.Introduction, .what. --- .(1) A method of thinking about x, and generating ideas. (2) A method of writing up ideas or notes. (3) A structure of concepts (keywords). (4) A body of ideas (the book itself). --- 09/26/1997
.Introduction, .what. --- .This section is about what is the Paul Nervy Notes. Topics include: (1) Digital network. (2) Frequently Asked Questions. (3) Modular. (4) Personal information system. (5) Short forms. --- 1/24/2006
.Introduction, .what. --- (1) By and for the average mind. (2) From one average mind to another. (3) Average joe philosophy. --- 12/30/1992
.Introduction, .what. --- (1) Education: total and more efficient, quicker. (2) Education, learning, knowledge, studies. --- 12/30/1992
.Introduction, .what. --- (1) Notes are a lot of hard work, with not much results. But you do what you gotta do. (2) A few simple hard won truths. --- 09/20/1994
.Introduction, .what. --- (1) Notes is not just your brain. Notes end up being like a second brain. It adds more brain power. (2) The Notes ends up being the best you, not the mediocre you or the worst you. (3) If you can think critically, and if you can see and argue both sides of an issue yourself, you create a dialectic that lets you move up and ahead. --- 06/30/1997
.Introduction, .what. --- (1) Paul's philosophy. What I need to move forward. (2) Personal puzzlings, questions, and ignorances. (3) Creativity. --- 12/30/1992
.Introduction, .what. --- (1) Pocket mentor, pocket sage, pocket guru. (2) $5 wiseman, $5 paperback encyclopedia. (3) Ultimate cheatsheet for life. (4) The best of Paul. --- 12/30/1992
.Introduction, .what. --- (1) Text. The Notes is text. Text as a medium has strengths and weaknesses. Writing lets you save ideas. (2) Database. The Notes is a database. Structured information. Sortable. Searchable. (3) Computerized. The Notes is computerized. Text editor. Internet web page so everyone can read it. --- 3/12/2005
.Introduction, .what. --- (1) The Notes are a way to take a (written) ethical stand. (2) The Notes are also a reason not to kill yourself. A reason to keep living. --- 03/20/1997
.Introduction, .what. --- A 1000 page personal ad. A 1000 page resume. --- 2/10/2005
.Introduction, .what. --- A book of logically arranged ideas, thoughts, knowledge, or information, call it what you will. --- 01/01/1993
.Introduction, .what. --- A book of poems, jokes, stories, and a load of philosophical, psychological and social analysis. --- 9/12/2005
.Introduction, .what. --- A culture of one. An individual culture. --- 5/31/2005
.Introduction, .what. --- A database for living. --- 1/26/1999
.Introduction, .what. --- A do it yourself book to record and organize your own thoughts on the contents, structure, and mechanism of your mind. --- 12/30/1992
.Introduction, .what. --- A mind in text. A life in text. --- 3/24/2000
.Introduction, .what. --- A one thousand page personal ad. --- 2/19/1999
.Introduction, .what. --- A structure, organization, framework, and a mechanism, method. (1) A framework and a method. (2) An organizational framework for ideas. (3) A method of thinking, and a method of writing. --- 12/30/1992
.Introduction, .what. --- A super-mart of stuff, basic useful stuff, organized and displayed nicely, everything you need to live. --- 12/30/1992
.Introduction, .what. --- A year by year attempt to try and figure out what is my problem. --- 2/29/2000
.Introduction, .what. --- Accumulation of many small details. Each seemingly insignificant alone. Combined they form a big picture. Ala Seurat's pointillism. Ala methods of doing history, in which no detail is too small. Ala the book about the Internet called "Many Small Parts Loosely Joined". --- 5/2/2002
.Introduction, .what. --- An interdisciplinary book. (1) Filling in the cracks and relationships between subjects. (2) Text for my interdisciplinary philosophy therapy career. (3) Interdisciplinary text: how to (method) and data (results). --- 12/30/1992
.Introduction, .what. --- Applied philosophy. Everyday philosophy. Spirit guide. Reports on everything. --- 03/01/1994
.Introduction, .what. --- Approximately a million words, some of which have to be good. --- 6/13/2007
.Introduction, .what. --- Assumptions of the Notes. (1) We can change ourselves for the better. (As opposed to those who do not think we can). (2) We must change ourselves for the better, in order to stay healthy and sane. (As opposed to those who do not believe so). (3) We have an ethical duty to change ourselves for the better. (As opposed to those who think that we do not). --- 6/10/1999
.Introduction, .what. --- Between art and philosophy there is the Notes. --- 4/1/2005
.Introduction, .what. --- Confront reality vs. escape reality. --- 12/30/1992
.Introduction, .what. --- Description of the Notes using three names: Frank, Ernest and Kurt. --- 10/19/2000
.Introduction, .what. --- Digital network. In the future everyone will have their say, and can put in their two cents worth, unless the net becomes controlled by big corporations and they charge to let you on. --- 12/30/1996
.Introduction, .what. --- Digital network. Once the paradigm for information management technology was stone tablets. Then a technological innovation known as paper led to an improvement in information management technology known as the book. The printed paper book has been the paradigm for information management up till the 20th century. With books, the amount of information is limited by the portable size of the book. The new paradigm for information management today is the web-enabled, hyper-linked database. With databases, the amount of information that can be used is almost unlimited. The digital "book" can be as big as we want it to be. You don't have to write multiple books anymore. It can be accessed from any computer connected to the Internet. It can be printed out anywhere. Authors, write your books as web-enabled databases! --- 3/1/2000
