#writing a mini analysis in notes instead of doing university stuff right now

[merlinfromberlin]

Never have I ever seen a smile this fake.

[7ven-devils]

A really long overanlysis of minecraft servers.

This will be my only warning, this shit is really long.

I promised this to @ivi-prism 2 weeks ago (hi, i am Svetla) but university said no and then i feel my notes were incomplete so i have to do more research.

So let's talk about anarchism and capitalism. As a future political scientist, really bugs me how the fandom and some content creators (im looking at you techno) misinterpret both theories.

Yeah this will be a overanalysis about the political, social and economic system of two minecraft servers. Why? Cause i like analysis things like this and finally i can solved what is the system of hermitcraft and thats make me happy.

Things to consider:

First im not native english speaker and im lazy so im not often write or talk in english so my typos can make Doc really proud.

Second i don't watch Dsmp i only know things about the server by the animatics, the constant information wich pop up here on tumblr, the crossover fanfics and the tiny vods that youtube insist play when i have activate automatic reproduction.

Third i tried to simplified this much as i can because this analysis i maded talking with my friends (also political scientists) and a former professor, so it got quite technical while i was writing it.

And finally don't take this seriously, I'm not trying to insult anyone, I only started this because the hermitfandom started saying that hermitcraft was capitalist and then everyone started comparing the Dsmp with hermitcraft saying anarchism vs capitalism, that's why the dsmp entered into this analysis.

Guys, seriously chaos isn't anarchism and "sucefully economic" isn't capitalism, even paid with "money" (diamonds in this case) isnt necessary capitalism.

First, mini glossary:

I understand a server like a Society/State (country) with Mr Weber definition. In really vague words a State is anyone that has a territory and has legal control of violence (the laws, no the abuse of authority).

I understand the private property as the hermits bases and/or shops (i suppose only base in dsmp? Idk)

I understand the mass production as the farms and resources.

Capitalism is a economic, politic and social theory, wich it considers private property essential and tends to monopolize the resources 'cause this it also considered private property.

Anarchy means "without government" it has its origin in the Ancient Greece. And Anarchism theory is just a society free from any political authority, but respecting the liberties of the others.

A Failed State is which one lose control of the legal violence, and can't provide the peace, essential human rights and the basics for a normal lifestyle to its people.

I think thats all the bored shit (i hope so). Now the interesting shit.

Why hermitcraft isnt capitalist?

Short answer, their idea of private property is not the same as capitalism has.

Long answer, even if they have their own stuff, they had a really strong sense of community and dont really care if someone take things from them.

We can see this in the beginning of season when Iskall take some mini blocks from Etho and he didn't really care (yeah, iskall "paid" him, but later i will explain this) or the multiple times Grian "borrow" things from Iskall and Mumbo in season 6 or Scar in season 7, the team ZIT constantly take things from each other and i can go on and on with examples, but the point here is this couldn't happen if they had a capitalist society because this would break the "private" part of private property and mass production.

Basically their friendship made so strong their sense of community that they are basically inmune to capitalism, Uncle Marx would be proud of them (not really, but would be funny). So they are communist? Nope, communist don't believe in private property and the hermits does.

But you just said-? I said they dont has the SAME idea of private property as capitalism does. They still have their bases, farms and shops, but for them their private property isnt sacred like in a capitalism system would be.

They're respect each other things because they appreciated the effort and values the time the person puts on their buildings and not only because doesn't belongs to them (and obviously cause theyre frends, but shush, this is a overanalysis, the obvious things doesn't have place here) i mean even for the shenanigans they are really polite and try to cause the least damage possible not because is not of them but because they valued the person.

Basically the famous honor code of hermitcraft.

What about the economic system and the shopping district?

Lets talk about the elephant in the room.

If Hermitcraft isnt a capitalist system, why they have a economic system based in diamonds?

Well, despite the exchange based in money for resources or services is a principal characteristic of capitalism, it isnt exclusive of that theory.

