[jrsnyder]

I definitely agree with you on your spatial memory explanation.

There are so many applications out there trying to come up with new digital ways to record / access information, but almost all of them discard the spatial organization tools we have in physical workflows.

When you are trying to use information in your head (the most important stop in a workflow), you often need to build a lot of organizational structures in order to make the information maximally accessible from memory. Spatial "shuffling" is one of the quickest ways set up informal organizational structure. It makes use of our brains' good memory for spatial locations, compared to our brains' memory for abstract concepts.

In order to use spatial shuffling to organize information, you need to be able to place things freely, and have them stay there. Digital applications so infrequently offer this ability - they do not allow informal organization or spatial organization.

In an application, pieces of information are usually laid out according to a well-defined sorting algorithm. Layout-by-algorithm breaks both your ability to place a piece of information freely, and your ability to find a piece of information by location (because a new piece of information could shift the whole layout according to the sorting algorithm).

[buckerine]

Yeah, so all this just points to an opportunity within the ebook realm to create a more refined experience. It does not necessarily mean physical books are superior in any way.