Most people think an index in a non-fiction book is just a search function for hardcopy reading of yesteryear.

Wrong.

An index is way more than search.

An index is a map, often more communicative than a Table of Contents.

An index is super-important even for ebooks.

👇🏼🧵

A Table of Contents presents a book's

‣ structure

‣ at a high-level

‣ often using colorful headings

‣ which may not be very communicative.

By contrast...

... an index lists:

👉 topics

👉 subtopics

👉 important names

👉 alternative terminology ("see...")

👉 topics in conjunction with other topics

More importantly, a well-curated index communicates the frequency in which certain topics and subtopics are covered.

When selecting a book, this is extremely valuable to potential readers.

This ToC vs. Index comparison in @letsplaymath blog post drives the point home

(see the full post: selfpublishingadvice.org/?p=188906 )

tl;dr

Never publish a non-fiction book without an index.

Rather, curate an index so readers can

👀 preview which topics feature prominently

🔎 zero-in on topics using their vocabulary, not the author's

💡 rediscover what readers recall was in the book, even years after reading

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I examine models in software testing, management, and society, to discern truth from narrative, so as to build more effective human systems.