The money is a social consensus, cause barter has becomes obsolete and gold isnt cheap or infinite to use as payment. And basically, this is why we use money on this days (if you want to know the history of money ask to your trusted historian or Wikipedia).

What does this remind us? Yep, diamonds and iou's are a consensus too. When the 1.16 came out some hermits tried to change to netherite as payment and didn't suit, so they ignored it and continued with their current payment system.

And as much as Mr Smith likes to say that this is how the free market (and his stupid invisible hand) works, capitalism needs the monopoly of resources and people who works to pay for those resources.

But in Hermitcraft nobody really controlled the resources, anyone can go and collect their materials or made a farm. They just decided don't do it and go and buy it, because they save the time to go and collect for themselves, in other words they paid for the time.

Various hermits say they saved so much time go and buy the materials instead to collect themself or trade with the villagers (cause theyre the worst and all of us know it) thats why the barge and lookie lookie at my bookie are so profitable.

The shopping district it wasn't a thing before season 4, i dont really sure how it worked before, because i started watch in season six and sadly i have a boring adult life to saw the old seasons, but i assume it works in the same way that the trades the hermits does between them to accord a discount or a collab, and speak directly with the interested hermit or directly take it and pays what's considered it was fair, like iskall did with etho.

Like i said all what's happen in hermitcraft is a consensus, even the shopping district.

So yeah, that isnt a thing that would happen in a capitalism system, probably you would be dead, because "how are you dare to entered to my property", or in the jail, "because thats not yours".

So, what is hermitcraft?

For the surprise from much of you, Hermitcraft has an anarchist system.

What?! But their server is so peaceful, they don't steal from each other, they doesn't griefing, hows that possible?!

Well, the anarchism isn't really a violent political theory, at least in its beginning, actually anarchism is one of the most peaceful theories i studied, thats why i dont really thing it will worked in our society, but work in a server of 24 friends. Its too idealist.

I don't really study all of the thoughts corrents of anarchism because they are a lot. But the one we are interested is one of original thought corrent, The Mutualism, this in contrast with their cousin Communism doesn't believes the private property was something bad and considered like one of the rights from the individual, but different as capitalism because like i said before it wasn't sacred and communal things will exist to help others to start or recover.

Proudhon, one of it intellectuals, considered not paid for the work of the other it was a form to violate their liberties and feel horrofied with Marx when he said we have to abolish the private property.

The mutualists believes that each person should possess a means of production, either individually or collectively, and the products obtained would be trade in the market for the amount equivalent of their work.

This sound familiar, isnt it? Hermitcraft works in this way.

The thing with anarchism is they don't believes in a government over the people. And the hermits doesn't have one, yeah there's Scar being the mayor, but he isnt have a power over the rest and only is in charge of the "cowmercial district" even aquatown isn't part of his jurisdiction, his function is more of organization, like when we put a friend in charge to organizing part of a roadtrip.

It's the same with Xisuma figure, we all put him in a position of the admin of hermitcraft, but the truth is he isnt the only one with admin commands (but apparently some or all of them losed their admin status, at least in one of the last tango's streams, he hasnt it anymore) and various hermits said that he is more like an ambassador of them in the legal things of the server.

The hermits take all of they decisions in group and in the majority of things all of them needs to be agreed with the decision or they simple doesn't do it. And this is a characteristic of the mutualism because for them anyone are over the other.

And if you aren't already bored at this point and you put attention to what i wrote of the concept of private property in the mutualism, you would see it is practically the way hermitcraft works. They make their bases and farms, recolect resources and sell what they don't will use, buy mostly to save time and paid for the price what they considered fair. Yeah i know sometimes they do some farm specifically for one shop, but this is more "yeah, this is my thing" (Tango and Iron; Ren and wood) or a division of activities "if you do that, i do this".

The perfect utopia.

What about the Dsmp?

If you do it to here, congratulations.

So what about the Dsmp, i entered here because i want to read of them and the only thing i read was about hermitcraft.

Well, the Dsmp only entered in the equation because much of you said they were an anarchist server, but i see it more like a "failed state" and when i was talked with an exprofessor he agreed with me.

