[tyingq]

My experience is that a lot of the value in taking notes is NOT referring back to them later.

Just the act of writing them down somehow forces me to remember more of what was covered. And, for reasons I don't understand, this works much better if I'm writing with pen and paper. Typing them doesn't have the same effect.

Somewhat unfortunate, because writing them by hand makes them much less useful when I do need to refer to them later.

Edit: For what it's worth, I googled a bit after being downvoted, and there's research that seems to agree with what I noticed. Both the value of note taking even if you don't refer to it later, and the retention difference with handwritten notes.

[jotato]

I don't know why you would be downvoted. I am the exact same way. I actually stopped taking legible notes and get the same results. As long as I jot something down on paper, I find I am more likely to remember it

[type0]

I'm not sure if I'm correct or not, but my assumption is that jotting down and handwriting forces you to remember things by virtue of it being novel all the time. I mean handwritten words don't look alike and words typed on the screen bore your brain out faster.

Just a tip: get yourself a fountain pen (doesn't have to be fancy but don't buy the cheapest crap on ebay either - they dry up instantly). Handwriting becomes fun and from my own experience I remember even more. If you use colors you might remember even more, especially if you have synesthesia.

[kodfodrasz]

I have similar experience.