Last month, I published my first post on Medium, an anniversary piece: Do Deeper Work Thanks to The Manifesto for Ubiquitous Linking.
Being able to rapidly access information is a hallmark of expertise enabled by various brain mechanisms underlying human consciousness. For example, chess experts can rapidly (as in within seconds) encode the exact configurations of many chess boards, and retrieve them equally fast. Many cognitive psychologists believe this ability is mediated by what K. Anders Ericsson called “long-term working memory.” The Manifesto for Ubiquitous Linking’s rationale section summarizes some of the cognitive psychology behind rapid info access.
As such, Hookmark is a CogSci Apps invention designed to extend and protect your consciousness. It extends it by enabling you to rapidly access information. It protects your consciousness by making you less dependent on search and navigation: two huge sources of distraction. (When users look at their browser, email, or Finder, they often get distracted. That, too has a cognitive science explanation.)
My Medium.com post describes:
- a huge ‘hidden’ source of distraction;
- how Hyperlinks come to the rescue;
- what software is link-friendly;
- a call to action for developers; and
- how signing this manifesto can improve your productivity.
Twenty-four developers, professors, and other thought leaders originated this manifesto. 180 people have signed it so far!
If you agree that software should enable you to copy links to your data, please help make software better by signing the manifesto too!