WARNING: this is not a software project. These are my notes from Jiu Jitsu classes. I am writing them with semi-pseudo Elixir code.
Why, you ask?
I initially kept notes in a physical notebook. This did not aid long-term retention. I could not determine an appropriate way of cataloging items as I learn and re-learn them over weeks, months, year. For example, let's say I learn move A on January 1st. I then have another class on move A on February 1st. Do I update the notes from Jan 1? That's troublesome as room will become limited. Do I consult both Jan 1 and Feb 1 when wanting to refresh my memory? Do I have to make an index of moves, dates, ...as you can see, it becomes cumbersome. I love hand-written notes for scratch pad thinking, but I haven't found them appropriate for the long-term formation & crystallization of concepts.
I then tried Markdown notes in my note app of choice, but did not see any improvement to my retention of moves and concepts. While this solved the problem of random access and limited space, simply typing a bullet list of "do this, then this" didn't actually serve to drill them into my mind.
Thus:
- Physical writing aids my ability to remember. It does not allow for easy organization.
- Markdown notes aid my ability to organize. It does not facilitate retention.
So how can I combine the ability to organize my thoughts with a process that, in doing the very thing, helps me remember them?
Code! I write code every day. I write more code than notes. My brain is good about thinking and organizing in code. However, when writing code one does not simply write a procedural list of actions. One must write Good Code. This requires thought. Thus in writing these notes, I must take pains to use standard software concepts like DRY, loose coupling, etc so that the code can be read and understood.
Understanding. There it is. There's the reason.
Good software aids the mind in understanding a domain. I want to understand Jiu Jitsu. Therefore, I'm going to use the tool that forces one, if one is intentional, to model and understand a domain.
Why Elixir? Because it's great. It's high level enough to allow me to write pseudo-code that is more than just comments, while also running checks on things (does a function exist?).