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Personal Knowledge Databases: Tools for Reference and Learning
Author

Dan Martinez
Organization: Science Applications International Corporation
Conference

2006 Wolfram Technology Conference
Conference location

Champaign IL
Description

Interesting -- even vital -- facts and concepts that we read tend to soon fade from our memory. And each such fact or concept that is vital to one of us is apt to be irrelevant to another reader of the same text. This is to say that when we read, we distill text. The tools described herein provide ways to facilitate the accumulation and retrieval of our conceptual distillates. These tools transcend all disciplinary boundaries. To rapidly assimilate the facts and concepts that one notices in printed materials, bird's wings (< word > ) are put around words that are to be included in the dictionary and thesaurus, and marginal tick marks signify a fact or concept that is to be included in the reader's index. After a reading session, data bases can quickly be updated. And the very actions of annotating reading materials, and of systematically accumulating knowledge, can enhance the pleasure and quantity of our learning.
Subject

*Teaching
Keywords

learning, reference, dictionary, thesaurus
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PersonalKnowledgeDatabases.nb (604.9 KB) - Mathematica Notebook [for Mathematica 5.2]