Asking Better Questions
Lately, I’ve been building a digital note-taking system in Obsidian—a powerful tool that interlinks notes to create a web of knowledge. If Obsidian is new to you, there are many resources with detailed explanations of its capabilities (here’s a good starting point).
I’m using this system to build what I call my “Data Archive”—a living repository of ideas that I can continually expand, explore, and question. You can view the Data Archive (here).
My inspiration has been the Quartz project, which offers a method to publish an Obsidian vault. Publishing my archive not only allows me to share my evolving processes and learnings but also invites others to provide insights, making it a more interactive repository.
In this post, I’ll explore how I use the Data Archive to support research and idea development.
Expansion: Discovery through Obsidian Copilot
One transformative addition to my workflow is the Obsidian Copilot plugin. By integrating ChatGPT directly into my vault, it minimises the need for switching between windows, keeping me focused and enhancing productivity. Given the low cost relative to its value, it’s been an invaluable asset.
I often use Copilot to generate summaries of new ideas as a starting point, helping me quickly build a basic understanding of complex concepts. For more on how I use large language models (LLMs) to enrich my thinking, see my post: Why Blog in a World of LLMs?.
The true power of Copilot extends beyond simple generation, as we’ll see in the following sections.
Exploration: Building Interconnections Over Time
After accumulating a set of ideas, I turn to exploring their interconnections. Obsidian’s internal linking system (using [[ ]]) allows me to visualise these relationships in the local graph view, which provides a dynamic picture of my evolving ideas.
This process, however, can make the vault feel overwhelming. To manage this, I use tags strategically to group related ideas. Defining clear meanings for each tag is essential; otherwise, they risk becoming redundant. Keeping a reference list of tags in an accessible location helps me refine them continuously.
For a great demonstration of how to use Obsidian’s graph view to connect ideas, check out Vicky Zhao’s video here.
Questioning: The Most Important Part
Ultimately, the goal of the Data Archive isn’t simply to store ideas but to allow for active questioning. By asking questions, I can uncover hidden relationships and generate new ideas.
The Obsidian Copilot plugin has been especially helpful here, with its full vault Q\&A function it turns the vault into a queryable knowledge system, enabling me to conduct Q\&A sessions based on existing content.
Additionally, the Dataview plugin provides a way to organise these questions into a central location, offering a structured approach to exploration.
Going Forward: Integrating Code Snippets
An ongoing goal is to embed more code snippets directly alongside conceptual notes. This approach lets me quickly reference implementation details and enables the LLM to generate customised scripts based on past snippets that I’ve found useful.
By embedding actionable code within relevant ideas, my notes can evolve from passive information storage to a toolkit for problem-solving and project building.
Conclusion
In this post, I hope to have illustrated how intentional note-taking enables active exploration. As the Data Archive continues to grow, it will not only expand my personal knowledge base but also foster an environment for better questions.
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