[terminalcommand]

Instinctively I always studied computer languages this way. Typing the code makes you also think about it, it is also much more easier to try your own versions.

I'd argue that it would be even better, if I wrote the program samples with pen in a real notebook. Using different colors and imitating syntax highlighting could be even better.

I've been planning to get a physical programming/cs notebook for years.

[turbografx16]

I have a few handwritten notebooks on CS and it was a mistake. You're right about the improved retention, but I cant search my notes or reorganize them very easily. I've started using cherrytree instead and having the ability to search through years worth of notes with regex is very handy.

[terminalcommand]

Maybe the solution could be to keep them in both versions, digital one for reference and a physical one for learning and retention.

For the digital one, one can just copy and paste, use abbreviations, templates etc. so it doesn't take a lot of time.

Obviously the physical notes are only necessary in learning new and hard material. For example one might keep a notebook for C programming, Assembly, Basic Algorithms, Discrete Math etc.

I must admit that I've never tried to print my digital notes, which I keep in org-mode and export to pdf using tex. I guess that could also help for studying. You could take notes with hand, highlight things, put stickers on it etc.

I am planning to purchase a laser printer with refillable toners to print books, papers and my notes. I don't know why but having a physical copy of things help me learn them much easier. It could be that it is the only way I learned in school.

On a sidenote, during highschool I could only write essays with real pen and paper. But now I'm used to firing emacs and writing prose. Maybe I could also train myself to read textbooks on a computer efficiently.

[dagersandscars]

In the late '80s/early '90s (college), I took notes on paper and typed them up the evening of the class. The benefits I found:

* Better engagement in class vs typing in class * Better short and long term retention of learned material * Easier exam prep due to better retention * Higher grades vs not doing this * Able to share useful notes with others

In my business life, I've found similar benefits. The primary difficulty is forcing myself to follow the pattern. It's easy to think "I've got this" and not type up a set of notes.

[terminalcommand]

I'd imagine doing this on a daily basis would require some discipline.

I also had similar thoughts in college. I planned to scan my notes from time to time and thereby have them digitized. I never went through with it. The system that worked for me was to write a date on each paper, keep all notes in a stack, and organize them into topics in chronological order when needed.

I always struggle with physical organization, whether it be tidying up my room, or planning my days. I hope this will improve with age, but for now I try to work around my deficiencies. For example in college I never had the discipline to study everyday, although I almost never skipped a class and I always took notes. It wasn't that I wasn't interested in the things thought, but I just couldn't. I also cannot tidy up my room, although I know it would benefit me hugely. I always postpone getting a haircut, washing clothes etc. to the moment when it becomes absolutely unbearable.

So I don't think I'd have nearly enough willpower to take all my notes physically and then daily type them into the computer. In business life what I can do is to create a virtual filing system for organizing notes. For example I could divide the year in 52 weeks, open a folder for each of them, inside these folders I could open other folders for projects. I could then symlink those weekly folders into other directory listings for Clients and Projects etc. By doing this minimal work, I'd have a working system that would keep me out of my naturally inclined chaos. During internships I devised a similar system for email, and it had worked remarkably good.

[devxpy]

We still have this in Indian colleges.

[athom]

Apropos of nothing, I'd like to add my own rec for CherryTree. I started using it about a month or two into my new job, and in the year since, it's been a fantastic resource, allowing me to recall and review take and projects I'd all but forgotten just a few weeks later. Especially good for programmers with the rich support for language syntax highlighting. You can't mix languages in a single node, and the info feature is a minefield of surprise behavior, but overall, an excellent utility!

[skate22]

A guy i knew in college had an electronic pen that would write ink on the paper, but also store it digitally & convert to text. Maybe worth exploring if you want the best of both worlds

[seandougall]

I tried this for a while, and honestly didn’t find it helpful. A big part of it for me is developing muscle memory, so writing code out by hand sidesteps that.

Also, I became keenly aware of a nervous tic that was making me try to hit command-S on the notepaper.