Sunday, 30 November 2025

Transcription and copy

When I was at high school, I tried to meticulously copy my World History textbook from beginning to end in preparation for an exam.
Since writing by hand was laborious, I typed it out on a word processor.
I may not be good at grasping the main points.
Perhaps I should have transcribed what the teacher wrote on the blackboard in my notebook during lessons, but I was unwell at the time and unable to concentrate.

Now, as I'm trying to create a reading journal, I'm re-reading a book and finding that everything seems important, resulting in an ever-growing pile of cards containing extracted passages.
In "The Art of Intellectual Production", Tadao Umesao states "transcription is not verbatim copying."

Since the book I'm re-reading is an e-book, I have decided to stop transcribing onto cards for now and instead highlight the parts I want to write down instead.
Later, I can simply look at the highlights and carefully select the parts I want to turn into cards.

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