
The joy of index cards (2009) - Tomte
http://nickpage.co.uk/stuff/the-joy-of-index-cards/
======
eesmith
Minor exploration of the sentence "Before the computer became ubiquitous,
index cards were the tools of all academics and researchers."

Some academics used edge-notched punched cards, which is a sort of index card
with manual mechanical selection ability. See
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edge-
notched_card](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edge-notched_card) and
[http://kk.org/thetechnium/one-dead-media/](http://kk.org/thetechnium/one-
dead-media/) .

These were used until the 1980s. The contents for the Whole Earth Catalog in
the 1970s was organized with them.

A smaller number of academics and researchers used interior-notched punched
cards (eg, the well-known IBM punched card) with sorting/selection machines
and not computers. I think these can no longer be called index cards.

~~~
digi_owl
I vaguely recall having read some article or other about a pre-computer plan
someone had for a "database of everything".

I suspect the idea hinged on edge notched cards or something similar.

~~~
eesmith
Almost certainly you're thinking of Paul Otlet and Henri La Fontaine, leading
to the Mundaneum.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mundaneum](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mundaneum)

> It aimed to gather together all the world's knowledge and classify it
> according to a system they developed called the Universal Decimal
> Classification.

Quoting
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Otlet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Otlet)
:

> Otlet was responsible for the widespread adoption in Europe of the standard
> American 3x5 inch index card used until recently in most library catalogs
> around the world (by now largely displaced by the advent of the online
> public access catalog (OPAC)).

Mechanized (but non-computer) versions of such a system include Vannevar
Bush's Memex
([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memex](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memex) )
and more obscurely Calvin Mooers' DOKEN
([http://www.historyofinformation.com/expanded.php?id=4243](http://www.historyofinformation.com/expanded.php?id=4243)
) and ... there's a French information scientist from the same era but I've
forgotten his name.

The materials I read said that after 10K-100K cards (forgot the actual
tradeoff point), it's better to switch to interior cards because it becomes
more worthwhile to sort by machine. The machines are expensive to rent, and
not worthwhile until many searches are needed.

------
tedmiston
This reminds me of the Hipster PDA, a small collection of index cards for
daily use held together with a binder clip.

Perhaps more relevant now than ever with our smartphones and their infinite
capacity for distraction.

[http://www.43folders.com/2004/09/03/introducing-the-
hipster-...](http://www.43folders.com/2004/09/03/introducing-the-hipster-pda)

[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hipster_PDA](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hipster_PDA)

~~~
toomanybeersies
I've taken to carrying around small notebooks in my pocket recently.

I found that I never looked at notes written on my phone, but I do with paper.

It also has the advantage that I can tear pages out to give to people. No need
to try and text a shopping list to someone when you can just give them one.

------
lioeters
Since no one has mentioned it yet, this is a wonderful book on the evolution
of index cards:

Paper Machines: About Cards & Catalogs, 1548 – 1929 (History and Foundations
of Information Science) ([https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/paper-
machines](https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/paper-machines))

~~~
nickloewen
Thank you for sharing this! I have been interested for a while in the idea
that index cards, as analogue forms of cataloguing and computation, have been
used in a number of ways that are still relevant to our new designs. It’s
great to have this thread full of resources, and I don’t think that I have
seen this one before.

------
Fomite
I love index cards - despite running a computational lab, without index cards
the whole thing would come tumbling down. And they're so versatile - the
project management cards get taken off one board and then go into a pile that
you can pull for annual reports, etc.

And yeah, there's something about being able to touch them, move them, etc.

~~~
noobhacker
Do you mind describing how you use index cards for project management? As a
younger person, I don't have have the habit of using index cards at all.

Whenever I use it, I can't help but feel bothered by the finality of the act
of writing in ink. Since we only use index cards when the task becomes too
complex to hold in our brain, it also means that we often need to re-organize
our thoughts about the task several times. The act of writing (as opposed to
typing in a computer) doesn't seem conducive to that kind or re-oganization.

~~~
Fomite
Each project I'm working on - or parts of a project - get an index card.
They're color coded for what they are, and then go up on the massive pinboard
in my office. As things move into different categories, they get moved around
physically.

This does a couple things:

1) There's something satisfying about physically moving a thing 2) I can get a
quick visual representation of the balance of my work. Am I conspicuously low
on a certain type of project in the queue? If so, why? 3) When they're done,
they go in a pile of either successful or unsuccessful (I'm an academic, so
for example a rejected grant is unsuccessful). When I need to work on my
annual report? I just grab 2018's successful pile and it's an accounting of
what I've done.

Personally, I like the finality of committing something to ink. If it needs to
be changed, it's not as if index cards are expensive, but I like there being a
sense of solidity to "What we're doing".

