WEBVTTcaptioned by jai
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Can you recognize this building?
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Some of you may have recognized this.
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This building is called
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the John Hancock building.
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This is in Chicago.
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I recently bought this building.
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Isn't it nice?
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Heavens no!
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I am in my home in Pune in India.
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I am Bala Ramadurai,
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an author, professor, and an innovation coach.
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Hello and welcome to my talk on
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“How to incorporate handwritten notes
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into Emacs Org Mode”
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Now, why did I show you this building?
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The name is of interest for this talk.
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In the US, someone's signature is
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also referred to as their Hancock.
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Your handwriting is pretty much part of your identity.
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It is as fundamental as that.
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Of course, there is a movie by that name too, Hancock.
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I could have started with a clip from that movie,
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but in spite of Will Smith and Charlize Theron,
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both my favorite movie stars in the movie, I hated it.
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[Clip from Hancock (2008)]
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But I digress.
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Handwriting has been a fascinating topic for me.
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However, note-taking has always been on my computer,
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in particular, in the Emacs Org Mode system.
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It is so easy to note down anything,
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add a schedule, add a deadline,
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search anything you want, link anything you want,
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export it to any format, track what you've been doing,
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clock your tasks, and on and on and on.
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It's such a squeaky-clean system to
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track everything and link it to
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anything from the digital world.
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Sharing the original notes is still a pain in the rear,
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but for personal stuff, it's awesome.
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But then what about handwriting?
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Research seems to suggest that handwritten notes
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can enhance clarity of thought, retention,
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sometimes even getting rid of your worries.
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[Fried, C. B. (2008). In-class laptop use and
its effects on student learning]
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[Speaker displays articles on Note-taking]
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My experience seems to agree with that too.
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As a professor, my fear has always been
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this quote, “Lecturing is that mysterious process
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by means of which the contents of the notebook
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of the professor are transferred
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through the instrument of the fountain pen
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to the notebook of the student
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without passing through the mind of either.”
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Hmmm... So, question — How do we combine
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the efficient Org Mode system
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with the effective handwritten note-taking system?
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Merge the systems together. Absolutely.
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How do you do that?
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Step 1: Write the notes by hand
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on a notebook. Pen, pencil.
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Keep some convention for yourselves
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for tracking tasks like a star or an asterisk.
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Step 2: Scan them using
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your favourite mobile app.
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I recommend Adobe Scan or Dropbox.
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Step 3: store the document as a JPG file
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into a folder called Inbox.
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Make sure this syncs into a cloud storage folder
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and your Org Mode system
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has access to this folder.
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(Optional) Step 4: convert the notes into text
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using Google Keep or just type
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the damn thing one more time.
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Then you can process that
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in your Org Mode system
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as you always do in whatever
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is there in your inbox.
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But, three steps or four before I get access
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to my notes and into my Org Mode?
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What a precious waste of time.
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I'd rather be tinkering with my
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config file in that time, correct?
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Boy...
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Get or buy or gift or convince your partner,
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parent, or anybody else to gift yourself
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a touch-enabled large device.
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Then use an app like OneNote to write notes
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on the device and link the handwritten note
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directly into Org Mode by copying the link.
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You can use a shortcut like Ctrl-1
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to mark the todos, but that means it remains
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only on OneNote ecosystem, the todos.
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You can use the same app to also convert
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the handwritten note into text
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just by the click of a button.
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As a bonus, you can even include screenshots
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from your online meetings.
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I like both my options.
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Option 1: use a regular notebook,
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scan and process them into my inbox.
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Option 2: write the notes in a digital device
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and convert them into text.
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Or, third option, I appeal to thee,
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oh great community, can you please build a package
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inside Org Mode that recognises handwriting
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to export it into our Org Mode, Emacs Org Mode.
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Thank you so much for your attention. Bye.
