Obsidian as a thinking environment

• Eleanor Konik writes against Obsidian’s marketing slogan of “a second brain, for you, forever.” She prefers the terminology of “integrated thinking environment” (from “integrated development environments” like Visual Studio Code).

• A sub-argument is that a computer is much closer to a second brain than a single app/program, but even then it doesn’t measure up to the brain because apps and computers don’t do the thinking for you.

  • The “really important stuff brains do” includes breathing, regulating, interpreting and feeling. ”Calling a notetaking app a "second brain" abstracts away all the essential parts of being human that don't count as "objective" "thought." ”
  • “our brains do more than record, reshuffle and regurgitate information.” They are not storage devices or neural networks. None of our thinking, interpreting and intuitive filtering can be done by a tool.

• She’s not wrong, but in terms of using Obsidian as a second brain, I think of it more as an auxiliary or backup brain for the things I’m currently prevented from doing with my ADHD. The “integrated thinking environment” language fits the bill, true, but the “second brain” expression feels so much more personal.

Further reading:

• Eleanor Konik: Obsidian is my Thinking Environment not my Second Brain
• Obsidian, Roam, and the rise of Integrated Thinking Environments—what they are, what they do, and what’s next