.Introduction, .what. --- Digital network. Owning a computer is an ethical imperative. So is writing all your ideas and putting them onto the "big network", in order to develop yourself and help develop others. Every year there should be a "life day", when we all upload our public notes onto the big network. --- 01/07/1997
.Introduction, .what. --- Digital network. The Notes are a person living after death. The notes are you, as computer, living forever, and joining with others. --- 01/07/1997
.Introduction, .what. --- Digital network. To all those scribbling in notebooks and not digitizing their ideas. Don't you want to share? Don't be so selfish. --- 11/20/1997
.Introduction, .what. --- Digital network. To exist on the Web: (1) Your words that you write. Your visual art that you paint. Your music that you compose. Your audio/video that you film. (2) Plus references to the books that you read. The visual art that you viewed. The music that you listened to. The audio/video that watched. --- 12/4/1999
.Introduction, .what. --- Digital network. You could use the Internet to create a public groupware philosophical encyclopedia of notes. Everyone does their notes, and puts their initials on each note, and sends it in as a contribution. One editor edits it all and gets authors permission to use it. Then the user logs on and is able to do searches of one giant text, or even multiple connected separate databases. --- 10/25/1997
.Introduction, .what. --- Disclaimer: These are not statements of fact. These are opinions, conjecture and hypothesis. It is an exploration and a discussion of conceptual schemata. It is constructive critical inquiry. --- 1/22/1999
.Introduction, .what. --- Epiphanies, sudden illuminations, reflections, meditations, musings, advice, working out my problems, figuring things out, growing wiser with experience and thought. --- 12/30/1995
.Introduction, .what. --- Essay about the Notes. Principles of the Notes. PART ONE. People write diaries in long, serial passages of a personal nature, much like a novelist. (1) Separate, analyze, and break it down. Why? So you can automatically sort notes. How? By paragraphs. (2) Make it as abstract as possible. Why? So that other people can use it. How? PART TWO. (1) Separate the Figured notes from the Found notes. Why? So you can self publish you own Figured notes. Every one will. How? With a prefix. (2) Separate the public notes from the private notes. Why? So you can publish the public notes. How? With a prefix. PART THREE. (1) Why distinguish the Figured notes from the Found notes? Why separate them into two files? Its all about boundaries. (A) Protecting the self. Protecting your ideas. Protecting your sense of self. Protecting your self identity. (B) Protecting others. Credit where due. Copyright law. --- 10/17/1999
.Introduction, .what. --- Essay about the Notes. The author in the age of information management. PART ONE. In today's world of information overload the concept of information management is key. Books were just one step in the history of information management. So were traditional conceptions of writing and the author. PART TWO. The trend is: Everyone is an author. Everyone has a website. There will be a lot more authors. Information will be less expensive or free. PART THREE. Possibilities for information management. (1) Computers let you search a directory of files for a text string. (2) Databases of text files. (3) Databases containing hyperlinks. (4) However, due to compatibility problems, one big ASCII plain text file is best. This is the preferred method. (5) The key is to make the file so that it can be converted back and forth between ASCII plain text, HTML hypertext, and a database. PART FOUR. This lecture is a meta-discussion of the book entitled "Notes" by Paul Nervy. The lecture is not about the content of the book. The lecture is about how the book is structured. The book serves as an example of the changing role of the author and writing in the age of information management. PART FIVE. Digitize everything. Your e-library will include music, movies, photos and the visual arts. The e-library will be multi-media. It will be available to others. It will last beyond your death. PART SIX. (1) The author as we traditionally understand it is changing. The author is no longer just the novel writer or the essay writer. (2) Writing as we understand it changing. The new form of writing is the digital database, of which Notes is an example. Hypertext is getting the spotlight at the moment, but the database is just as useful and important. (3) The new form of the author is the non-professional author. Academia and the traditional media will have adjuncts. Academia and the traditional media will not be replaced or superseded, but they will have new cohorts. PART SEVEN. The notion of the author must be broadened to that of creator, thinker or being. Because the author will also create music, paintings and movies. PART EIGHT. The organization of information. An author, or even a computer, can automatically organize Notes in several ways. (1) Organization by: (A) Logical (ex. textbook). (B) Chronological (ex. diary). (C) Importance (ex. goals list). (D) Alphabetical (ex. encyclopedia). (2) Levels of information. (A) Grade school. (B) High school. (C) College. (3) Length of information. (A) One page (ex. synopsis). (B) Ten pages (ex. outline). (C) One hundred pages (ex. full text). (4) Translation into foreign languages. --- 10/16/1999
