I like writing by hand. I hate using a computer. I think that the worst thing about using a computer is that\u00a0it is convenient. And because it is convenient, it becomes easy to lose yourself in its convenience. Using a\u00a0computer in the lecture hall is subject to the same sort of problem. In the lecture, those with computers\u00a0are struggling to write everything down as quickly as possible. I sit in a lecture hall full of these people and\u00a0I am not one of them. I have a yellow pad in front of me and two pens, one blue, one black. I use the black\u00a0to write down what the lecturer said and I use the blue to write my own thoughts about what he\/she just\u00a0said. I use both at the same time.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t struggle to capture everything the lecturer is trying to say because I know that I can\u2019t. It is an exercise in futility. This, I believe, is a liberating experience. I have never felt more free than when I\u00a0dumped my computer. Instead, I try my best to write what I think are the most important points. I\u2019ve\u00a0become a better listener. I can now listen attentively for long periods of time. I can also listen with focus\u00a0during the same period. Many think that attention and focus are the same thing, but they are not.\u00a0Attention means according something a certain level of consideration and being receptive to it. You can\u00a0pay attention to many things at the same time and colloquially, we know this phenomenon as multi-\u00a0tasking. Focus on the other hand, is singular. It is also more than just being highly receptive to something.\u00a0Focus is an active action, not a passive one. Note taking is an active one when I have to decide what goes\u00a0on the yellow pad in front of me. As such, note-taking helps me focus.<\/p>\n
Note taking also helps me guard against complacency. The temptation for fast typists is that if you\u00a0captured everything that the lecturer said, you probably don\u2019t have to pay it any thought. You can always\u00a0return to it later and accord it the appropriate amount of thought. It helps you postpone diligence. I think\u00a0that that is very unhealthy. In fact, it is not the stupid ones who are most susceptible to that; it is the\u00a0smarter ones who are. This is because the smarter ones know (or at least think) that they can afford to\u00a0put it off. Hidden in that thought, is the assumption that they can catch up in time (and still win.) Every\u00a0successful catch up vindicates this mindset and every failure is excused by the oft-heard remark: \u2018I didn\u2019t\u00a0study very much but I still did well enough. That must point to something very flattering about my\u00a0intelligence\u2019. For a person like me who is keenly aware of his potential arrogance, note taking is a\u00a0humbling exercise. Taking notes helps me conquer hubris.<\/p>\n
Good notes, in my opinion, don\u2019t use bullets excessively. If you wanted bullets, you should have used a\u00a0computer. Computers, like guns, can dispense bullets far more cleanly and with less effort. The\u00a0computer\u2019s bullets however are not deadly. A free page for me to divide in half or draw arrows to connect\u00a0ideas is the deadliest tool for my purposes. This is because the world is not ordered into points and\u00a0subpoints and subclauses. If I want to do justice to the fascinating subject I\u2019m learning, I should strive to\u00a0understand it in its original density. Point form thins the subject. Anyone who\u2019s attempted to understand\u00a0love through a ThoughtCatalog list-icle can testify to this.\u00a0I love notes and taking notes. While I don\u2019t have statistics or studies to back my personal thoughts\u00a0(though I imagine there are quite a few), this does not stop me from trumpeting the clarion attraction of a\u00a0yellow pad and 2 colored pens. I admit that I do this for dishonorable reasons. I am not the most brilliant\u00a0person. Everyday I\u2019m confronted by people of electric intelligence. But taking notes helps me slow things\u00a0down such that for a moment, a fleeting moment, I can claim to be every bit as incredible as they are.\u00a0Notes make me the best person I can be.<\/p>\n
–<\/p>\n
About the Author<\/em><\/p>\n Bumsoo is occasionally Korean when it suits his purposes or his punchlines. So yes, he’s heard of Big Bang; no, he hates Kimchi and for Pete’s sake, stop asking him to “say this in Korean for me can?”<\/p>\n