I know the term of failed state is controversial and is almost obsolete, but is the best way to describe the server and stop said it is anarchist.

So why failed state and not an anarchist state? Because they have a government (or apparently multiples) a failed one, but is there, if it were an anarchist server wouldn't have one.

Usually the failed states are known for being violent and volatile places in which ones their governments can't provides the basics to their people to live, normally are places with ethnics conflicts, civil wars, authoritarian governments or states in wars. The most common examples are Haití, Somalia or Syria.

And i am sure you can see the similarities with the Dsmp, so yeah, theyre chaotic but not anarchist.

The wars ruined the stability from the server, have a multiple sides and a megalomaniac for admin, but the goverment still there and they are fighting for the power wich wouldn't happen if the server were anarchist because anarchism don't believe the power should be possess for someone.

The server simply is failed state wich struggles under a violent fight for power.

--------------------------------------------------

If you read this far, you're a hero and had my gratitude for read my useless thoughts. Maybe some day i do it other overanalysis of this servers. I hope you enjoyed and dont confused so much.

Thanks for read.

And if there are some angry economist with me for "misrepresent" the capitalist i am completely open to a debate, my only condition is it would be in chilean spanish ;)

[flufffysocks]

let's talk about andi mack's worldbuilding

sorry this took forever to make! i've been pretty busy with school stuff and i kind of lost my inspiration for a bit, but i ultimately really enjoyed writing it! i wish i could've included more pics (tumblr has a max of 10 per post), and it kinda turned from less of a mini analysis to more of an extremely long rant... but i hope it's still a fun read!

i've been rewatching the show over the past few weeks (thanks again to @disneymack for the link!), and i’ve been noticing a lot that i never did the first time around. this is really the first time i’ve watched the show from start to finish since it aired, and it honestly feels so different this time - probably a combination of the fact that i’m not as focused on plot and can appreciate the show as a whole, and also that the fandom is much, much smaller now, so there’s a lot less noise. so the way i’m consuming this show feels super different than it did the first time, but the show itself doesn’t - it’s just as warm and comforting to me as it was the first time around, if not more so.

i think a lot of that can be attributed to andi mack’s “worldbuilding”. i’m not quite sure that this is the right word in this context, to be honest, because i mostly see it used in reference to fantasy and sci-fi universes, but it just sort of feels right to me for andi mack, because you can really tell how much love and care went into constructing this universe. for clarity, worldbuilding is “the process of creating an imaginary world” in its simplest sense. there’s two main types: hard worldbuilding, which involves inventing entire universes, languages, people, cultures, places, foods, etc. from scratch (think “lord of the rings” or “dune”), and soft worldbuilding, in which the creators don’t explicitly state or explain much about the fictional universe, but rather let it’s nature reveal itself as the story progresses (think studio ghibli films). andi mack to me falls in the soft worldbuilding category. even though it takes place in a realistic fiction universe, there’s a lot of aspects to it that are inexplicably novel in really subtle ways.

so watching the show now, i’ve noticed that the worldbuilding comes primarily from two things - setting and props, and oftentimes the both of them in tandem (because a big part of setting in filmmaking does depend on the props placed in it!).

one of the most obvious examples is the spoon. it really is a sort of quintessential, tropic setting in that it's the main gang's "spot", which automatically gives it a warm and homey feel to it. and its set design only amplifies this:

the choice to make it a very traditional 50s-style diner creates a very nostalgic, retro feel to it, which is something that's really consistent throughout the show, as you'll see. from the round stools at the bar, to the booths, to the staff uniforms, this is very obvious. the thing that i found especially interesting about it though is the choice of color. the typical 50s diner is outfitted with metallic surfaces and red accented furnishings, but the spoon is very distinctly not this.

instead, it's dressed in vibrant teal and orange, giving it a very fresh and modern take on a classic look. so it still maintains that feeling of being funky and retro, but that doesn't retract from the fact that the show is set distinctly in modern times.