.Introduction, .what. --- Estir: every single thing I remember (personal history). Esticto: every single thing I can think of. It pays to write down every decent, useful thought you get. You can help yourself, and you can help others. --- 05/30/1996
.Introduction, .what. --- Everything. (1) Everything in one spot. Everything under one roof. (2) Everything (useful/important) I could think of. (3) Everything single thing I remember (estir). (4) Ways to look at everything, ways to deal with everything. (5) Everything for everyone. Everything outlined. (6) Basic philosophical musings on everything. (7) An encyclopedic classification/structure of ideas. (8) Write your own encyclopedia. Write your own library. (9) Idea menu. All I could figure out and find out. --- 12/30/1992
.Introduction, .what. --- Figure out (on your own), and find out (from others). See: Psychology, thinking, figure out and find out. --- 12/30/1992
.Introduction, .what. --- For once in my life I am: (1) Doing it my way. Doing what I love. (2) Giving it my all. Giving it 100%. --- 9/23/1998
.Introduction, .what. --- For who. (1) For those who don't work well with a shrink. (2) For the dissatisfied, harried, and confused. (3) For neurotics like me. A handbook for neurotics. (4) For the natural generalists, who this world of specialization doesn't cater to. --- 12/30/1992
.Introduction, .what. --- Four concepts: Notes, Outline, Diary, and History. (1) Notes is my thoughts on the world of ideas, arranged in subject order. (2) Outline is a list of basic concepts, and my thoughts on those concepts, arranged in subject order. (3) Diary is what is happening in my world, arranged in chronological order. (4) History is what is happening in the wide world, arranged in chronological order. --- 1/12/2006
.Introduction, .what. --- Frequently Asked Questions. (1) Are the Notes the only way and must everyone do Notes? No. (2) Are the Notes the best way and should everyone do Notes? No. --- 4/11/2001
.Introduction, .what. --- Frequently Asked Questions. (1) Question: What am I looking at here, Paul? Answer: Good question. The Paul Nervy Notes are some musings I jotted down. You can read it online. Its a work of art (2) Question: Are the Notes just a compilation of quotes from other authors or sources? Answer: Nice try. The Notes are observations I figured out. The Notes are not a compilation of quotes from other authors or sources. (3) Question: Are the Notes just your school notes? Answer: Negatory. The Notes are not notes from school. I try to include subjects and ideas not covered in school courses or textbooks. Once was enough. (4) Question: Are the Notes just your personal diary? Or are the notes a weblog? Answer: The Notes are not the story of my life. The Notes do not follow the "What I did today." form of writing. Nor are the Notes a list of links to other sites. (5) Question: What release version of the Notes is on this website? Answer: This website contains Paul Nervy Notes 1988-2000. (6) Question: Why are the Notes so varied? Answer: Some of the chapters are thin and skeletal (for example, the chapters on law and medicine) while other chapters are more fully fleshed out (for example, the chapters on philosophy, psychology and sociology). Also, some chapters are dry (abstract or technical) and other chapters are juicy (humorous or intriguing). (7) Question: Should I read the Notes from start to finish in a straight line? Answer: I wouldn't recommend it, unless you are a proofreader. Take your time. Skip around. Find your favorite chapters and favorite notes. (8) Question: Why do you write the Notes? Answer: I keep asking myself the same question. It is not for fame or fortune (although I am not completely opposed to either). Your guess is as good as mine. (9) Question: I must say, I disagree with some of your ideas, Paul. Answer: What a coincidence, so do I. The Notes are full of contradictions and changes of mind. (By the way, technically, that was not a question). (10) Question: Are you some kind of expert? Are the Notes some kind of definitive reference book? Answer: I am just a regular dude. The Notes are just some ideas I wrote down. (11) Question: Don't you read books? Don't you surf the web? Answer: Sure I do. The links page contains Paul Nervy's "e-library o' free content links" (a work in progress). (12) Question: What's up with the table of contents? Answer: The first part of each note is a keyword phrase. The Notes are organized by sorting by the keyword phrases. The table of contents lists the keyword phrases. (13) Question: Can I read the Notes year by year? Answer: Yes, see the archives for the Notes in chronological order. Formatted in .html, .rtf and .pdb for Palm and Handspring. (14) Question: Thanks for the info, Paul. Cool site, excellent Notes. What can I do to help? Answer: Bookmark this page. Tell your friends about Paul Nervy Notes. E-mail positivity. Thanks for visiting. --- 6/30/2001
.Introduction, .what. --- Frequently Asked Questions. Book fair. Most popular questions about my book. (1) Question: When you started writing ten years ago, did you know how it would end up? Answer: It was just a glimmer in my eye. The book evolved organically, in a series of small steps over many years. (2) Question: Now that your notebooks are published, will you write a novel or a play? Answer: The wise ass answer to this wise ass question is "Now that I have come this far, why should I take a step backwards?" The serious answer is, different media and different voices for different artists and different audiences. Variety and diversity are what make the world work. (3) Question: Don't people want to be, and have to be, seduced and sweet talked in order to convey a message? Answer: Some people like plain speaking. Tell it like it is. Do not sugar coat it. Do not waste their time. Austere minimalist aesthetic. Also like generic canned goods in the supermarket. (4) Question: Why do you mix the mundane and the profound? Answer: In life the mundane is always mixed with the profound. In order to live successfully, you have to learn to carefully balance the mundane and the profound. --- 3/28/1999
