The Lonely World Of Convincing People to use PKMSes

I’m a huge evangelizer of personal knowledge management systems. I love so many things about them:

• Remember everything I wrote
• Connect my thoughts together
• Unlock new ideas
• Track relationships
• Manage tasks
• Plan my life

So I’m constantly confused how not everyone in the world uses them? At best, the mainstream population seems to dump random thoughts into the default notes on their platform. This is bad for several reasons.

For one, the default notes app is not really designed for note taking… ironically. Take Apple Notes. You may like it for its simplicity, but let’s be honest with ourselves. How much time do you spend taking a note, and then how much time do you spend finding that note again? It feels good for sure, but I feel we can do better.

We can build something that both feels good and saves us time too. These tools already exist in fact, and I talk about them all the time in my articles. The problem is not even a marketing problem — so many people know about Obsidian. Yet, every one of my friends who has tried it, has never made it a habit. They always drop off and go back to… well… Apple Notes.

Why does this happen? Well, let’s observe and think about it.

#1) The laziness of humans

We’re the only species so lazy that we invented the most complex technologies possible to do things for us. I can’t wait for Figure to become mass-commercialized and do my dishes, laundry, and cleaning for me.

For note-taking, I can’t wait for Neuralink to connect my thoughts and just display them through my AR glasses. Why do I have to type things in all the time and then spend hours manually backlinking or putting them in the right folders and files? There’s just so much work that goes into building your thoughts.

I totally understand why most people just don’t even take notes in the first place. Relying on your brain feels much easier, but it leads too a messy brain. If you don’t organize your room, it will turn into one stinking nasty smelly piece of ****. The same goes for your brain. If you keep relying on it and jamming things into it without any processing, it will also turn into one stinking nasty smelly piece of ****. Read Getting Things Done by David Allen on more information on why this does not lead to a healthy mind.

That’s why we have the junky world of GenZ who don’t know the capital of Paris. Oh wait, I can’t criticize them because they are entitled to their own opinions. Err… very well. Do keep on watching TikTok and feeling like you are the wisehead you think you are. I can write a whole article on the fake wisdom that has arose from people just consuming information without thinking deeply on it. They take every single TikTok video on a superficial level, become fervently polarized on the topic, and then forget about it the next day anyways.

#2) The decline of deep thinking

Europe has always valued the arts, reflections, culture, and critical thinking. When a famous philosopher died in France, there was a whole celebration on the streets to celebrate their contributions. In America? It’s home coming parade time!! Let’s celebrate the guy who threw the ball across the field as the #1 forthcoming of God.

Unfortunately, even the land of Socrates is beginning to become the same. Only difference is let’s celebrate the guy who kicked the ball across the field as the #1 forthcoming of God.

Don’t get me wrong, academics and deep thinkers do exist. They are widely respected in their spheres. However, they are not celebrated by the majority anymore. We do have entrepreneurs as the new deep thinkers, however, so that’s a great sign. Yet, most people wonder about what Elon Musk did rather than why Elon Musk did. The what is a simple TikTok video. The why requires a deep analysis that will lead to many notes on the topic… and oops, we don’t want to take notes right?

Instead, we’re captivated by the spectacle — the flash of success, the glitz of innovation — while the intricate tapestry of thought that weaves those achievements together fades into the background. The real artistry lies not just in the act of kicking the ball across the field, but in understanding the game itself: the strategies, the failures, the moments of inspiration that led to that triumphant goal.

I am by no means against atheletes. They are having fun and creating great entertainment for people. It’s just today people have found many ways to escape, and turning sports into a fervent obsession is one of such ways. Money, power, sex, entertainment none of these are bad things per say. It’s just when they become a core definition of you that it’s a big, big problem.

In a world dominated by instant gratification, the deeper inquiries often get lost in the scroll. We’ve traded the Socratic method for sound bites, preferring the digestible morsels of celebrity culture over the rich, challenging conversations that once defined intellectual discourse. The entrepreneurs we elevate to god-like status are often celebrated not for their insights but for their audacity, their relentless drive to disrupt and innovate. Behind every groundbreaking idea is a myriad of questions — ethical dilemmas, societal implications, and philosophical musings — that deserve our attention.

