Note Relations
Six ways to describe how one note relates to another — from agreement to contradiction, from source to elaboration.
The relation types
Source
One note provides the evidence or origin for another. Use this when you're recording where an idea came from.
"My literature note on Kahneman sources my permanent note on cognitive fatigue."
Deepening
One note develops or expands on an idea introduced in another. The second note goes further.
"This note deepens the argument I sketched in my earlier reflection on attention spans."
Continuation
The second note picks up where the first left off — same thread, extended over time.
"This week's session note continues last week's exploration of the same question."
Illustration
One note gives a concrete example of an abstract idea in another.
"This case study illustrates the principle I described in the abstract note above."
Tension
The two notes pull in different directions without fully contradicting each other. A productive disagreement worth holding.
"My reading of Taleb tensions with the risk-aversion framework I built from Kahneman."
Opposition
One note directly contradicts another. The disagreement is real, not just a nuance.
"This study opposes the claim I made in my permanent note on memory retention."
In practice
When you create a link, a small selector appears. Choose the type that best describes your intention at that moment. If none feels exactly right, leave it untyped — you can always revisit.
Focus on your intention, not the label.Ask yourself: “Why am I connecting these two notes right now?” The answer usually points directly to the right type.