of course, this could just be a one-off quirky set piece, but this idea of modernizing and novelizing "retro" things is a really common motif throughout the show. take red rooster records. i mean, it's a record shop - need i say more? it's obviously a very prominent store in shadyside, at least for the main characters, but there's no apparent reason why it is (until season 2 when bowie starts working there, and jonah starts performing there). a lot of the time, though, it functions solely as a record shop. vinyl obviously isn't the most practical or convenient way of listening to music, but it's had its resurgence in pop culture even in the real world, mostly due to its aesthetic value, so it's safe to say that it serves the same purpose in the andi mack universe.

the fringe seems to be nostalgic of a different era, specifically the Y2K/early 2000s period (because it's meant to be bex's territory and symbolic of who she used to be, and its later transformation into cloud 10 is representative of her character arc, but that's beside the point). to be honest, exactly what this store was supposed to be always confused me. it was kind of a combination party store/clothing store/makeup store/beauty parlor? i think that's sort of the point of it though, it's supposed to feel very grunge-y and chaotic (within the confines of a relatively mellow-toned show, of course), and it's supposed to act as a sort of treasure chest of little curios that both make the place interesting and allow the characters to interact with it.

and, of course, there's andi shack. this is really the cherry on top of all of andi mack's sets, just because it's so distinctly andi. it serves such amazing narrative purpose for her (ex. the storyline where cece and ham were going to move - i really loved this because it highlights its place in the andi mack universe so well, and i'm a sucker for the paper cranes shot + i'm still salty that sadie's cranes didn't make it into the finale) and it's the perfect reflection of andi's character development because of how dynamic it is (the crafts and art supplies can get moved around or switched out, and there's always new creations visible).

going back to the nostalgia motif though, the "shack" aspect of it always struck me as very treehouse-like. personally, whenever i think of treehouses, there's this very golden sheen of childhood about it, if that makes sense. i've always seen treehouses in media as a sort of shelter for characters' youthful innocence and idealistic memories. for example, the episode "up a tree" from good luck charlie, the episode "treehouse" from modern family, and "to all the boys 2" all use a treehouse setting as a device to explore the character's desire to hold onto their perfect image of their childhood (side note: this exact theme is actually explored in andi mack in the episode "perfect day 2.0"!). andi shack is no exception to this, but it harnesses this childhood idealism in the same way that it captures the nostalgia of the 50s in the spoon, or the early 2000s in the fringe. it's not some image of a distant past being reflected through that setting; it's very present, and very alive, because it reflects andi as she is in the given moment.

some honorable mentions of more one-off settings include the ferris wheel (from "the snorpion"), the alley art gallery (from "a walker to remember"), SAVA, the color factory (from "it's a dilemna"), and my personal favorite, the cake shop (from "that syncing feeling").

[every time i watch this episode i want to eat those cakes so bad]

these settings have less of a distinctly nostalgic feel (especially the color factory, which is a very late 2010s, instagram era setting), but they all definitely have an aura of perfection about them. andi mack is all about bright, colorful visuals, and these settings really play to that, making the andi mack universe seem really fun and inviting, and frankly very instagrammable (literally so, when it comes to the color factory!).

props, on the other hand, are probably a much less obvious tool of worldbuilding. they definitely take up less space in the frame and are generally not as noticeable (i'm sure i'll have missed a bunch that will be great examples, but i'm kind of coming up with all of this off the top of my head), but they really tie everything together.

for example, bex's box, bex's polaroid, and the old tv at the mack apartment (the tv is usually only visible in the periphery of some shots, so you might not catch it at first glance) all complement that very retro aesthetic established through the settings (especially the polaroid and the tv, because there's really no good reason that the characters would otherwise be using these).