.Introduction, .what. --- Frequently Asked Questions. Question: Paul, your work is, how shall we say, non-standard in terms of its style, structure, scope, etc. What are the implications? Answer: A traditional publisher is unlikely to publish my work. The mainstream public is unlikely to accept it. I will have to work a day job. And since the Notes are like a full-time job, it is like working two jobs. --- 6/1/2002
.Introduction, .what. --- Frequently Asked Questions. Question: Who is Paul Nervy? Answer: Paul Nervy is interested in foundational issues and the big picture. Is he an artist or a philosopher? --- 10/25/2000
.Introduction, .what. --- Frequently Asked Questions. Two objections to my work. (1) Question. Paul, why don't you simply read books to research your questions? Or why don't you post to Internet forums the questions that you have? Answer. If I researched every question that occurred to me then it would be a situation where I have more ideas than I have time to research. If I posted to a newsgroup every question that occurred to me then I would be doing a hell of a lot of posting. I simply do not have time to read a book or post a message every time a question (or answer) occurs to me. Thus I write the Notes. (2) Question. So Paul, what do you expect other people to get from reading your simplistic meanderings on various topics? Answer. Well, if they like it, they like it. I state up front that I am not an expert and that this is not the last word on any subject. In fact, it may be the first word on many subjects for many people. If the Paul Nervy Notes sparks an interest in someone, or motivates someone to look for more information, or even spurs someone to a new idea, then super, for me that is a worthy accomplishment. --- 8/31/2001
.Introduction, .what. --- Global. The Notes is global in scope. (See also: Philosophy, specialization and generalization.) --- 12/15/2005
.Introduction, .what. --- I am a guy who had to think of a lot of useful things in order to stay on the right track in life. And I wrote them down. And it might help other similarly challenged people who share the problems I had and have (1 in 50 people?). They are not retards, but rather they are those who tend to wander off track and lose sight of goals, and occasionally run off the deep end. Notes is minor mental tweaks to stay running hot. If it works for you, o.k. If not, fine. --- 12/30/1995
.Introduction, .what. --- I am a thinker, not a writer. If I could reach a bigger audience by talking then I would be a public speaker or have a television show. If I could put my thoughts into computer language then I would be a software programmer. Don't label me a writer. --- 2/29/2000
.Introduction, .what. --- I am an idea farmer. These lines you read are like the rows the farmer hoes. Welcome to my farm! --- 5/25/2002
.Introduction, .what. --- I don't have to hit a home run. Just keep hitting singles. --- 8/28/2000
.Introduction, .what. --- Imagined college bull sessions transcribed. --- 1/26/1999
.Introduction, .what. --- In addition to asking, "What are the Notes?", one can also ask, "What could the Notes be?", and, "What should the Notes be?" --- 3/9/2005
.Introduction, .what. --- Information management inventory methods. We can look at ideas as objects and the Notes as an inventory of objects. Then we can apply well established inventory concepts to the subject of ideas. (1) The Notes uses a FIFO (first in, first out) idea-inventory method. That is, the Notes are released year by year. (A) I argue that FIFO has good points, such as the fact that most information has a "freshness date" or useful time period. Wait fifty years to publish and your ideas will likely be stale. (B) FIFO idea-inventory is sometimes criticized on the grounds that ideas may be released prematurely, but this is not a big deal in that this happens everyday, and in any event premature ideas are better than no ideas. The sooner you get out useful information the more people it can help. The positive points of FIFO outweigh the negative points. (2) However, some people use a LIFO (last in, first out) inventory method. For example, they decide that they wait till the end of their life to write their memoirs. (A) LIFO proponents argue that they release information only when it is complete and polished. (B) I say LIFO can be criticized on the grounds that it hogs information. It is selfish hoarding. LIFO idea-inventory is essentially a form of closed society, rather than an open society. Another objection to LIFO idea-inventory is that it leads to stale ideas. The negative points of LIFO outweigh its positive points. (3) An alternate way of looking at this topic is to say that the Notes uses the "prototype" method of production. Each note (each idea) is a prototype. The product is not waited for perfection before it is released. --- 6/28/2000
.Introduction, .what. --- Information overload. The Notes help you deal with information overload. The Notes help you store and organize your ideas (information). Sorting by keywords saves massive amounts of cut-and-paste time. Storing your notes helps you keep from forgetting. The rapid organization capability of keyword phrases lets you organize your notes, and that helps organize your mind. Being able to store and organize your ideas (not someone else's) helps reduce the anxiety of information overload. Importance ratings and the "most important ideas about x" category help you prioritize your ideas. Helps you get your priorities straight. --- 3/20/1999
