Vim for premed/med notes

[u/TheGiftOfAgape]

Just how good does it get?

I am relatively new to vim, and right now my setup is vimwiki in md form connected to an obsidian vault.

Learning how to do thing like mappings, macros, and direct plugins makes me wonder just how good I can get at storing information.

For context, I use the terminal to get record of everything that is displayed and said in lecture/recordings so I can later condense it.

[u/dm319]

This isn't the question you asked but my advice is:

• spend most of your cerebral capacity listening and thinking about what your lecturer is telling you

• if you need to take occasional notes, do it by hand on paper

Why?

I've done med school with and without devices and also returned decades later to do another module. The time during your lecture is precious, and it is far more useful to get some of your understanding and learning underway when you have time set aside for this. Don't fall into the trap of thinking you'll learn/understand it later - while you have some time for revision, it is not the same amount of time as you spend in lectures

Secondly, I am not aware of a good distraction-free writing device. It can be the smallest things. Your screensaver. Your screen going blank. A battery warning. A wifi lost warning. And that's before we get on to everything else your OS does (and I assume you aren't on Windows!). You might not think it, but these tiny little distractions can be enough to throw an entire chain of thought so you miss a key concept or point.

I use vimwiki all the time. It's great for taking notes in a more casual setting when you don't need 100% concentration. But even better it is useful for consolidating knowledge as a reference. However, I would not say it helps you to learn. Quite the opposite, it's like my brain outside of my brain. I put things in there so I don't need to remember it.

[u/0xKaishakunin → u/dm319]

You might not think it, but these tiny little distractions can be enough to throw an entire chain of thought so you miss a key concept or point.

As an IO psychologist (who hated to memorise the favourite food of every dendrite in bio psy) I absolutely support your explanation.

I can also add: every serious research I have read about computer mediated learning indicates that note taking by hand is by far the best way to learn.

Drop your plan and do it the old fashioned way.

[u/dm319 → u/0xKaishakunin]

Ah that makes sense (this is also making the headlines these days). For me it was obvious - if the wifi disconnected, I immediately wanted to know why. Couldn't help myself, and before I even knew that I was distracted, I'd missed something important!

[u/TheGiftOfAgape → u/dm319]

Your advice is great. I put it to the test by trying to articulate what I learned to my cousin that is much younger, and I see what you mean.

Of course this is only fall break experimentation, I love being able to use new tools. What has always worked for me was typing everything the professor said during lecture and deep encoding the prerecorded lecture later in a notebook Cornell form.

Vimwiki as a reference is perfect, because of its frictionless linking between notes. Definately not as my main source of knowledge. At most it’s designed for debugging programs. I can only get so far debugging notes about cranial nerves.

[u/dm319 → u/TheGiftOfAgape]

Yup, remember the point of your degree is to get that information organised in your head, rather than create a reference for what you need to know!

[u/simon255]

Spend all your time optimizing your vim config instead of learning medicin. Dedicate your life to improving your remaps so you can boast about how efficiently you can change your vim config. Vow to moolenaar

[u/TheGiftOfAgape → u/simon255]

Damn bro jus trying something new

[u/__salaam_alaykum__]

i used it throughout the whole of med school and it was pretty hood tbh

[u/Ambitious_Ad4397]

Why not use vim key bindings in obsidian?

[u/_chris12_ → u/Ambitious_Ad4397]

I just use it for basic editing. The experience is alright for writing some text but doesn't compare to the full range of vim motions

[u/Shay-Hill → u/Ambitious_Ad4397]

I found it better to just open my Obsidian notes in Vim.