------
convolvatron
if you're not using an actual 3x5" filing system, or constructing stacks of
cards - cutting heavy cardstock into longer thinner strips makes it smaller to
carry and gives you four logical pages. as I get older and more absent minded
its nice to have a reliable cache.

reasons I like paper better even though I have to carry my phone at all times

always faster

when the page i'm carrying is full I have to review it and chuck it. phone
note apps for me tend to be write only

diagrams and sketches carry alot more meaning for me

no screwing around with menus for shading/font/line weight

just looking at the shape of the marks on the page brings an immediate recall,
whereas with text I kind of have to read it and figure it out again

when I pull out my little card to write down to remember to buy socket head
screws, I don't get derailed by my unread messages

the classic style has you keep your 3x5 notes as a permanent lab record, I can
transcribe it into a notebook for that, this is just 'my day in scribbles'

~~~
Infernal
> phone note apps for me tend to be write only

In that vein, I've recently realized that the CRUD model also defines how I
interact with task management apps - I Create lots of stuff, Read maybe 10% of
that, Update maybe 50% of what I read, and then maybe Delete (or mark
done/hide) 10% of what I update - in short tons of stuff goes in and almost
nothing ever comes out.

I realized that with data on a computer, for the most part the default state
is that it lives forever, and you have to take positive action to remove data.
With paper or physical media, the default state is for things to be
lost/culled over time and positive action must be taken to retain things with
some sort of organization. "Lost" can mean that what you wrote down 3 months
ago is now 30 pages back in your daily notebook, etc. The "presence" of the
data fades a bit over time.

So, for me, positive action is fatiguing. It is more valuable to have an
organization system that is self-limiting where I must take positive action to
capture more, rather than one where I must take positive action to distill far
too much data down to what is important. I'm always looking for a better
system, but so far a daily notebook where I keep the important stuff "bubbled
up" to the most recent 1-3 pages has been more sustainable than any of the
Wunderlist/Notes/Reminders/Omnifocus/Trello/etc. ever were.

~~~
convolvatron
i think this applies to programming issues as well. the IETF used to strongly
emphasize 'soft state' protocols. Not that there was no state, but it was
always associated with a timeout and went away on its own. A best effort cache
- although alot of these protocols (i.e pim) depend on having some non-zero
lifetime to work at all.

think about the additional bookkeeping and correctness issues associated with
the destruction/cleanup path. alot of the time we maintain references and
search structures so that we can 'properly clean up', when in reality we just
want to tear down the whole world.

construction and destruction do have a certain pleasant symmetry, but since
the destruction path is often less tested and error prone, and may double the
work at hand, isn't it worth considering implicit destruction?

------
InitialLastName
I used index cards to write all my papers in college, up to and including my
MS thesis. One fact/idea/thought per card, including citations/quotes/rough
diagrams. Once all the information is there, lay them out in order, and the
rest pretty much writes itself.

They're a great way to organize information; it can be difficult to track down
enough phones to spread them out on the floor and see the whole picture.

------
eltoozero
Love index cards, there are knockoffs but the Levenger Pocket Briefcase is the
consummate personal index card repository.

Also just learned recently there are whiteboard index cards used for flash
cards and they’re awesome!

Cheap, bright white (good for small signs) and radiused corners so they stay
nice as long as they don’t get bent.

Dangerous track however, because Staedler makes a line of (refillable!)
LumaColor fine point correctable pens which are amazing but not cheap.
Basically dry erase but needs more friction to remove.

Finally, NUBoard is a “blues clues” style whiteboard notepad, in pocket
versions and larger letter sized with tracing/overlay sheets, expensive, cool,
still looking for a good use case.

------
mozzarella
I thought I'd see Hawk Sugano's system mentioned here, but haven't so I'll
share the link: [http://pileofindexcards.org/](http://pileofindexcards.org/)

What's nice about his index card system is the simple taxonomy for
organization, which can be expanded upon for specific projects or just
carrying on day-to-day. Of course these can be modified, but I've found the
four groups he proposes (Record, Discovery, GTD/to-do, Citation) work well for
everyday capturing of ideas big and small.

This, and Marc Andreesen's note to make a short to-do list nightly for the
next day are my main uses for index cards.
[https://pmarchive.com/guide_to_personal_productivity.html](https://pmarchive.com/guide_to_personal_productivity.html)

------
pronoiac
Heh! My first "PDA" was the Hipster PDA, a stack of index cards and a binder
clip: [http://www.43folders.com/2004/09/03/introducing-the-
hipster-...](http://www.43folders.com/2004/09/03/introducing-the-hipster-pda)

I'm prioritizing my personal to-do lists with Trello, which is like digital
index cards.

------
bshepard
Have any HNers found an effective digital version of index cards? The author
mentions a" years of trying all kinds of digital equivalents a much-loved Mac
outliner programme called 3×5" but then returns to return to physical cards.
Probably the usefulness of actual cards comes from their materiality, but
maybe there's some effective replacement that lets you combine/create cards
with added digital ease - I can type a lot faster than write by hand.

~~~
komali2
If using index cards for memorizing, I think the Anki system can't be beat.
Simple HTML/css formatting, tons of configuration options, plug in a .CSV with
as many columns as you like and out the other end can come decks with cards
configured in all sorts of wild ways.

So for example I have a Japanese learning deck with columns "word - Japanese",
"example sentence - kanji", "example sentence - hurigana helper text (phonetic
speller for characters I don't know)", "English definition for word", "English
definition for sentence", "part of speech" , "commonality of word.".

So I can make decks sorted by commonality of words with English on front, or
Japanese on front, to practice vocabulary. Or I can have one with English
sentences on front to practice sentence building.

You can even attach media files, like audio.

And best of all, last I checked this is all free. Still not sure how the
creator funds hosting public decks.