.Introduction, .what. --- Information theory. (1) Get (by figuring out or finding out). (2) Record. (3) Organize (classify and prioritize). (4) Manipulate. (5) Retrieve. --- 12/30/1992
.Introduction, .what. --- Information. Notes is an information management system. --- 6/3/2004
.Introduction, .what. --- Information. Personal information system. (1) To discover, record, preserve, and accumulate. (2) Organization and dissemination. (3) Quickly, accurately, flexible, compactly, efficiently, completely. --- 12/30/1992
.Introduction, .what. --- Integrated. The Notes are integrated. When you put everything in one pot and stir it around you get integration. (1) Integrated in the psychological sense (see also: Psychology). A healthy state in which all parts, all experiences, work together. (2) Integrated in a sense analogous to racial integration. Harmony and tolerance of diverse elements. (3) When other authors write single subject books for the marketing segments created by publishers, they have built lack of integration into their works. --- 2/20/2002
.Introduction, .what. --- Interrelationships of things. Perspectives on things. --- 12/30/1992
.Introduction, .what. --- Major themes of the Notes. (1) Specialization and generalization. (2) Information management. (3) Philosophy, psychology, and sociology. --- 6/1/2006
.Introduction, .what. --- Market place of ideas. In order for people to make up their minds, all sides must be heard completely, sympathetically, and well argued. --- 09/01/1994
.Introduction, .what. --- Me: the notes are (1) Me, my brain, my soul, my baby, my purpose. (2) My main project, my little brain child. (3) Product of my mind. (4) All these folders add up to Life and Me. --- 12/30/1992
.Introduction, .what. --- Mental models and paradigms. Logical structures of ideas on x. --- 12/30/1992
.Introduction, .what. --- Modular. Low-cost, reusable modules that can be reconfigured with a variety of parameters. When one person is done with them they can be recycled and used by another person. --- 9/17/2001
.Introduction, .what. --- Modular. The Notes are modular. That is one of its strong points. Modular like computer object oriented programming. --- 1/3/2000
.Introduction, .what. --- Motivational tool. Motivation through rational ideas. --- 12/30/1992
.Introduction, .what. --- My goal is to do good thinking (art/philosophy) till a ripe old age. Make it public every year because art/philosophy types have a tendency to go nuts and destroy their good manuscripts (ex. Kafka, etc.). --- 12/30/1996
.Introduction, .what. --- My notes. (1) My notes distilled and communicated. (2) Super ultra organized Notes for my personal use. (3) Preservation and organization of notes. (4) A book to teach you to do your own notes, and some notes to start you off. --- 12/30/1992
.Introduction, .what. --- My public writings. (1) The writings that will not embarrass me for others to read. Writings that are not private. (2) Writings that I think will do some good for others to read. Writings that are not specifically applicable to me and my life only. --- 12/26/1997
.Introduction, .what. --- My work does not fit into the standard genres. You might call it being homeless. And each note is worth about a soda-can nickel. You might call it canning. So my writing is the functional equivalent of a homeless man canning. Ego booster! --- 8/4/2000
.Introduction, .what. --- My work is uneven and slightly odd, which wreaks havoc on the pagination. --- 4/13/2001
.Introduction, .what. --- My writing style developed out of my comedy style, which consists mostly of one liners. --- 6/30/1999
.Introduction, .what. --- New improved values. --- 12/30/1992
.Introduction, .what. --- Notes are a type of psychological therapy. It is a type of writing therapy. --- 12/29/1997
.Introduction, .what. --- Notes are an extension of your mind, of yourself. --- 09/01/1994
.Introduction, .what. --- Notes has something for everyone to disagree with. --- 12/30/2003
.Introduction, .what. --- Notes is outside academia. Notes is outside traditional publishing. Notes is outside blogdom. --- 12/30/2003
.Introduction, .what. --- Paul Nervy carries them kicking and screaming into the big thicket. --- 9/28/2000
.Introduction, .what. --- Perhaps, for me, the Notes were a way to (1) Forge a self-identity for myself. (2) Create a sense of meaning and purpose in my life. (3) Keep up my self-esteem and self-worth. PART TWO. Subjectively. How successful were the Notes in achieving the above goals? Did they do the trick? Did it work for me? PART THREE. Objectively. What good are the Notes? What did they accomplish for other people besides myself? How do the Notes compare to what else is available? Do the Notes make a new and useful contribution? Did I accomplish as much as I could have accomplished? --- 4/14/2002
.Introduction, .what. --- Personal information system. (1) History, diary, personal chronology, oriented toward the past. (2) Goals list. Oriented toward the future. (3) Bibliography of books, music, movies, Internet, etc. (4) Notes on media. Found concepts. Outline. (5) Library and e-library. Actual works. (6) Your Figured Out ideas. --- 9/22/2003
