It's easy to say literature notes are other people's ideas and permanent notes are my own.

In practice though, there are definitely many nuances.

• What if I want to curate content?

• What if I want to quote another author?

• Aren't all ideas derivative anyway? How can originality be the prerequisite for permanent notes?

These are all great questions but S. Ahren's doesn't go into much detail about this in "How to Take Smart Notes."

But, I have a way to think about this that might be helpful.

Your Zettelkasten is an exclusive club, and only YOUR ideas can be members. But, "outside ideas" are welcome too, if accompanied by a member.

So, what does this mean?

It means other's ideas can be quoted or referenced in your Zettelkasten, but they need an "in", or a "wrapper."

Way 1: Wrapper

• Take notes on an outside source, ideally in your own words

• Create a note that introduces the source to the "conversations" in your Zettelkasten.

Example: Write a literature note on ship30for30's Endless Idea Generator. Then, write a permanent note "Use templates to quickly generate ideas". In it, link to the ref note.

Way 2: Abstraction (What Ahren's Recommends)

• Abstract the essence of what resonated with you from that outside source.

• Transplant that idea into a new context or "conversation" in your Zettelkasten.

Example: Write a literature note on ship30for30's Endless Idea Generator. Then, write a permanent note: "Small creators should focus on sharing actionable knowledge". In it, link to the ref note as you pleased.

This second way is obviously preferable. When creating content, while it's nice to talk about other people's ideas, don't rob the world of your unique insights.