# Tagging Is Broken ## Metadata - Author: [[Tiago Forte]] - Full Title: Tagging Is Broken - Category: #source/articles - URL: https://medium.com/praxis-blog/tagging-is-broken-11e46eb24979 ## Highlights - There is an axiom in the productivity world that goes something like this: > “Tags are inherently superior to folders” The reasons seem compelling at first glance: • Tagging allows the same files/notes/items to exist in more than one place at once, without duplication • It is faster to type (and autofill) tags than to click and drag something into a folder • Tags allow you to pull up unique, on-the-fly combinations (such as year + person, document type + topic, project + location, etc.) ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gnyc859dgmn6bta9e2y8zd7m)) - First, relying primarily on a tagging system to organize notes necessarily requires you to make multiple decisions about *each and every* note that enters the system. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gnyc8fc406w3xhv4d6mg870a)) - Your brain is great at *recognition*, pretty terrible at *recall*. It outperforms the fastest supercomputers on the former, and is outdone by a 1980's solar calculator on the latter ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gnycag0kgz0v5r7a0yjm01vk)) - One of the most important discoveries in cognitive science in recent years is that cognition is *embodied* and *situated*. This means that our primary mode of thinking is not manipulating abstract symbols (like a computer does), but rather using our body (thus embodiment) to directly interact with the environment (which is situated). In this way, we “offload” some of our cognitive processing onto our environment, which is after all capable of storing information much better than our brains are. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gnycg0d5qah88br1kxcg332z)) - This concept is called [stigmergy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stigmergy) (or stigmergic cognition) and represents one of our brains’ greatest innovations in saving energy. Yet tags completely disregard stigmergy and instead force us to think about our notes in a completely abstract way — as virtual holograms existing in multiple parallel and complex interconnecting universes, instead of as physical objects residing in a *single* physical location (even if that location is a notebook or other metaphor). The “limitation” of notes residing “only” in a single location is in fact a strength! ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gnycfmrt2gwmy8cjh5edqv59)) - They enable one of the most important aspects of any self-driven endeavor: what I call *creative self-esteem*. Ask yourself this: when you have an idea, any idea, what do you do with it? Do you obsessively write every single one down, but never look at them again? Or do you let it pass, thinking “Well it probably wasn’t that good of an idea anyway”? Both these extremes represent people with low creative self-esteem — they don’t put much stock in their own ideas. The real potential of a digital organizational system is to be a tool for capturing and systematically reminding you of past ideas, inspirations, insights, and connections. The heart of creativity and innovation is making spontaneous connections between seemingly unrelated things, and products like Evernote can, when used correctly, serve as a cognitive exoskeleton, both protecting us from the ravages of forgetfulness and amplifying our blows as we take on creative challenges ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gnycrb876w9rzndt1dk39bx9))