Sometimes the best way of understanding something is hearing what people have to say about it.
What is an MOC, in 10 seconds?
- A non-exclusive folder with a completely customized organizational structure.
- In an MOC, the party is always happening. It’s the “room where it happens.” Individual notes can “shadow-clone” themselves and essentially be in multiple parties simultaneous—interacting and developing complexity from each party at the same time!
- Another way to consider MOCs is through “Idea Emergence”. MOCs are Evergreen notes, just at the next level of emergence.
- Aren’t MOCs just index notes?
- No! MOCs are not static way-points. They are thinking, creating, and writing tools. We are not just map readers. We are the map makers.
- It seems to me creating MOCs creates more work, therefore distracts from note creation, writing and thinking. I cannot see the magic of it.
- Making MOCs don’t distract from note creating and writing, they are note creating and writing.
- That’s where the magic happens.
- What is the magic? It’s having a thinking tool that forces difficult conversations, that highlights holes in arguments, that shines a bright light on ideas that to be developed further.
- See MOCs are Dialectics for more on this terribly awesome power.
- Why do you need a MOC to lead to other new notes? Isn’t that what Direct Links are all about? …… In other words, what does an MOC achieve that Direct Links don’t?
- Direct Links are the strongest links. But many times we do not want a strong link. We want weaker links. Tags do this and so does naming notes starting with the topic, like:
Mandarin - NOTE1,Mandarin - NOTE132. - But neither tags, nor alphabetical filenames, allow for a fluid conversation between notes to happen, where their relative positioning can change. MOCs allow for that.
- In a sense, they allow for mini-folgezettels. It’s hard to get over how powerful of a thinking tool this is.
- Direct Links are the strongest links. But many times we do not want a strong link. We want weaker links. Tags do this and so does naming notes starting with the topic, like: