iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

So, if you wanna grok Luhmann's take on communication, it can be very helpful to grok Shannon/Weaver's take first. All of which is in my next book.

100

The other thing I'd recommend (for others as well) is to get familiar with Luhmann's concepts as they have been defined and handled by people before him. Theorists are almost always writing against something. Or at least taking what's been written on a subject and running in a new direction w it.

100

My best advice (and it's the advice I give for anyone wanting to read "difficult texts"), is to read around and about the author's work first. What you pick up there, go and seek out in Luhmann's work itself later.

100

Bob Doto @bobdoto.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Read a handful of Luhmann books last month, including Organization and Decision and The Reality of the Mass Media. I've come to really enjoy reading Luhmann, who I know for many can be a total slog.

100

A schematic describing in technical terms how a modern car works is, by definition, impractical. Not understood by the many. But, because there are people who *can* understand it, you're able to own a car and drive it. Highly valuable impractical writing is important writing.

Bob Doto @bobdoto.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

"Practical" (in the case of writing) has to do with common language. Something is practical because it can be understood by the many. And yet, writing that is impractical, doesn't necessarily equate to not-highly-valuable.

111

Bob Doto @bobdoto.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

But, there are constraints. The knowledge base, experiences, familiarities, POVs, etc. we bring to the engagement, determine what level of informational value will result. Our presence provides context. It frames the engagement. 2/2

000

Bob Doto @bobdoto.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

When we engage the content of a note (the message), we experience a degree of information. If we consider it valuable, we record it somewhere. We craft messages (note content) in the hope our engagement with it will produce information (understanding, insights, etc). 1/2

100

Bob Doto @bobdoto.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

The informational value of a passage in a book depends on the context in which you encounter it. Much less relavent is the author's intention. This is why the same passage functions differently for different people.

Bob Doto @bobdoto.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

These are my policies no matter who hires me. 3/

000

Bob Doto @bobdoto.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

I also have a strict "do not cc me" policy (which I maintain for others as well). Unless previously ok'd, you do not cc me on threads expecting me to interpret information that wasn't geared toward me. 2/

100

Bob Doto @bobdoto.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

At the interior design firm I work at: 1. No one but the ceo has my phone number 2. I absolutely do not use slack, g chat, or text 3. Every correspondence goes through email (or for discussion, a quick zoom chat or meeting) 1/

Bob Doto @bobdoto.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

When someone new to zk work asks what they should capture in their notes, teach them to distinguish between degrees of informational content.

Bob Doto @bobdoto.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Reread a passage in a similar context (mindset etc) as before. Low informational content. Read a new passage, or reread an old passage in a new context, higher informational content.

220

Bob Doto @bobdoto.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Depending on the context, the same message can be read as information or non-information. A MPH sign. If you know the speed limit, it's not information. If you don't (and need to), it is. Same message, different proximity to uncertainty. Now apply to passage from a book.

Bob Doto @bobdoto.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

The interesting thing about this noise is that it's not necessarily something that needs correcting. Semantic drift in a zettelkasten context is often a good thing. 2/

Bob Doto @bobdoto.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Informational "noise" in a zettelkasten sense: forgetting what was written, inability to comprehend what was written, new interests over time shifting the significance of what was written, etc. 1/

Bob Doto @bobdoto.bsky.social · 18/12/2025

Lynch telling it like it is. Viewers and readers often think they know how long something should be. The length is what the length is. Even bad stuff. Lots of reason to critique bad stuff. But, "It could've been shorter" is just not a critique. It's a projection. www.instagram.com/reel/DSQDrAt...

instagram.com

Welcome back to Instagram. Sign in to check out what your friends, family & interests have been capturing & sharing around the world.

000

Bob Doto @bobdoto.bsky.social · 14/05/2025

Nah. The mystic abandons the institutional forms of Christ, Scripture, and Church in order to experience each unencumbered.

Bob Doto @bobdoto.bsky.social · 04/05/2025

This is fundamental and key, imo, with regards to capturing ideas in a zettelkasten even when you can't express or even comprehend them completely. It's Luhmann's "septic tank" idea. The value of an idea comes later, in relationship to other ideas.

000

Reposted by Bob Doto

Hermetic Library @hermetic.com · 22/04/2025

Look, all I'm saying is, in this age when they're stuffing hallucination engines into everything, it's time to start, or revive, your hipster PDAs and Zettelkästen.

341

Bob Doto @bobdoto.bsky.social · 02/04/2025

Timely and on point. When I get responses on Reddit that "post-structuralism and anything that came from it is *poison*", (like I did a month ago), Malabou's words ring in my ear. (listen to the first ten min if nothing else).

020

Bob Doto @bobdoto.bsky.social · 20/03/2025

Although, the difference between facticity and factuality still makes my brain dissolve. Halp

Bob Doto @bobdoto.bsky.social · 17/03/2025

Looking for alternatives to Amazon for selling the digital format of A System for Writing. I'm only aware of Gumroad. Anyone have suggestions? Especially grateful if you've used the service for selling ebooks yourself and can speak to its ease of set-up.

120

Reposted by Bob Doto

Daniel Wirtz @danielwirtz.com · 16/03/2025

Had a great time at #pkmsummit2025, diving deep into productivity, writing, and knowledge management over two days. Highlights: Giving Nick Milo a demo of @markway.io, showing people whats possible with Raycast, and @bobdoto.bsky.social writing talk.

042

Bob Doto @bobdoto.bsky.social · 09/03/2025

Really glad to see more Barthes floating around.

100

Bob Doto @bobdoto.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

I'm giving a demo on how I write with a zettelkasten on Friday after lunch. So, don't stuff yourself into a food coma beforehand. Also, hmu if wanna meet up. I'll be holding court at The Bunk. digitalefitheid.notion.site/Program-PKM-...

digitalefitheid.notion.site

Program PKM Summit 2025 | Notion

Besides a central opening and closure of the day, the program is mostly build out of workshops. Interactive sessions where you can learn from each other. In every workshop round you can choose 4 diffe...

000

Bob Doto @bobdoto.bsky.social · 03/03/2025

One of the many problems with equating reading with "mining" (as in "mining books for knowledge," etc.) is that it equates ideas with rocks. #uncookedideasabouthowknowledgeworks

020

Bob Doto @bobdoto.bsky.social · 22/02/2025

So stoked to be speaking at this year's PKM Summit in Utrecht, where I'll be live demoing how I write with a zettelkasten. Wanna come?? Wanna come for 20% off?? I bring you discounts... www.eventbrite.nl/e/tickets-pk...

eventbrite.nl

PKM Summit 2025: 14 & 15 March

Unlock the Power of Knowledge! Personal Knowledge Management (PKM) is revolutionizing the way we deal with information. Join the community!

160

Bob Doto @bobdoto.bsky.social · 17/02/2025

Congratulations! Also, for what it's worth, it seems to me like you're one of the most active writers I know around here. Not sure how the "slowly" fits into the equation.

Bob Doto @bobdoto.bsky.social · 17/02/2025

Whoa. I haven't heard about Writing Down the Bones in forever. I've never read it, but I feel like it was making the rounds among my somatic psychotherapy friends (and ex).