[bogwog]

> if your goal is to learn a new programming language, I don't see Zettelkasten being particularly helpful

I started using one to learn Erlang, and have found it incredibly helpful. Going down a wikipedia-style rabbit hole of my own notes is cool, like I'm exploring my own brain. Sometimes I completely forget how something works, and when I look up the note I took I just have to read a few of my own words to immediately remember it all.

I will say though that progress actually feels pretty slow compared to my usual strategy of just reading through books and articles once or twice, and then web searching whenever I forget something. But I guess that just has more to do with meticulous note-taking in general rather than the "zettelkasten" thing.

> you've already grokked a a for loop in other languages, and you gain nothing by creating a new linked note under the 'for loop construct' heading

So don't do that. Your notes are for you and you only. If you write useless notes, then the notes will be useless. Just write down what you think you might have trouble remembering later.