.Introduction, .what. --- Personal information system. When some people think of a personal information system they think of a schedule and a contacts list. I am thinking of something more than that. I am thinking of History and Goals. Figured and Found. The history and goals address the past and future. The figured and found handles your own ideas and the ideas you read in the media. --- 9/25/2003
.Introduction, .what. --- Proust had a project and a method. Kerouac had a project and a method. Nervy has a project and a method. --- 3/24/2000
.Introduction, .what. --- Record of my development. (1) My intellectual and emotional development. (2) Development of my knowledge of x, and my opinions on x. (3) A record of idea development. (4) Tracks from your exploration of world of ideas. (5) A record of mental travels, mental development. (6) Mental travelogue. (7) Extension of your mind, of yourself. --- 12/30/1992
.Introduction, .what. --- Religious description of my book: confessions, assumptions and revelations. --- 4/8/1999
.Introduction, .what. --- Self help, self therapy book. (1) Cognitive therapy: thinking, learning (figure, find). (2) Memory therapy. (3) Philosophy therapy. (4) Writing therapy. (5) Getting your shit together. --- 12/30/1992
.Introduction, .what. --- Short forms. You've seen books of micro-fiction. The Notes are micro-non-fiction. --- 10/5/2000
.Introduction, .what. --- Short quotes. Each worth about a nickel. They begin to add up. Like people who make a living by collecting empty cans for refunds. This book is the equivalent of intellectual canning. --- 3/29/1999
.Introduction, .what. --- Slogan for the Notes: Stumbling toward a better future. --- 4/15/2002
.Introduction, .what. --- Some artists deliver their product in little boxes covered with wrapping paper and a bow. I deliver my product with a dump-truck. --- 7/1/2002
.Introduction, .what. --- Some writers write in a torrent or flood of productivity. My brain is like a slowly dripping faucet. Each idea is a drop of water. One drop does not help much, but put a bucket under the drip and you can gather enough water to survive. The Notes are the bucket. (Don't let the dripping drive you crazy!). However, I do not want my autobiography to be titled "Slow Drip: The Paul Nervy Story". --- 4/28/1998
.Introduction, .what. --- The "reinventing the wheel" criticism of the Notes says that I am just thinking of things that other people have already thought of, even if I am not aware of them having thought it. My counter-argument is one could say that we are all, each one of us, reinventing the wheel every time we make a wheel. I am not reinventing the wheel, I am making wheels. I am a wheel factory. --- 3/29/2002
.Introduction, .what. --- The average person who puts in the time and effort can write a book each year for 30 years. Do you really expect anyone else to read all thirty of your books? That would be an unreasonable expectation. The best you can do is make one large, searchable, sortable database. That's what are the Notes. --- 6/1/2002
.Introduction, .what. --- The big picture. Interdisciplinary studies. A data base. Basic, important shit. --- 12/30/1992
.Introduction, .what. --- The broad, wide angle, scattershot approach vs. the microscopic, narrow, in depth view. --- 12/30/1992
.Introduction, .what. --- The jigsaw analogy. Each note is like a piece in a jigsaw puzzle. --- 4/23/1999
.Introduction, .what. --- The Notes - talking points. (1) Everyone can and should do their own notes. (2) In the Notes, as in life, there is no distinction between the theoretical and the practical. Just like there is no distinction between the public and the private (see postmodernism and feminism). (3) Computer's influence on the Notes. (A) Computers today are great for the organization of large quantities of information. The Notes are self-organizing in that they sort at the touch of a button, which lets the author focus on creativity. Cutting and pasting would be unbearable. In the future, computers will more actively aid authors in their creativity. (B) The Notes format is better than HTML because it imports into a database. Very soon we will be able to "mind meld" our notes when we meet each other on the streets. Compare and add new ideas. Very soon we will have thinking computers. (C) Computers raise our ethical responsibility for working with information. No more excuses like "I can not write. I do not have the time." Voice recognition will make it quick and easy. (4) The Notes are between art and philosophy. Bertrand Russell called philosophy the land between science and religion. I call the Notes the land between art and philosophy. Artistic philosophers like Wittgenstein and Nietzsche. Philosophical artists like Conrad and Melville. (5) Short form. Aphorism, axiom, maxim, epigram, haiku. Poetry like. Concise and economical. (6) Contextual nature of the Notes. The Notes has a gestalt aspect to it. (A) The Notes address all phenomena. Everything in this world exists in relation to, or in context to, everything else. In the Notes it is all there, a world. The whole story, not half the story. Epistemological holism. (B) The Notes exist in relation to each other. The surrounding notes, or neighboring notes, is what helps give an individual note its impact. Semantic holism. (7) The Notes put a human face on ideas, so that you can understand the ideas better. It does this by avoiding a dogma of pure abstraction, and thus lets the emotions, drives and memories of the author show. The ideas are embodied. You can see from whence the ideas evolved. (8) Notes as writing therapy for self-help. (9) Notes as a reference work. (10) Notes as a structured format, using keyword phrases. (11) Notes as a useful tool for writers, to spur their ideas. (12) Notes as: Reminders. Provocations. Contradictions. Open questions. (13) The Notes are not "everything I know". Everything I know can be broken down into stuff I Found Out from other sources, and stuff I Figured Out for myself. The stuff I Figured Out for myself can be broken down into Public Notes that I let others read, and Private Notes that I keep to myself. The Private Notes are private either because they are personally sensitive, or else they are information that applies to me only and that would not benefit others to read. --- 4/2/1999
