Today, I take a look back at my favorite reads of 2022, only one of which actually came out in 2022.
These are the books that have really stood out to me and have made a lasting impact on me. Several of those books I’m sharing today have been on my shelf for a while, books that I’ve wanted to read for some time.
All of them have informed my thinking on note-taking, knowledge management and retention, and learning. I was knee deep in these works as I was building my Note-Making Mastery Cohort that debuted in June.
For a full list of the books I feature, as well as a brief summary of each, simply scroll down.
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In today’s episode, I feature:
- Antifragile
- Make It Stick
- How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes
- How to Take Smart Notes
- Building a Second Brain
- The Shallows
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My Six Favorite Books I Read This Year
- Anti-Fragile: Things That Gain From Disorder by Nassim Nicolas Taleb is a book that discusses the concept of “antifragility,” which refers to systems that become stronger as a result of exposure to stress, disorder, or volatility. The book argues that many natural and social systems exhibit antifragile properties and suggests ways to incorporate antifragile thinking into various fields, such as economics, finance, and management. The book also discusses the importance of embracing disorder and stress in order to foster resilience and the dangers of over-manipulating systems in an attempt to make them more stable. The book may be particularly relevant for professionals and students who work in fields like economics, finance, engineering, and computer science, and may also be of interest to those who are interested in the broader concept of resilience and how it can be applied to personal and professional contexts.
- Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning is a book written by Peter C. Brown, Henry L. Roediger III, and Mark A. McDaniel. It explores evidence-based principles for improving learning and retention, such as spacing out study sessions, mixing up study materials, testing yourself through retrieval practice, and interleaving. Interleaving involves mixing up different types of problems or material during study sessions in order to improve learning and retention by forcing the brain to adapt and switch between different concepts. This book is relevant for students, educators, and professionals who are interested in improving their learning and retention of new information.
- Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes by Maria Konnikova focuses on the cognitive strategies and habits used by Sherlock Holmes, the fictional detective created by Arthur Conan Doyle, to solve complex problems and make connections that others missed. The book highlights the importance of cultivating a curious, open-minded mindset, paying attention to details, breaking down problems into smaller parts and approaching them systematically, considering multiple hypotheses, maintaining a diverse range of knowledge and interests, and using visualization and imagination to generate new ideas and solutions. It also includes practical exercises and tips for applying these concepts in real life, as well as exploring the psychological basis for these mental habits and strategies. It seems like a great resource for anyone interested in improving their critical thinking skills and problem-solving abilities.
- How to Take Smart Notes: One Simple Technique to Boost Writing, Learning and Thinking by Sönke Ahrens outlines the Zettelkasten method of note-taking. Zettelkasten is a system for organizing and synthesizing ideas that involves creating a network of interconnected notes on note cards or digitally. The method encourages the use of a hierarchy of notes, with higher level notes summarizing main ideas and lower level notes providing more detailed information, and emphasizes the importance of regularly reviewing and updating notes to ensure they remain relevant and accurate. The method can be used to create an “external memory” that supplements and enhances the internal memory, and can be helpful for personal productivity, learning, and creative work. The method was popularized by German sociologist and philosopher Nicholas Lumen, who credited it with helping him to think more deeply about his research and make connections between different ideas.
- Building a Second Brain: A Proven Method to Organize Your Digital Life and Unlock Your Creative Potential is a book by Tiago Forte that discusses how to use digital tools and techniques to capture, organize, and synthesize information and ideas in order to supplement and enhance cognitive capabilities. The book provides a step-by-step guide on how to build a second brain, including how to capture and organize information using tools like Evernote and Notion, how to use mind maps and diagrams to visualize and synthesize information, and how to use automation to streamline the process of capturing and organizing information. Forte also emphasizes the importance of developing a system for reviewing and processing information and provides tips for using a second brain to improve productivity, learning, and creativity. The main principle of building a second brain is the idea of capturing and storing information and ideas as they come to you rather than relying on memory to retain them, and it involves organizing and structuring the information in a way that makes it easy to find and retrieve later. Building a second brain is an ongoing process and may involve experimenting with different tools and techniques and adapting the system as needs and goals change.
- (Honorable Mention) The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains by Nicholas Carr is a thought-provoking book that explores the ways in which the internet is changing our brains and how we process and think about information. The book suggests that our reliance on the internet may lead to a shallowing of our intellectual depth and focus, and highlights the potential negative consequences of this trend on our culture and society. Some of the specific effects discussed in the book include the decline in deep reading and the rise of skimming, as well as a decline in our ability to think deeply and critically. It’s clear that the book has had a significant impact on you and has prompted you to take steps to limit your time on the internet and engage in activities that promote deep thinking. It’s important to be aware of the potential impact of technology on our minds and to make conscious choices about how we use it.
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