The nerdy version. Because I have a draft for another article over there in which I’m making an effort to keep it all very simple.

But this here… we can talk shop.

Tool

Let’s start with the core tool right away: I am typing this in SilverBullet,

… a note-taking application […] Where your notes essentially become a database that you can query;

SilverBullet reminds me of Roam Research, which I used for a while. Compared to Roam Research, or Notion, SilverBullet uses plain text files, formatted in Markdown, stored locally on my device.

Personal Knowledge Management

At its core, I think, personal knowledge management based on Zettelkasten (I also like Andy Matuschak’s Evergreen Notes, a more modern and digital take) has three components:

  1. Creating notes
  2. Making connections
  3. Refining notes

There are many ways to create notes in the first place. That’s probably the easiest part. Mostly, I suppose, it should be low friction. You can always edit your notes progressively.

As for making connections, this seems a cognitive and manual, or technical, process. You could get assistance from AI, but you probably want to stay in the loop. Otherwise, you miss out on the benefits, meaning:

If we push ourselves to add lots of links between our notes, that makes us think expansively about what other concepts might be related to what we’re thinking about. It creates pressure to think carefully about how ideas relate to each other. – Matuschak

Refining notes requires significant cognitive effort. It is active learning.

❗Don’t miss this: it’s personal knowledge management. You “write notes for yourself by default, disregarding audience” (Matuschak).

More Tool

Back to the tool. Caution: high nerd level now.

SilverBullet automatically creates bi-directional links. Something that Notion’s missing.

What’s cool about this, is that I can instruct an AI system to assist in creating Zettelkasten-style notes and have it use the formatting to create internal links. Meaning, I get pre-connected notes for my PKM. Here’s how.

I instruct the AI about the format, which in itself is a note in my PKM that I can easily pull up:

I am using SilverBullet for my notes.

This means, we use the following format. 

Instructions in the formatting example are set in single curly brackets like `{this}`:

<format>
---
title: {same as note title}
tags: {suggest tags, comma-separated, as you see fit}
ID: {leave empty}
type: {could be 'note', 'concept', 'structure', 'principle' etc.}
---

{Content of the note goes here.  Markdown format. Silverbullet uses double square brackets for internal links, so you can link notes/pages, existing or not by simply writing [[note/page title]]}

{Incoming links, so called linked mentions, are added by the software automatically.}

</format>

With these instructions the AI assistant is able to suggest and create notes that are already connected.

You can see the internal links in the numbered list, set in double square brackets – [[internal link]].

Each of these links points to a separate note, or page, containing more info on the respective topic.

---
title: Cognitive Elevation Model
tags: cognition, models, AI augmentation, knowledge work
ID: 
type: concept
---

The Cognitive Elevation Model provides a framework for understanding how knowledge workers interact with tasks at different cognitive levels, helping determine appropriate AI integration strategies.

Three primary domains:
1. [[Eye-Level Domain]]: Zone of optimal professional performance
2. [[Above-Level Domain]]: Cognitive challenges requiring scaffolding
3. [[Below-Level Domain]]: Tasks not requiring full cognitive capacity

This model serves as a decision framework for determining what tasks should be:
- Directly performed by the knowledge worker
- Augmented through AI collaboration
- Delegated to AI systems

The model maintains human agency while optimizing cognitive resource allocation across different types of professional activities.

As you may realize, I apply this approach to structure my own output, not to a topic I am trying to learn or study. The example is based on a simple framework I am using in some of my presentations.