.Introduction, .what. --- The Notes are about figuring out, as opposed to finding out. See: Psychology, thinking, figuring out and finding out. --- 1/1/2002
.Introduction, .what. --- The Notes are like a message in a bottle cast out onto the ocean of the Internet. --- 1/16/2006
.Introduction, .what. --- The Notes are like a quotebook, except all the quotes are by the same person. --- 3/28/1999
.Introduction, .what. --- The Notes are not aphorism. An aphorism is a succinct, complete idea. The Notes are fragments strung together. --- 10/5/2000
.Introduction, .what. --- The Notes are the best of Paul. They let me focus on my rare best thoughts, instead of the common garbage thoughts I have. 90% of everything is garbage, including my thoughts. --- 02/15/1997
.Introduction, .what. --- The Notes are very similar to the brute force method of artificial intelligence programming. You start with the simple and work toward the complex, with everything in between included. But the Notes are meant for humans, not computers. --- 8/1/1998
.Introduction, .what. --- The Notes are voluminous, unedited, unexpurgated, uneven and flawed. Yet this slag heap may keep many a rag-picker alive. Enjoy! --- 10/5/2000
.Introduction, .what. --- The Notes are voluminous, uneven, incomplete, unedited, raw, ponderous, plodding, unexpurgated, wandering, and erratic. --- 10/12/2000
.Introduction, .what. --- The Notes does not explain everything. The Notes is not perfect. However, there is a lot of cool stuff in the Notes. A lot of ideas to work with. --- 7/1/2002
.Introduction, .what. --- The Notes goes beyond blood, sweat and tears. I bashed my brains on it. I poured my guts into it. I broke my bones on it. I seared my wrists on it. I lost my hair over it. I spent my eyesight on it. I put my back into it. I got wrinkles over it. --- 8/10/2001
.Introduction, .what. --- The Notes is a psychological workout of memory, emotion and thinking. --- 3/12/2005
.Introduction, .what. --- The Notes is activism. --- 4/27/2006
.Introduction, .what. --- The Notes is not everything that I know. Everything I know is comprised of (1) Figured-out knowledge. (A) Public: Notes I will let others read. (B) Personal: Notes I do not let others read, either because they are notes that apply only to my specific situation, or because they are notes that are private. (2) Found-out information. (A) Notes that I took on information I gathered from books, magazines, newspapers, radio, television or Internet. (B) There are also the digital files that comprise my e-library. (3) The Notebooks that I publish are my Figured-out, Public notes. --- 4/25/1999
.Introduction, .what. --- The Notes is not the only way to change ourselves for the better, but it is an important way. --- 6/10/1999
.Introduction, .what. --- The Notes is one book, added to year by year. Another person who wrote one book and added to it year by year was Walt Whitman with his "Leaves of Grass". What kind of person writes one book and adds to it year by year? Firstly, a generous person who is not afraid to give a lot of themselves for the price of a single book. Secondly, a person who sees the world holistically. Nothing is separate. It all hangs together. Everything is connected. All is one. Thirdly, someone not afraid to go against the conventions of the publishing industry which releases product bit by bit, and book by book. Whitman was nothing if not generous, holistic and unconventional. And there are others like him. --- 1/6/2002
.Introduction, .what. --- The Notes is really a collection of attitudes, and thus it is a person-ality. --- 6/25/2001
.Introduction, .what. --- The Notes started as a germ of an idea. Then the germs began multiplying. And today it is completely germ-ridden. --- 6/8/2001
.Introduction, .what. --- The Notes uses the "prototype" method of production. (1) The prototype method involves putting out a trial product and then fine-tuning it, rather than waiting till a perfect product is produced and put on the market. (2) In the case of the Notes, the product is an idea (attitude). The product does not have to be perfect. (3) This topic concerns two views of truth or ideas. (A) Looking for an idea that is perfect and un-assailable. Some people attempt to live this way and it does not work well. (B) Looking for ideas that have any improvement over existing ideas. Or even looking for any reasonable alternative idea. This approach produces more and better ideas. --- 8/7/2000
.Introduction, .what. --- The soup and salad definition: tangy and zesty, yet robust and hearty. --- 5/15/2002
.Introduction, .what. --- Theory and applications. Technology. Applied philosophy. --- 12/30/1992
.Introduction, .what. --- There are no books, only ideas (only notes). Books are just collections of ideas. We are more concerned with the idea level, not with the container level. The Internet is helping us focus less on the book level and more on the idea level. --- 2/10/2001
.Introduction, .what. --- There is a difference between reading philosophy and doing philosophy. Many people who read philosophy can tell you what this or that particular philosopher wrote. Fewer people actually try to do philosophy. The Notes is doing philosophy. Or trying to. Actually. --- 12/1/2001