besides this, andi's artistic nature provides the perfect excuse for plenty of colorful, crafty props to amplify the visuals and the tone. obviously, as i discussed before, andi shack is the best example of this because it's filled with interesting props. but you also see bits of andi's (and other people's) crafts popping up throughout the show (ex. the tape on the fridge in the mack apartment, andi's and libby's headbands in "the new girls", walker's shoes, andi's phone case, and of course, the bracelet). not only does doing this really solidify this talent as an essential tenet of andi's character, but it also just makes the entirety of shadyside feel like an extension of andi shack. the whole town is a canvas for her crafts (or art, depending on how you want to look at it. i say it's both), and it immensely adds to shadyside's idealism. because who wouldn't want to live in a world made of andi mack's creations?

and, while it's not exactly a prop, the characters' wardrobe is undoubtedly a major influence on the show's worldbuilding. true to it's nature as a disney channel show, all of the characters are always dressed in exceptionally curated outfits of whatever the current trends are, making the show that much more visually appealing. i won't elaborate too much on this, because i could honestly write a whole other analysis on andi mack's fashion (my favorites are andi's and bex's outfits! and kudos to the costume designer(s) for creating such wonderful and in-character wardrobes!). but, i think it's a really really important aspect of how the show's universe is perceived, so it had to be touched upon.

[^ some of my favorite outfits from the show! i am so obsessed with andi's jacket in the finale, and i aspire to be at bex's level of being a leather jacket bisexual]

and lastly, phones. this is a bit of an interesting case (pun intended), because the way they're used fluctuates a bit throughout the show, but i definitely noticed that at least in the first season terri minsky tried to avoid using them altogether. these efforts at distancing from modern tech really grounds the show in it's idealist, nostalgia-heavy roots, so even when the characters start using their phones more later in the show, they don't alter the viewer's impression of the andi mack universe very much.

so, what does all of this have to do with worldbuilding? in andi mack's case, because it's set in a realistic universe and not a fantasy one, a lot of what sets it apart from the real world comes down to tone. because, as much as this world is based on our own, it really does feel separate from it, like an alternate reality that's just slightly more perfect than ours, which makes all the difference. it's the idealism in color and composition in andi mack's settings that makes it so unmistakably andi mack. even the weather is always sunny and perfect (which is incredibly ironic because the town is called shadyside - yes, i am very proud of that observation).

the andi mack universe resides somewhere in this perfect medium that makes it feel like a small town in the middle of nowhere (almost like hill valley in 1955 from "back to the future"), but at the same time like an enclave within a big city (because of its proximity to so many modern, unique, and honestly very classy looking establishments). it is, essentially, an unattainable dream land that tricks you into believing it is attainable because it's just real enough.

all this to say, andi mack does an amazing job of creating of polished, perfect world for its characters. this is pretty common among disney channel and nickelodeon shows, but because most other shows tend to be filmed in a studio with three-wall sets, andi mack is really set apart from them in that it automatically feels more real and tangible. it has its quintessential recurring locations, but it has far more of them (most disney/nick shows usually only have 3-4 recurring settings), and it has a lot more one-off locations. it's also a lot more considerate when it comes to its props, so rather than the show just looking garish and aggressively trendy, it has a distinctive style that's actually appropriate to the characters and the story. overall this creates the effect of expanding the universe, making shadyside feel like it really is a part of a wider world, rather than an artificial bubble. it's idealism is, first and foremost, grounded in reality, and that provides a basis for its brilliant, creative, and relatable storytelling.

tl;dr: andi mack's sets and props give it a very retro and nostalgic tone which makes its whole universe seem super perfect and i want to live there so bad!!

[bekicotwrites]

Hey guys! Over the years I’ve sort of have my own way of taking notes, but have finally ‘settled down’ during university. Some of my friends who took a look at my notes asked about how I write them and found some useful tips after I told them about my note taking technique. If it’s useful for my uni friends, then maybe it’s also gonna be useful for more people (I hope)! By no means this style would work for everyone, but you guys are welcome to copy my method if it works for you or develop your own style after seeing mine.

I’m going to break it down to some parts, which are:

1. Basics

2. Header

3. Symbols

4. Color Coding

5. Note taking (sort of an analysis of my notes)

6. Tips

Before we get into the explanations, here’s a mock page of what my usual notes looks like (plus a mini summary if you’re too lazy to read under the cut haha). You can refer to this as you read through the explanations below.

