by diving into each of the principles of Luhmann’s Antinet individually. We’ll be starting where the magic of the Antinet really begins: its analog nature.
Let’s go.
“Luftwaffenhelfer.” In Wikipedia, April 13, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Luftwaffenhelfer&oldid=1017572660.
Though there were reports that those conscripted into service by the Nazis were even of much younger age—during World War II, as the Nazi party grew desperate, American soldiers found children enlisting as young as eight-years-old, and that the Nazis were equipping them with guns. See, “The History Place—Hitler Youth: Hitler’s Boy Soldiers 1939–1945,” April 22, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150422044533/http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/hitleryouth/hj-boy-soldiers.htm: “American troops reported capturing armed 8-year-olds at Aachen in Western Germany and knocking out artillery units operated entirely by boys aged twelve and under.”
Niklas Luhmann, Short Cuts. Orig.-Ausg., 4. Aufl. Short Cuts 1. Frankfurt am Main: Zweitausendeins, 2002. Page 11.
Luhmann. Short Cuts, 11.
“Treaties, States Parties, and Commentaries - Geneva Convention (III) on Prisoners of War, 1949–14—Respect for the Persons and Honour of Prisoners.” Accessed January 4, 2022. https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/ART/375-590018?OpenDocument.
Luhmann. Short Cuts, 30–31.
holgersen911, “Niklas Luhmann - Observer in the Crow’s Nest (Eng Sub),” 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRSCKSPMuDc, 18:00.
Niklas Luhmann: Society as a System of Communication HANS-GEORG MOELLER 367. Philosophical Profiles in the Theory of Communication. Accessed August 20, 2021. https://www.peterlang.com/view/9781453902028/9781453902028.00019.xml.
Angus Stevenson, and Christine A. Lindberg, eds. New Oxford American Dictionary 3rd Edition. Oxford ; New York: Oxford University Press, 2010.
Luhmann, “Communicating with Slip Boxes,” accessed May 4, 2021, https://luhmann.surge.sh/communicating-with-slip-boxes; Niklas Luhmann, “Communication with Noteboxes (Revised Edition),” trans. Manfred Kuehn, https://daily.scottscheper.com/zettelkasten/.
Stevenson and Lindberg, eds. New Oxford American Dictionary 3rd Edition.
Richard Yeo. Notebooks, Recollection, and External Memory: Some Early Modern English Ideas and Practices. Brill, 2016, 139.
Luhmann took different types of notes. Some were word-for-word excerpts (i.e. quotes), some were notes that were brief observations, and some were summaries in his own words of what he read. I’ll discuss these types of notes in detail later.
Alberto Cevolini, ed. Forgetting Machines: Knowledge Management Evolution in Early Modern Europe. Library of the Written Word, volume 53. Leiden; Boston: Brill, 2016, 4.
Undisciplined, “Archiving Luhmann w/ Johannes Schmidt,” 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kz2K3auPLWU, 34:00. Johannes Schmidt’s version of Luhmann’s principles is as follows: (1) a “specific system of organization”, (2) “rules of numbering”, (3) “internal system of linking”, and (4) a “Comprehensive keyword index.”
Luhmann, “Communicating with Slip Boxes.”
“Getting Started • Zettelkasten Method,” accessed June 28, 2021, https://zettelkasten.de/posts/overview/.
“Getting Started • Zettelkasten Method.” Accessed June 28, 2021. https://zettelkasten.de/posts/overview/.
Luhmann, “Communicating with Slip Boxes,” accessed May 4, 2021, https://luhmann.surge.sh/communicating-with-slip-boxes; Niklas Luhmann, “Zettelkasten,”, accessed August 3, 2021, https://daily.scottscheper.com/zettelkasten/.
This idea was popularized by Sönke Ahrens in his book, and has since been spread rapidly throughout Personal Knowledge Management communities online. For the source of this myth, one may consult his book How to Take Smart Notes: One Simple Technique to Boost Writing, Learning and Thinking: For Students, Academics and Nonfiction Book Writers. North Charleston, SC: CreateSpace, 2017.
“Zettel—English translation in English—Langenscheidt dictionary German-English.” Accessed July 17, 2021. https://en.langenscheidt.com/german-english/zettel.
“(4) Is Google Translator the Best among All?” Quora. Accessed July 17, 2021. https://www.quora.com/Is-Google-Translator-the-best-among-all; “Google Translate.” Accessed July 17, 2021. https://translate.google.com/?sl=de&tl=en&text=zettel&op=translate.
Printleaf’s Blog for Design and Printing Solutions. “Standard U.S vs European Paper Sizes Infographic,” January 18, 2018. https://blog.printleaf.com/standard-us-vs-european-paper-sizes-what-you-need-to-know.
“Paper Size.” In Wikipedia, July 9, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Papersize&oldid=1032765899.
“The Medium Is the Message.” In Wikipedia, November 25, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Themediumisthemessage&oldid=1057037064.
For instance, a Zettelkasten is not the equivalent found in Ryan Holiday, “The Notecard
System: The Key For Remembering, Organizing And Using Everything You Read.” RyanHoliday.net (blog), April 1, 2014. https://ryanholiday.net/the-notecard-system-the-key-for-remembering-organizing-and-using-everything-you-read/.
Luhmann, “Communicating with Slip Boxes”; Luhmann, “Zettelkasten.”
Richard Yeo, Notebooks, Recollection, and External Memory: Some Early Modern English Ideas and Practices (Brill, 2016), 131.
Richard Yeo, Notebooks, Recollection, and External Memory: Some Early Modern English Ideas and Practices (Brill, 2016), 135.
Richard Yeo, Notebooks, Recollection, and External Memory: Some Early Modern English Ideas and Practices (Brill, 2016), 129.