.Introduction, .what. --- Things left out and ignored. (1) Tell you the things the textbooks won't or can't. (2) Important thoughts you may have missed or forgotten. --- 12/30/1992
.Introduction, .what. --- Thinking better. (1) New improved ways of thinking: broader, deeper truer. (2) Improved interdisciplinary momentary thinking. --- 12/30/1992
.Introduction, .what. --- This book is friendly in an unassuming way. Like a dog that comes up to you to be petted. Then the dog starts talking. --- 3/29/1999
.Introduction, .what. --- This book is just the best original ideas from my notes which I have been writing down as I thought of them over the last several years. I describe my note writing method in the "How" section and tell you a way to organize your own notes. I saw this book as spanning several genres and hoped it would achieve several purposes. --- 12/30/1992
.Introduction, .what. --- Three truths about the Notes: (1) I don't know what it is. (2) I don't know why I do it. (3) I don't know who its for. --- 9/10/2001
.Introduction, .what. --- Three views of the Notes. (1) Notes as history. (2) Notes as philosophy. (3) Notes as psychotherapy. --- 1/2/2005
.Introduction, .what. --- To develop new, important, true ideas, for people in general and for me specifically. --- 12/30/1992
.Introduction, .what. --- Traditionally there has been a strict division of labor, with the arts handling emotion and the sciences being completely unemotional. The Notes, tries to bridge that gap. The Notes has a freedom to mix non-fiction and emotional responses. --- 10/9/1999
.Introduction, .what. --- Truth. (1) Totally valuable truths. (2) The horrible, painful, bitter, cold, hard truth. --- 12/30/1992
.Introduction, .what. --- What are the notes. (1) Six years of trying to get and capture on paper the hot mental moment. (10/93) (2) More organized than a quotebook, more formal than a pop book, more comprehensive than a polemic, more complete than a textbook. (5/25/93) (3) Notes are not an end in themselves, but a means to accomplish other things. It is necessary but not sufficient (4/15/93). (4) The basics. --- 01/01/1993
.Introduction, .what. --- What distinguishes the notes from some other forms of writing therapy is that it focuses on the logical arrangement of thoughts (as opposed to chronological journals). That is not to say that the notes does not touch on non-logical subjects like drive, emotion, etc., because it does. --- 6/10/1999
.Introduction, .what. --- What information do I need? How get it? Fast, clear, condensed. --- 12/30/1992
.Introduction, .what. --- What is Notes. (1) Notes is a way to generate, organize, store, share and manage information. (2) Notes combines the genres of non-fiction, fiction, poetry, and jokes. Notes combines the modes of philosophy, art and science. (3) Notes is a set of principles and techniques to deal with information. To help change the way you look at and deal with information. So there is less information overload. So you manage information better. So you are more creative. (4) Notes works at the idea level, not the page level like a web page, and not the book level like a library. (5) Notes is a database. More specifically, Notes is a tab delimited text file database. The database is as important as the web page. (6) Notes lets you sort by date, category and rating. (7) Notes makes use of two files: "the figured out" and "the found out". Notes makes use of two categories: the public notes (for anyone, about everyone), and the private notes (about self, for self). (8) Notes uses digitized and paper formats. (9) Notes is organized by category. Notes uses an outline form of writing. (10) Notes is a constant thinking and writing of ideas. Jot down ideas everywhere and anytime. (11) Notes is a lifelong pursuit, not a thin slice of time. Notes is concerned with all of reality, not a narrow subject area. Notes is one big book. (12) Originally in text format. On the web in html format. Add a table of contents. Add a search engine. --- 8/25/2002
.Introduction, .what. --- What is the Notes similar to and different from? (1) Similar to a quote book, but consisting of your own quotes. (2) Similar to a blog, but something you build from within instead of appending onto end. (3) Similar to a diary, but a diary of ideas. --- 3/4/2007
.Introduction, .what. --- Writing in the age of information management. PART ONE. Hypertext is a useful technique that has received a lot of attention in the last few years. There have even been books written that explore the cultural impact of hypertext. But let us not overlook the database. Let us not give short shrift to the database. For the database makes possible automatic sorting. Automatic sorting lets you worry less about organization and focus more on content. PART TWO. Types of information. (1) Quantitative information (the province of corporations and science) vs. Qualitative information (the province of individual's notes). (2) Sentential information (facts) vs. emotional information (feelings). (3) Figured Out information (thought of on your own) vs. Found Out information (heard, read, saw, etc.). (4) Public information (non-private) vs. Private information (personal). (5) The Notes include 1B, 2A, 2B, 3A and 4A. PART THREE. Types of writing. (1)(A) Linear narrative (ex. novels) or linear chronological (ex. diary) vs. (B) Logical, hierarchical, classification (ex. textbooks) vs. (C) Organization by importance vs. (D) Alphabetical. (2)(A) Structure (automatic sorting) vs. Content (my focus). (3)(A) Paper vs. (B) Computer text vs. (C) Computer html vs. (D) Computer database. (4) The Notes focus on 1B, 2B and 3D. --- 10/10/1999