Kknowledge patterns form an unfolding "language" for thinking, study, and application.
They help you:
Develop ideas (i.e. analyze, evaluate, distill, elaborate)
Organize ideas (i.e. link, synthesize, explore, visualize)
Apply ideas (i.e. solve, collaborate, decide, track, predict)
They give you flexible templates, containers, or blueprints for developing, organizing, and taking action on your notes and ideas.
My inspiration here comes from a remarkable book by Christopher Alexander called “A Pattern Language”. The book provides 253 architectural patterns for building cities, neighborhoods, and buildings.
What is a pattern? I’ll let Alexander provide a definition: “Each pattern is a three-part rule, which expresses a relation between a certain context, a problem, and a solution.”
For example, Alexander has a pattern called LIGHT ON TWO SIDES OF EVERY ROOM that you can read here. He intended for these patterns to be used by everyday homeowners and citizens, not just contractors and craftsmen, and he believed that if you applied the patterns in his book to your environment, you could create “living structures”.
I’m adopting the idea of a pattern but relating it to knowledge work.
My “contexts” will be mental, not physical (e.g. thinking, reading, writing).
My “problems” will be cognitive, not architectural (e.g. information overload, failing to apply abstract ideas, difficulty communicating to others, etc.).
And my “solutions” will use words, not physical materials.
Together, these patterns will help you build a personal knowledge base, build a system for writing, build a research engine, build a worldview, etc.
As I’ve already mentioned, the inspiration for this second book will be Alexander’s “Pattern Language”. But instead of moving from Towns to Buildings to Construction (as he does in his book), I will move from Worldview to Frameworks to Devices.
Within each of these sections, the patterns will be organized around the same 8 layers of meaning that were introduced in Book 1 - a kind of repeated unfolding of the categories in large patterns and then in the smaller patterns within those larger patterns.
Part 1 (“Worldview”) will include the largest patterns, representing broad and general patterns for thinking and writing. In broad strokes, these patterns cover the full range of what we want to know about God, ourselves, others, and the world.
Examples would include:
LOGOS AS CENTER
COGNITIVE TOOLKIT
GRAND NARRATIVE
CORE BELIEFS
HABITUAL PRAXIS
PERSONAL LITURGY
SOURCES OF AUTHORITY
NETWORK OF KNOWLEDGE
Part 2 (“Frameworks”) will include smaller patterns that fill out those larger patterns that represent the different aspects of a worldview. These patterns are the flexible containers (or templates) that you can use to start building in the areas from Part 1.
Examples would include:
INDEX OF IDEAS
PERSONAL LEXICON
AQUINAS ARTICLE
EPISTEMIC GRID
BOOK OF CENTURIES
ALEXANDER PATTERN
RULE OF LIFE
PERSONAL CANON
CHRESTOMATHY
NOTE SEQUENCES
REFLECTIVE NARRATION
Part 3 (“Devices”) will include the smallest patterns that provide variation to those frameworks and worldview. These are the repeatable practices or algorithms of thought that will give shape and texture to the larger patterns.
Examples would include:
CONCEPT HANDLES
MAP OF THE WORD (SENSES)
CLAIM HEXAGON
SEMANTIC GOLDMINES
THEMATIC THREADS
INTERMEDIATE PACKETS
PROGRESSIVE SUMMARIZATION
EVERGREEN NOTES
MULTI-LEVEL SUMMARY
For each knowledge pattern, you will (eventually) find:
an image showing an example of the pattern in a book, essay, or other knowledge artifact
an introduction that sets the context for the pattern and how it relates to larger patterns
the essence of the problem in a few sentences followed by the body of the problem, providing background, evidence, and key examples
the essence of the solution (again) in a few sentences followed by the body of the solution as instructions on how to use it
the solution as a diagram - a visual illustration of the pattern with the elements labeled
some cross-references showing how this pattern is related to smaller patterns which are needed to fill it out or embellish it
You can also view a complete list of patterns on the Pattern Index.