Alberto Cevolini, ed., Forgetting Machines: Knowledge Management Evolution in Early Modern Europe, Library of the Written Word, volume 53 (Leiden ; Boston: Brill, 2016), 28-29.
Niklas Luhmann, “Communication with Noteboxes (Revised Edition),” trans. Manfred Kuehn, https://daily.scottscheper.com/zettelkasten/.
“Ego—APA Dictionary of Psychology,” accessed December 13, 2021, https://dictionary.apa.org/ego.
“Alter Ego—APA Dictionary of Psychology,” accessed December 13, 2021, https://dictionary.apa.org/alter-ego.
Luhmann, “Communicating with Slip Boxes”; Luhmann, “Zettelkasten.”
Ann M. Blair, Too Much to Know: Managing Scholarly Information before the Modern Age, First Edition (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 2011), 78.
Cevolini, ed., Forgetting Machines, 1.
Related note: I ended up purchasing a wax tablet to experience what it would’ve been like for Plato in developing his knowledge. I found it surprising how useful the tool is; it’s almost like a portable whiteboard. However its key differences are: 1) its more painful to write knowledge down so you must be very deliberate in thinking before you write, 2) the limitation of space forces you to be very concise (and thus err on the side of writing down short words, or cues, that trigger a longer thought).
Luhmann, “Communicating with Slip Boxes.”; Luhmann, “Zettelkasten.”
“ZK II: Note 9/8—Niklas Luhmann Archive.” Accessed January 10, 2022. https://niklas-luhmann-archiv.de/bestand/zettelkasten/zettel/ZK_2_NB_9-8_V.
“ZK I: Note 5.1a—Niklas Luhmann Archive”” accessed January 11, 2022, https://niklas-luhmann-archiv.de/bestand/zettelkasten/zettel/ZK_1_NB_5-1a_V.
“ZK II: Zettel 21/1,1—Niklas Luhmann-Archiv,” accessed January 11, 2022, https://niklas-luhmann-archiv.de/bestand/zettelkasten/zettel/ZK_2_NB_21-1-1_V.
“ZK II: Note 9 / 8.3 - Niklas Luhmann Archive,” accessed January 11, 2022, https://niklas-luhmann-archiv.de/bestand/zettelkasten/zettel/ZK_2_NB_9-8-3_V.
Niklas Luhmann, “Communicating with Slip Boxes by Niklas Luhmann,” trans. Manfred Kuehn, accessed May 4, 2021, https://luhmann.surge.sh/communicating-with-slip-boxes.
“1c.3 Using Folders—LYT Curriculum / Unit 1—PKM & Idea Emergence,” Linking Your Thinking, accessed October 25, 2021, https://forum.linkingyourthinking.com/t/1c-3-using-folders/142/2.
Stevenson and Lindberg, eds., New Oxford American Dictionary 3rd Edition.
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Johannes Schmidt, “Niklas Luhmann’s Card Index: Thinking Tool, Communication Partner, Publication Machine,” Forgetting Machines. Knowledge Management Evolution in Early Modern Europe 53 (2016), https://pub.uni-bielefeld.de/record/2942475295.
Schmidt, “Niklas Luhmann’s Card Index: Thinking Tool,” 295.
Luhmann, “Communicating with Slip Boxes,” accessed May 4, 2021, https://luhmann.surge.sh/communicating-with-slip-boxes; Luhmann, “Communication with a Notebox (Revised Edition),” accessed August 3, 2021, https://daily.scottscheper.com/zettelkasten/.
For beautiful images and more exploration on this subject, see: Giorgio A. Ascoli, Trees of the Brain, Roots of the Mind (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2015).
Cevolini, ed., Forgetting Machines, 16. Emphasis added.
Luhmann, “Communicating with Slip Boxes.”; Luhmann, “Zettelkasten.”
As, for instance, seen in Holiday, “The Notecard System.” RyanHoliday.Net (blog), April 1, 2014. https://ryanholiday.net/the-notecard-system-the-key-for-remembering-organizing-and-using-everything-you-read/.
“ZK II: Note 9/8 - Niklas Luhmann Archive.” Accessed January 10, 2022. https://niklas- luhmann-archiv.de/bestand/zettelkasten/zettel/ZK_2_NB_9-8_V.
Michael Jacob Kahana, Foundations of Human Memory. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2014), 30.
It’s become a marketing idea of late to refer to a system that stores information as a second brain; yet, that’s not really what you want, nor is that even a good term for what you’re developing with an Antinet. What you’re building is a second mind. In the scholarly field, this idea is often referred to as an extended mind. More on this concept later.
Undisciplined, “Archiving Luhmann w/ Johannes Schmidt.”
Schmidt, “Niklas Luhmann’s Card Index: Thinking Tool,” 309.
Schmidt, “Niklas Luhmann’s Card Index: Thinking Tool,” 309.
Schmidt, “Niklas Luhmann’s Card Index: Thinking Tool,” 309.
“Discovery of ‘Thought Worms’ Opens Window to the Mind,” Queen’s Gazette | Queen’s University, July 13, 2020, https://www.queensu.ca/gazette/stories/discovery-thought -worms-opens-window-mind.
“What Actually Is a Thought? And How Is Information Physical? | Psychology Today, “accessed July 29, 2021, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/finding-purpose/ 201902/what-actually-is-thought-and-how-is-information-physical.
“Definition of THINKING,” accessed July 29, 2021, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thinking.
Ralph Lewis, “What Actually Is a Thought? And How Is Information Physical? | Psychology Today,” accessed July 29, 2021, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/finding-purpose/201902/what-actually-is-thought-and-how-is-information-physical.
