A concept that has taken me more time to grasp than it probably should. Like everything else in this journey, there is more than one way to skin this cat. Some folks use an MOC like an Index, where there are headers maybe, and a list of wikilinked note titles to work through and become more granular as you click down. Aka, a folder system, more or less. However, an important distinction here is one is a structural system (folders) and one is conceptual (MOC)
## Psychology MOC Example
### Core Cognitive Biases
- [[Confirmation Bias]]: How we seek out agreeable info. Crucial for understanding [[Political Polarization]].
- [[Availability Heuristic]]: Overestimating vivid examples. See [[My struggles with project estimation]].
The example above is overly broad, but it works well enough to show what may be a subtle difference between a simple index and a more descriptive MOC. Before I started grasping the concept a little better, the aforementioned example would have simple been a psychology MOC and then I would have headers that separated the list into maybe different areas of psych (cognitive, abnormal, social, etc) and then had a list of notes linked with no other context. This MOC allows for notes on why things are included and whatever else you need it to be, which is supposed to be one of the selling points of this system.
This system can grow organically in a way folders cannot. I might write a series of notes and not see any connection at first, then one day that changes and I notice a theme that then leads me to combining them into an MOC
This system also allows a note to exist in two places at once in a way a folder cannot. A note on "decision Making" can exist in an MOC like Psychology and Project Management and Personal Development.
Think of your individual notes and direct wikilinks as the local roads connecting specific houses (ideas). An MOC is the highway map showing you the major routes and how different neighborhoods (topics) connect. You need both for effective navigation
A Starting Point to Consider to Get the Ball Rolling
- Pick a topic that I know well and think about often
- Create a new note that is titled "Topic MOC"
- Don't just list links, but write a sentence or two defining what the topic means and my understanding of it. See example:
## Biases Affecting Decisions
- [[Anchoring Bias]]: How first impressions stick.
- [[Loss Aversion]]: Why we fear losing more than we value gaining.
## Biases Affecting Belief
- [[Confirmation Bias]]: Seeking out agreement.
- [[Dunning-Kruger Effect]]: The unskilled overestimate.
- Add a related concepts section and link it to other MOCs or key notes related to the topic. See below:
## Related Concepts
- [[Mental Models MOC]]
- [[Decision Making]]