Progressive Summarization A Practical Technique for Designing Discoverable Notes - Forte Labs

URL: https://fortelabs.com/blog/progressive-summarization-a-practical-technique-for-designing-discoverable-notes/
Author: fortelabs.com

Summary

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Highlights Added July 17, 2024 at 11:02 AM

Modern digital tools make it easy to “capture” information from a wide variety of sources. We know how to snap a picture, type out some notes, record a video, or scan a document. Getting this content from the outside world into the digital world is trivial. ([View Highlight] (https://read.readwise.io/read/01h90e5qdgm9407zkrtwq4fwjv))

What is difficult is not transferring content from place to place, but transferring it through time. ([View Highlight] (https://read.readwise.io/read/01h90e6amhx8b4f6neqmexxm0z))

This is the job of a “second brain” — an external, integrated digital repository for the things you learn and the resources from which they come. It is a storage and retrieval system, packaging bits of knowledge into discrete packets that can be forwarded to various points in time to be reviewed, utilized, or deleted. ([View Highlight] (https://read.readwise.io/read/01h90e6t8fxtpy4aa6fz09y1g2))

Compression vs. context
There’s a natural tension between the two, compression and context. ([View Highlight] (https://read.readwise.io/read/01h90e9r6h8e0gvws5k8dfwqwh))

Progressive Summarization works in “layers” of summarization. Layer 0 is the original, full-length source text.
Layer 1 is the content that I initially bring into my note-taking program. I don’t have an explicit set of criteria on what to keep. I just capture anything that feels insightful, interesting, or useful. ([View Highlight] (https://read.readwise.io/read/01h90eampzxw0rjz93h0merbxw))

Layer 2 is the first round of true summarization, in which I bold only the best parts of the passages I’ve imported. Again, I have no explicit criteria. I look for keywords, key phrases, and key sentences that I feel represent the core or essence of the idea being discussed. ([View Highlight] (https://read.readwise.io/read/01h90ebg4txjgm7chsb4q427gv))

I do this bolding layer at a later time, when I’m already reviewing this note anyway. I’m essentially using the attention I’m already spending for a dual purpose: to “buy” the information I need for the project at hand, and also to summarize the note for future use. If you have to pay attention to something, it comes in handy to be able to double-spend. ([View Highlight] (https://read.readwise.io/read/01h90ebqj5cra19ph7j6jhwhbr))

For Layer 3, I switch to highlighting, so I can make out the smaller number of highlighted passages among all the bolded ones. This time, I’m looking for the “best of the best,” only highlighting something if it is truly unique or valuable. And again, I’m only adding this third layer when I’m already reviewing the note anyway. ([View Highlight] (https://read.readwise.io/read/01h90ebvctmgcmagmkz6t1m0ff))

For Layer 4, I’m still summarizing, but going beyond highlighting the words of others, to recording my own. For a small number of notes that are the most insightful, I summarize layers 2 and 3 in an informal executive summary at the top of the note, restating the key points in my own words. ([View Highlight] (https://read.readwise.io/read/01h90ec05cfntqvwq8e1ve2tk6))