Symbolism as Structure Markers

Inspired by what I call the "galaxy symbol" in the titles—of—some—of—Andy Matuschak's—notes which he uses to indicate an "outline note" (relevant tweet) I have taken to creating my own symbolry to define conceptual structures and page-types in my own note-taking system.

Mental model: Δ

The triangle indicates structure, these pages are mental models and frameworks I have come up with for structuring thought. A framework for structuring thought is also a framework for asking good questions.

Examples

• Δ Model of engagement
• Δ Psychocivic framework for thought

Outline: ☰

These pages are outlines: brainstorming course structure, design documents, etc. Outline pages (☰) are often distinguished from solar system pages (ʘ) in that they are not as densely linked.

Examples

• ☰ Architecture of Writing Course
• ☰ Omnilog

Solar system: ʘ

Inspired by the Andy's galaxy symbol, I use this "solar system" symbol with similar intent. These are pages which serve as outlines or collections of various notes surrounding a given topic.

Examples

• ʘ Open Design Challenges
• ʘ Personal Writing Techniques
• ʘ Neuropolis

Galaxy: §

Pages marked with the galaxy symbol will serve as even broader big-picture notes which may contain a collection of solar system notes.

Examples

• § Projects

Resources: ∴

These pages are simply collections of resources, mostly external links or citations which can then be used as block references.

Examples

Future symbols?

• Alembic: ⚗ — Experiments
• Other: ʭ, Π, Σ, ◘, Ψ, Φ, Ω, Ϡ, ◫, Ѻ, ⌘, ⌑, ⌨, ⌧, ⌖, ⌗, ⌬, 𝀿, 𝄝, 🀱, ⎈, ⎔, ⎘, ⑀, ⑁, ⑂, ⑃, ☢, ⚔, ⚠, ⚼, ✇, ❦, ⿰, 〄