Taking raw notes is useless

Mechanical note-taking (listening and passively writing down) is useless for memory and creativity.

First, the generation effect shows that we remember information better when we create our own version of it.

Second, creativity requires the ability to connect the dots between many ideas and content sources, sometimes in surprising ways. Raw notes, especially when classified by topic or category or source and thus living in silos, do not allow for discovering these surprising connections. Do not keep orphan notes.

Practical approach: How to take smart notes.