Andy Matuschak's Notes

Andy Matuschak’s public note system at notes.andymatuschak.org↗ pioneered Evergreen Notes with sliding panes. Most note-taking optimizes for capture. His system optimizes for thinking. He inspired My Working Notes.

The core innovation is notes that compound over time. Each note is atomic, concept-oriented, densely linked. See Evergreen Notes. Not an archive. A thinking environment that evolves with you.

Sliding panes solve context loss. Click a link in traditional hypertext, you lose where you came from. Sliding panes keep your exploration path visible. Multiple notes side-by-side let you see connections between ideas without losing the thread.

The interface shapes the thinking. Linear documents force linear thought. Networked interfaces enable Associative linking over hierarchies. This is why Commune‘s sliding pane interface matters. Not just aesthetics. Cognitive architecture.

Built in public at notes.andymatuschak.org↗. The system influenced dozens of wikis and Build in Public implementations. The principles extend beyond notes to any system for knowledge work.