📖Commonplace Books
A “commonplace book” is a personal notebook to keep wisdom and knowledge across a variety of subjects.
Keeping one was common practice among readers, scholars, philosophers, and other learned people throughout history. They could be memory aids, and help link interconnected ideas across disciplines.
Related
- See 🪴Digital Gardens — a related idea adapted for hypertext.
References
- A great article on writers and commonplace books.
- And another here, tracing the practice back to Greek koinoi topoi. (And a transcript of a talk here, including more on Italian zibaldone.)
Chrissy Hunt is a software engineer in Brooklyn, NY who loves reading, writing, and chasing after her dog.