BASICS

1. SUPPLIES

Ah yes, supplies. Can’t take notes without pens, can we? The essentials for writing notes for me is a black, blue, and red pen, a pencil/mechanical pencil + eraser, and at least 3 colored highlighters.

Here are my go to supplies when taking notes, and basically this is what’s inside my pencil case as well. 

For the pens, the left to right order is:

Uni Jetstream Black 0.5

Uni Jetstream Blue 0.5

Muji Gel Ink Pen 0.38

Muji hexagon retractable gel ink pen 0.38

Uni Kurutoga Mechanical Pencil 0.5mm

Tombow Fudenosuke Soft Tip (Nayaka)

Mono Dust Catch eraser (any eraser will do actually)

For the highlighters, currently I’m using Daiso bright colors highlighters in red, green, blue, and yellow.

Grey is usually for my bujo like I rarely use it for notes... Another reason is because my current notebooks are Muji A5 notebooks, and I find that Daiso highlighters doesn’t bleed the paper like Mildliners or the pastel Stabilos.

2. LEFT COLUMN

The first thing I do whenever I have a new notebook/a new module is to always line the left side of the paper to make a column. There is no set width for this, it’s totally up to you. I usually use up around 5-6 of the little lines in Muji notebooks (or other Japanese notebooks??) for that left column.

The purpose for this section is for additional notes/vocabs that you need to add or you forgot to add when you’re making notes. By far, this is a very useful feature and I’ve been sticking with it ever since I found out about this method.

I was inspired by the collegeblocks notebook I used in Germany during my exchange year there since the small space seriously changed my life because it’s so useful lol. Then I started to buy Kokuyo pre-lined notebooks, but those are too expensive for me now because one notebook costs around $3. Loose leaf just doesn’t work for me to take to class (I only use loose leaf to make quiz flash cards or quick reviews at my dorm) because it’s not practical. Finally, the most economical decision for me was the Muji A5 notebooks pack and line them myself using a pencil.

3. SHORT, SIMPLE, POINTERS

Unless it is very necessary, do not, I repeat, do not write in paragraphs. Keep it short, simple, and in pointers. By summarizing a long passage to something you understand and/or with your own words, you also have a better understanding of the subject = another ticket to straight As.

For me, note taking isn’t the same as copying a textbook or writing what your lecturer is saying word per word. It is a tool to help you study, understand better, and to make a summary of your lecture or textbook. Your notes isn’t supposed to make you feel sleepy because you’re looking at a wall of text, but to help motivate you and understand main points better. So, I try hard to not write in long sentences or paragraphs. 3 sentences in a single point is my limit. If it’s really long, I try to break it up into pointers instead. Seeing pointers instead of long paragraphs also helps you to study because (in my opinion) it’s easier to read & review your stuff.

4. ORGANISING

I highly suggest you guys to write the date and lecturer’s name. It’s going to be handy if you want to track back your notes or to find specific topics. For me, giving dates to my notes makes it easier for me to pinpoint which subjects I learned before/after the mid-module exam (which is useful for me to make a study plan for the end of module exam.

Also, “I think that topic was covered by lecturer X, I’ll just search through their notes,” will come in handy because you could just search for notes from that certain lecturer and you don’t need to search throughout everything.

HEADER

Not going to go much into this because it’s a matter of preferences, but writing the title of your lecture is useful. I think this is pretty self-explanatory. A simple header would do the trick, written with any color you want. I write it pretty big so I can skim my notebook easier if I need to look for notes.

SYMBOLS

Now this is where it gets fun if you’re developing a note-taking system—making your own symbols and abbreviations!

It’s much easier to replace words with symbols/abbreviations because it’ll be faster to write down, which makes your note taking session more efficient. This is super useful if you have lecturers who talks really fast.

