There is a lot of valuable information on the internet, but it can be hard to wade through the noise and find what I need.
As I go back through my Book Notes and add them to this site, they seem noisier than they should be.
I took these notes so I could review them periodically and refresh their points. As I re-read these book notes now, I’m struck by how noisy they are. I’ve edited them down, but some still seem too long.
Maybe that’s the nature of the beast in some cases. Books like The Art of Unix Programming are dense. Still, my brain was glazing over midway through these notes. I had to either come back for a second reading or miss out on the latter part of the notes. Neither option seems optimal.
Perhaps a reasonable goal is to edit these notes so I can read them comfortably in a single sitting. Rather than trying to remember every salient point from a book, I’ll be looking for the points that resonate the most with me.
A simple heuristic: Cut By Default.
If there’s any question about whether something is helping, cut it. Move on.
In that spirit, I’ll be re-editing these book notes and chiseling away at any extraneous noise.
My current working principle:
No more noise than is necessary. When in doubt, cut it.
published .
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