The flat hierarchy of the zettelkasten (Zettelkasten method of note taking) creates a more flexible, but more powerful higher order of organization that allows for surprises in querying the zettelkasten.

It is important to not limit the growth of the zettelkasten with a top-down assumptive category structure. By doing so, you lock notes out of being able to be connected in the way that our brains store information - through ad-hoc connections (Learning is meaningful connections).

By saving the notes in a flat hierarchy - no folders or imposed categories - each note can stand on its two feet and prove its long-term value (Single idea zettels boost brain connections) (which can be determined by its centrality of connection in the future). Easy reference to any note can be made through creating a unique ID to each note.

Luhmann said that giving independence (Safety Dance swimming story) to the slip-box allowed the system to grow on its own, eventually maturing to the point where it could communicate as an equal partner.

Limiting the focus of the zettelkasten would have limited its input, and therefore the quality of its output in the same way that a limited person is not as interesting or useful of a thinking partner.

• Source: luhmann.surge.sh

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