And election cycle! 
An important part of that job was knowing exactly how much trust to give (or not) different people who needed to use the information (documents) I looked after. There were particular tradespeople (e.g. digger drivers and plumbers) who I took a single document to on site, searched their van and locker and took back any other documents they had, and went back to collect the document at the end of the day and do it all again the next day. That being the only way of ensuring they weren’t working to out of date material. While I can remember others (e.g. electricians) who would reliably do their own checking and could be trusted when they asked for particular things and never had to be reminded to return things either. No-one (including the CEO of the entire company) was ever allowed to directly remove or deposit a document in the system on pain of instant dismissal. Everything had to go through me: the single source of truth. That was real power!
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And porn, of course, starting with cave paintings.
(What modern western cultures consider porn, I should add. A lot of we might call porn was produced in the context of fertility cults.)
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This is one of the most revelatory threads I’ve ever seen on the internet. SO much work to do before computers and so many people employed to keep a large office running.
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I read the linked article. Here’s what I think: It’s stupid.
That’s right, I said it!
The author obviously has not figured out how to use notes apps productively.
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Lots of interesting perspectives here. My personal one is that I know my notes have value to me because I use them to make better decisions every day.
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It comes down to mindset. This article describes hoarding mindset. Notes can be used in so many ways that you determine the meaning.
Focus on less, and build upon what matters.
My use of notes is per project I’m working on so there’s not a ton of notes. Basically it’s comprised of a title, summary, checklist and journaled entry below. That’s how I do it.
Wishing you the enlightenment to find your meaning
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I so disagree! I have two different notes apps.
The first is Drafts. When I see a piece of information or wind up in a meeting with someone, I immediately pull Drafts up and quickly search on a keyword to see if I already have a Draft about the topic. If I do, I then add to it. If not, I usually create a fresh Draft. The contents of the Draft may remain there for future updating/adding to, or I might export it as a text document to store in the digital file for the related project, for reference; in that case, I archive it in Drafts with a note that it’s now a text document and a link to the document via Hookmark. Or, I might link it to a Todoist task using Hookmark, or turn it into a comment or description for a task (and archive or delete it in Drafts).
The second place I store notes is Evernote. This is where more finished personal notes eventually wind up. Some go into notebooks (I have quite a few notebooks), some go into my catch-all notebook, some get tagged. Generally, I find these notes with a regular search that gets narrowed by notebook or tag. Happily, Evernote starts suggesting tags as soon as you start typing a search term, so I don’t really have to remember all the tags I have.
I reference my notes pretty regularly.
When I was a kid, in the 1980s and even the early 1990s, I had filing drawers in which I filed articles torn from magazines and other useful pieces of information. It’s so much more effective to file digitally!
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(I can’t read this article, but will chime in anyway!)
I take copious notes, many I never look at again, because, for example, while I take a class, have a ph call, read an article, it helps my mind RELAX, knowing that “I have all the good bits written/recorded/clipped/etc in my notes!” - I don’t have to TRY to remember the good bits. I wrote the good bits down. I can look back at them if I want. My mind can RELAX…
If I just listen or watch or read w/o taking notes, my mind frantically tries to grasp the good bits. Compulsive note-taking helps my mind RELAX…
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Same for me. I’ve found, paradoxically, that if I write something down I remember it later. The writing itself seems to create the memory.
If I don’t write something down, not so much.
I do find it fascinating that there are some “mindfulness” types that insist that you shouldn’t need to write things down, and that things that are important will come back into your mind. This has the interesting distinction of being both (a) not my experience, and (b) completely untestable since the only way to test it would be to write things down and see if you remember them later. 
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My colleague always yelled at me bc I would take handwritten notes on paper and every few weeks I’d go through the notepad and start ripping out and throwing away what I didn’t feel like I needed to keep anymore. Mostly I only took light meeting notes and my own to-do tasks. She, on the other thing, could’ve been an archivist in a previous life and held on to evvvverything in OneNote. It saved my butt more than once when she could refer to a note she’d taken during a conversation I’d completely forgotten.
That said, I am desperate for a better personal knowledge management system than write it, rip it, pitch it. I am swimming in info overload because I try to collect helpful responses for potential future training classes I may or may not develop one day. And I have a library degree-you’d think I’d be a little better at this.
So I become entranced by productivity apps and hacks and articles and go down rabbit holes in search of note taking manna, yet here I stand.
So, I guess to answer your question about whether taking notes really helps or matters: 
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I have this issue when listening to an informative podcast or audiobook while walking. I generally have to stop and at least open a browser search for whatever I just heard, or the link from the podcast show notes, and only then can I continue to walk. But really I should shift my walking playlist to plain old entertaining stuff…
This is true for me as well. I can be told and follow along and watch and even do something but until I write it down I can’t rememebr it or do it ever again.
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And then there are the people that say “just listen” (meaning once) that’s all you have to do. I have found I just can’t tell them that’s not how I remember.
I take a different approach; I tell Siri to remind me about a particular hack or app so I can keep running/jogging and when I get a change, then I follow up on my reminder.
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I’m studious about keeping good notes. I have two reasons for this:
- I have a bad memory so I need to have a retrieval system.
- I like to keep carefully constructed and worded notes for legal reasons; one never knows when one may need good documentation.
Notwithstanding syncing issues I’ve had in the past, I use Apple Notes for all of my notetaking. With the new linking feature announced for iOS 17, I’m glad I am.
I have a robust folder system in notes, including one folder called “Quick Reference.” I have separate folders for each major project. I also have created Smart Lists for notes created or edited in the last 2 or 7 days.
By the way, you have one of the most unique “handles” I seen on a forum! 
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I guess I should try that. Now that I think of it, I’ve become so jaded by bad Siri experiences that I literally can’t remember the last time I even spoke her name! The only time it comes on is when it misunderstands me and thinks I’ve said the magic words, or when I hold down a phone button in the wrong way and it thinks I’ve summoned it. I just don’t use it, ever. Not any more.
I’ve had college students who remember best if they doodle or knit. I;m fine with that, if it works for them.
One reason I don’t favor keyboarding notes while listening is many of us create transcripts, rarher than integrating and synthesizing what we hear with what we know,
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I feel your pain; I, too, sometimes run (pun intended) into problems with Siri, but most of the time, it works fine. I don’t like to stop running or jogging to look at my phone; I prefer to keep my heart rate up.
I had the same problem but now if I want to “take a note” while I’m walking I take a screenshot of my iPhone. Which records the podcast name and the time stamp so I do my research when I get home.
And it only took me a few thousand miles to think of it. 
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