It’s a paradox of our time: we crave innovation, yet shy away from the critical thinking that fuels it. The questions we should be asking — about purpose, impact, and the broader context — are overshadowed by the allure of the next big thing. As we scroll through curated feeds of achievement, we risk losing the essence of why those achievements matter. The quest for understanding has become a luxury, an afterthought in a culture that prizes the immediate and the sensational.

#3) It’s not mainstream yet

Computers were once not popular either. I think the same will happen with PKMSes. We’ve seen this with the rise of Notion; even those who were not into organizing their life have been drawn in by its popularity. I think Notion is great for company file management and SOPs, but, for personal thoughts, it’s a complete garbage use case… but that’s a separate article of its own.

Most people are of a bandwagon mentality. If others do it, they will too. As simple as that. It’s the same reason why meditating also has a stigma. Only a rare set of individuals have the discipline to focus their mind, so it’s not something you see often. Basketball and hanging out with your partner… now that you see everywhere.

There is no need to demonize people for this. We’re social creatures. This is simply how things are, and it’s more so how we’ve gotten here that we need to think about.

It’s a reflection of our collective psyche, a testament to the social dynamics that shape our preferences and behaviors. The allure of the bandwagon is powerful; it offers a sense of belonging, a shortcut to connection in a world that often feels fragmented. Engaging in popular activities creates an instant community, a shared language that bridges gaps. But this communal approach often sidelines the practices that nurture deeper understanding and personal growth, like meditation or philosophical inquiry.

But just you watch. As AI automates more and more low-thinking jobs (i.e. clerical data entry or the kind of coding that is not very challenging), people will have no choice but to become smarter and better.

If the AI can come up with solutions better than you, you have to be better than it. And how will people do this? They will start thinking more and developing more advanced skills. You can’t just be a data entryperson anymore. You have to become an analyst. You can’t just be a software engineer anymore. You have to be a software architect.

The return of deeper thinking

There will certainly be a huge amount of pain in the world in the years to come. So many people will get automated, but I personally don’t feel much pity. You can read the news; you know it’s coming. So if you bi*** and moan when you do get replaced, whose fault was it? Again, I may feel pity if they were already living so paycheck to paycheck feeding their kids while coping with mental depression, but for a lot of people, it’s going to be entirely avoidable pain.

But of course, to avoid this pain, you have to go through pain right now. To avoid heart burn later, go through the pain of cardio. To avoid the flu, go through the pain of a vaccine. I was going to use a covid example, but recently there have been doctors saying the vaccine was actually a pretty big scam (the rate of serious harm was 1 in 800. Think about it. About 1 person in a thousand was hospitalized for getting the vaccine. On the other hand, about 1 in 2500 people were hospitalized after getting covid.)

One such pain is going to be note taking. Make highlights. Sync them to Readwise. Use something like Obsidian or Constella.App. Come up with creative insights that AI could not have but do use AI to help you come up with them. Become a cyborg, someone who combines their humanity with technology to achieve even more.

In conclusion

The reluctance to adopt personal knowledge management systems reflects a deeper cultural tendency toward convenience over depth. Most people cling to default tools, preferring quick notes over meaningful organization. But as automation transforms our workplaces, this approach will no longer suffice.

The pain of avoiding note-taking now will lead to greater struggles later. As low-level tasks are automated, those who fail to adapt will be left behind. The ability to think critically and manage knowledge will become essential.

More people will have to confront this reality. Embracing tools like Obsidian or Readwise isn’t just a choice; it’s a necessity. We must shift from passive consumption to active engagement. Only by investing in our minds can we thrive in an age where deep thinking becomes our greatest asset.

The future belongs to those who can navigate complexity, connect ideas, and generate insights.

Let’s prepare ourselves for that challenge. The time to start is now.