How the Index Card Cataloged the World (2017)(www.theatlantic.com)
54 pointsby Tomte3 days ago6 comments
  • runjake3 days ago
    I still carry a "Hipster PDA"[1] around, binder clip and all. Said binder clip came out of a box from the 1970s.

    It's immensely useful in a pinch, it's free form, and I can place it flat on a surface and write on it.

    And, if I write sensitive information on a card, unlike a regular pocket notebook, I can store it or take a secure photo of it and physically pitch that index card.

    Thanks, Merlin Mann[2].

    1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hipster_PDA

    2. https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=merlinmann

    • nsriv3 days ago
      I have only just relented to buying B6+ softcover notebooks for the slightly more room and longer form writing, but the hPDA served me very well for 15 years. Shuffling cards to bring them to the fore has become such an ingrained productivity trigger for task switching over the years.
    • kovek3 days ago
      I find that when carrying the Hipster PDA in a pocket, the index cards curl up and get bent. However, it almost satisfies all my requirements for a portable note-taking device.
      • runjake2 days ago
        I just bend them the opposite way and they flatten out. For storage, I scan and OCR them, and then use a cheap index card box like this: https://a.co/d/hFOdEat
      • remram2 days ago
        You need a rigid box. You can probably find something plastic or a metal box (like for mints), the trick is finding the right size (and/or cut your cards like me).
    • payphonefiend3 days ago
      as an index card enthusiast, I think this is the next step for me.
  • anymouse1234562 days ago
    These are some of the most useful tools ever made. I've been using index cards to help think and communicate and organize and remember for decades now.

    I carry 2-3 3x5 cards folded in half, in my back pocket every single day. They form a small pouch to put small paper receipts into. Jot down shopping lists, notes or reminders. Of course, there's an ever present pen for this task.

    I also carry a new package of cards (or two) in my bag. Just in case some idea or conversation or thinking or project comes up wherever I happen to be.

    I don't understand how anyone can live without them.

    I make a habit of spreading cards out over tables and surfaces when talking through a new or poorly understood subject. It helps clarify and organize and share and talk and think more than any other tool I've ever seen.

    There is no digital facsimile that works anywhere nearly as well for people.

    If you want to see what index-card-maxxing looks like, I present to you, the Hagoromo of Index Cards:

       https://www.amazon.co.jp/-/en/Collected-C-531-Info-Cards-Plain/dp/B07GZMRNLS
    No idea how to find them in the US, but I bought about 30 packs on my last trip to Japan and I've been sparingly using them for special projects.
    • kccqzy2 days ago
      > I don't understand how anyone can live without them.

      I configured my iPhone's action button to take notes. That means before I even take it out of the pocket or seeing anything on the screen that might be distracting, I can press and hold the button to allow me to type notes. I find typing faster than writing by hand and more efficient at capturing thoughts.

      Of course I cannot physically rearrange them like you can index cards.

      • anymouse1234562 days ago
        Yah - that's a pretty good tip!

        It's funny, I can feel a desire for a quick-draw-drawing competition!

        I keep (only) my small folded cards in my right back pocket and my push-button pen in the left front (I'm left-handed) and there's a single, smooth motion of pulling the card(s) and the pen, clicking the pen and jotting something down. You're probably faster, but I'm not then switching to whatever feeds drag me in...

        I've tried so many times and so many different tools. I've tried to make the tools too. There are dozens of tiny little quality of life things about small scraps of paper, but the biggest one is the re-arranging thing.

        It's just not as easy to do with a screen.

  • WillAdams3 days ago
    Has anyone else ever encountered 3x5 cards which are punched and numbered along their perimeter?

    Saw such a setup once where for each number was assigned a categorization different from the ordering, and for a given card, the matching hole would be opened up, then when searching a set of cards a rod would be inserted at the hole in question and lifted up and jostled, causing the matching cards to be revealed for inspection.

    Unfortunately, didn't think to ask if was a product, or a mechanism devised by the owner's parent....

    • zabzonk3 days ago
      Yep, I've used these a long time back when I was a microbiologist, for categorising bacteria. Using two rods meant you could do an AND search in one operation. Also, if you clipped the wrong hole, you could fix it with Sellotape. I can't remember what they were called though.

      Fun to be reminded of them!

    • EvanAnderson3 days ago
      Advent of Computing did an episode about edge-notched cards (and the host has an interest in them that goes beyond just this episode): https://adventofcomputing.com/?guid=4f6df5dd432d489db6d2a211...

      Douglas Englebart apparently used them and had devised his own filing system. (I don't recall if that's discussed in this or another episode.)

  • dtagames3 days ago
    TIL that Carl Linneaus invented the 3x5 card. Good stuff.
    • cjohnson3183 days ago
      TIL playing cards were printed with a blank reverse side that people used for scrap paper, lottery tickets, business cards, birth/death announcements, etc.