LessWrong (30+ Karma)

“Paper” by dynomight


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Paper is good. Somehow, a blank page and a pen makes the universe open up before you. Why paper has this unique power is a mystery to me, but I think we should all stop trying to resist this reality and just accept it.

Also, the world needs way more mundane blogging.

So let me offer a few observations about paper. These all seem quite obvious. But it took me years to find them, and they’ve led me to a non-traditional lifestyle, paper-wise.

Observation 1: The primary value of paper is to facilitate thinking.

For a huge percentage of tasks that involve thinking, getting some paper and writing / drawing / scribbling on it makes the task easier. I think most people agree with that. So why don’t we act on it? If paper came as a pill, everyone would take it. Paper, somehow, is underrated.

But note, paper [...]

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Outline:

(00:38) Observation 1: The primary value of paper is to facilitate thinking.

(01:23) Observation 2: If you don't have a system, you won't get much benefit from paper.

(02:02) Observation 3: User experience matters.

(02:52) Observation 4: Categorization is hard.

(03:35) Paper systems I've used

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First published:

April 11th, 2025

Source:

https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/RdHEhPKJG6mp39Agw/paper

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

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