~~~
Spooky23
Thank you for this. I hadn’t come across Anki and it looks like a great tool.

~~~
tomcooks
AnkiDroid on F-Droid store is an excellent open source mobile version

------
emit_time
I just started carrying a notebook in my back pocket, and a pen in my front
pocket.

Technology is great, but there are some things that I have a better experience
doing on paper.

~~~
phyllostachys
This was the go to method of keeping information when I was in the military
(05-09), which was _strongly_ encouraged starting in boot camp. If one was
found without a pen or two and a notebook, there was some words said. I've
kept the habit going into my civilian life though I don't take notes as often.

------
matthewwiese
Arno Schmidt's _Zettels Traum_ ( _Bottom 's Dream_ in English) is a mammoth
book originally written entirely with a collection of 130,000 index cards.
[0][1]

The book's title is German wordplay referencing the medium which Schmidt wrote
the book on ("Zettel") and Bottom from Shakespeare's _A Midsummer Night 's
Dream_ ("Zettel" being the translation of Bottom's name into German).

[0]:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bottom%27s_Dream](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bottom%27s_Dream)

[1]: [https://www.zinzin.com/observations/2013/who-was-arno-
schmid...](https://www.zinzin.com/observations/2013/who-was-arno-schmidt-and-
what-is-zettels-traum-some-evidentiary-fragments/)

------
Pamar
At the moment of writing this I can't find anyone mentioning CRC-cards(1) -
have these been completely forgotten?

(1)[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Class-responsibility-
collabora...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Class-responsibility-
collaboration_card)

~~~
thom
Many years ago there was a book, Java Modeling in Color with UML, which event
gave you a reason to purchase the nice red/blue/green/yellow packs of index
cards. I found it a very nice way of decomposing a problem (into entities,
roles/interfaces, temporal things and description/lookup tables), but I've not
seen anything like it survive.

------
wyclif
How many times is this going to get subbed to HN? Maybe now that it earned
some karma, the same user (@Tomte) won't resub it for another year at least.
Right?

 _The joy of index cards (2009) 136 points Tomte 20 hours ago 59 comments

The joy of index cards (2009) 3 points Tomte 5 months ago 0 comments

The joy of index cards (2009) 1 points Tomte 9 months ago 0 comments

The joy of index cards (2009) 1 points Tomte a year ago 0 comments

The joy of index cards (2009) 3 points Tomte a year ago 0 comments_

~~~
radix07
Yes, there were plenty of reposts, and reposts are typically bad. But that
doesn't mean it isn't a topic HN wants to discuss as it did finally get
traction on this latest go at it.

Timing (and luck) can be everything on these sites and some don't actively
attempt to game the system and post at the most optimal times to get
views/votes. If it stops here, I don't see a problem with the reposts... Just
not sure where you would draw the line between this and spamming the boards.

~~~
wyclif
I don't have a problem with the content (I found it interesting myself). What
I have a problem with is users who keep submitting the same stories over and
over again. I'm pretty sure that's against the HN TOS.

------
peter303
Even the largest computer screens fall short of the flexibility of a large
table of index card piles. You can lay out piles in a 2D array or 2D separated
groups. Then resuffle the piles. Each pile can be ordered by importance, time,
or expository order.

------
tells
During an intense period at university, index cards kept me sane. I wrote my
next day schedule on one side every night and kept little to-dos to add on the
other throughout the day. I should probably go back to them at some point.

~~~
andai
Since then, have you found a better way?

~~~
thechao
I still start each day at work recopying the previous day’s list, reordering
it, and adding new items. I’ve tried to move to a computer TODO for a couple
of decades, but no success. Most of my peers do _nothing_ , so I do lists for
them, too, occasionally. They really like getting a list, and they tend to be
more productuve for it. They doodle on them, cross out items, take notes, etc.

~~~
asadjb
Your system of recopying the previous day's list, reordering, adding new
items, and I assume removing any done or stale items, is very close to the
Bullet Journal [1] system that I have started to use since last year.

It's interesting to see that you came up with a similar system.

It really is an excellent system that keeps me organized and sane during the
hectic periods of life and work.

[1] [http://bulletjournal.com/get-started/](http://bulletjournal.com/get-
started/)

------
aplorbust
I have always wanted to make a set of reusable, "erasable" index cards,
perhaps constructed out of "whiteboard" material.

~~~
ljosa
Thomas Jefferson "carried a small notebook made up of ivory leaves on which to
record his observations. He would write down his measurements in pencil and in
the evening transfer the data to seven large notebooks, each devoted to a
different subject. He would then erase the ivory plates, readying them for
another day of scientific inquiry." Source:
[https://www.artofmanliness.com/2010/09/13/the-pocket-
noteboo...](https://www.artofmanliness.com/2010/09/13/the-pocket-notebooks-
of-20-famous-men/)