For example, writing and highlighting (highlights in bold):

• Root canal prep = achieve straight line access to apical foramen

• Use K-files in order (small --> large)

• Prep in wet environment --> irrigate + use EDTA

is in my opinion, much better than writing:

Root canal preparation is done to achieve a straight line access to the apical foramen. To prepare a root canal, use K-files in order of the smallest file to the largest file. Root canal preparation needs to be done in a wet environment. This could be achieved by irrigation and using EDTA.

You save time, save space, and it makes it easier for you to review afterwards too. Remember, keep it simple and try not to write long sentences/paragraphs.

COLOR CODING

For some people, highlighting or using different colored pens are a big no-no because it confuses them if they see too much colors. For me, color coding has saved my ass countless of times because sometimes I associate that color with stuff I need to remember for my exam. I think the important thing about color coding is how you apply that method, because you need to be smart about it. What do you think is the most important? What information is relevant? This is to prevent you highlighting all of the text in your notes, which defeats the purpose of this method.

As I said in my FAQ, I have my own highlighters colors hierarchy (??). Basically the higher the rank is, the more important that piece of information is. My highlighter ranking is red --> green --> yellow. Blue is used for vocabularies or terms.

As for the text, my main body is always in black. A kind of stupid but important (for me) reason is that black pen is the cheapest piece of stationery you could afford so you don’t need to worry about running out of ink/breaking it too much, and second is that I think it’s the most general and the most easy on the eye. Like you could (almost) never go wrong with a black pen. Additional details for me are written in blue (light blue for even more smaller details), and red is for the more important stuff.

NOTE TAKING

Now that I’ve told you about my system, here’s the part where I show you guys how all this works out in the end. I’ll give out a few examples.

Here’s my notes on endodontic materials; I took a picture of a section where I talk about endodontic sealers.

Here you can see that I highlighted the word ‘SEALER’ using orange (since I didn’t have red at that time) as it is my main topic. Then I highlighted the words ‘fill space - core - root canal walls’ and ‘use’ as they are the secondary important things inside of the main point. As for the yellow ones, it’s also derived from a main point (use of sealers), and I only highlighted the keywords instead of actual sentences, which are ‘filler, cementation, lubricant, anti-bacterial (agent)’. It’s to make it easier to read through notes and identify which stuff I need to memorize as well.

Also, you can see that the left column is also filled with more additional notes in blue and some important things in red. I’ve also used red to circle and underline some important things in the main note taking area (the right column).

Here’s a more hectic version of my notes, and this is also a good example on why the left column is very useful.

Same like the usual; use red for important stuff, blue for additional details, light blue for even more details (not as important as the ones that are written in black, though). 

These notes were taken during class, and during class the lecturer might add/correct/emphasize things suddenly which is super annoying for me, but hey I’m not the one giving the lectures. For example, after you finished writing something, the lecturer explains a certain topic, finishes, starts a new topic, but tells you something important about the previous topic because they forgot/just remembered/whatever reason it is. With the left column, you could just add stuff and even put arrows if the additional information is related to the main point.

They would also babble for a long time about a single topic but going at it in a roundabout way. By identifying the main points (by writing them in short & simple sentences in pointers. Remember point no.3 in the basics section!), that means even during the lecture you’ve understood what the main topic is and summarized it (without you realizing it maybe??), what is the most important information your lecturer is trying to convey, and usually, what will be in the exam.

Writing your notes using symbols and short points is also good. That way because you take notes faster, it’ll also allow you to be able to keep up more with the fast paced talking. Because believe me the lecturer at that time was talking like a shinkansen train, it was so fast and intense, you couldn’t even think if the sentence you’re writing is gramatically correct or what your next door seatmate was asking about the lecture.

For example, in the very bottom left I wrote some notes about needles like this:

Adult = 23G

Children = 26-30G

--> the bigger the gauge

--> the thinner the needle

=> LESS PAIN

I put emphasize using capital letters and circling the word ‘gauge’ too. In long paragraphs, the notes above sort of translates to:

Adults usually use a 23G needle, while children usually use 26-30G needle. The bigger the gauge, the thinner the needle will be, which means it would produce less pain for the patient.

The first one is much simpler, right? It also makes it easier to understand because you also have less words to memorize.

OTHER TIPS

1. My motto is to always focus on functionality first, then the aesthethics. This especially goes for notes written during lectures. Like for me, dentistry school won’t grade you by how pretty your notes look, but how well you perform in exams and how well you understand your shit to the point of being able to explain them to your patients in a non-scientific way. Note taking, I think, is a skill, so if you keep doing it over and over again it still counts as practice, and you’ll get better at it. Eventually you’ll learn how to take notes more efficiently and how to pretty it up in the end.

If you want to rewrite your notes to make them prettier when the lecture is finish, go for it! But if you waste time picking highlighter colors or trying to doodle mini succulents so your notes look cute (not doodle something related to the subject. by all means do draw. I’ll get to it in a bit), try to do that later instead of during the lecture.

2. Diagrams and drawings will help. Seeing arrows, tables, venn diagrams, drawings with explanation, graphs, all of those are useful to be put in your notes. If you’re a visual person like me, seeing those is much better than seeing a wall of text. It’ll help you as well when you’re doing a review or quick reading of your notes too.

3. This method also works when trying to summarize textbooks or other texts. Instead of copying word per word, try to still make it short-simple-in pointers.

4. Write your notes for yourself and not for other people. If you understand them, that’s totally fine. It’s a way to help you study, so cater it to your needs (like a bullet journal, maybe?). Some of my classmates likes to look at my notes because it’s super simple and easy to understand for them, but some hates it so much because it’s too simple and they’re too used to reading long paragraphs of notes. Develop your own system. Use only 1 colored pen if you want (a friend of mine only uses a pink pen to write her notes. She has an endless supply of pink Zebra Sarasa pens, it seems). Use your laptop if you don’t like to write. Be yourself and have fun!

I hope this has inspired you to write more notes and to inspire you to make your own system (which I totally encourage)! If you have other note taking tips, feel free to share. Have a nice day everyone ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ

[cianmars]

Snowing college au- In any universe (2/?)

Chapter One

Featuring real life literautre students notes. 

FF X AO3 X

David was almost regretting picking a morning literature class as he dragged himself out of bed. Across the room Thomas still slept, David hadn't heard him come into the room the night before so he assumed he must have gotten in quite late, though there was no stale smell of alcohol nor did he look like he might be regretting his actions when he woke up, so David didn't think he had gone partying. He would ask him later on, when both boys could string together words in a coherent way, what he had been up to. David grabbed a bottle of juice from his mini fridge and threw it into his backpack along with his book he would need for the class and his laptop. He quickly got changed in his usual outfit of jeans, a t-shirt, along with a blue plaid shirt. He grabbed his leather jacket and threw it on before leaving the dorm room bracing himself for the cold morning air which was ahead.

He stopped by the coffee shop he had been in the day before for a coffee, he knew he was running extremely early but he wanted to make sure that he didn't walk in late, that would only draw attention to him and make everyone realise he hadn't been in the class before – plus he needed something to wake him up and preferably keep him awake.

Granny was behind the counter as he walked into the place, it was pretty dead and for a moment David worried why it wasn't busy like most other places would be at that time in the morning, then he remembered where he was. No one voluntarily takes early morning classes in college, unless they were a morning person, or they were an idiot like him. "One medium mocha and an expresso please." He said with a smile after they had exchanged pleasantries. As she busied herself making the two coffees David looked around the coffee shop. His eyes fell on the table he had been sat the night before and couldn't help but wish it was occupied, he was sure she said she went there in the mornings and evenings. He shook himself, she was clearly a spoilt rich girl, a princess used to getting her own way, but there was something about her which just kept her on his mind. Something which made him want to see her again. Her cute short hair, the sass and clear intelligence, the way she smiled, and those green eyes which seemed to hypnotise him…

"She's not here."

David jumped when he heard Granny's voice, he turned his head back to face her she was biting her lip to stop her from laughing at having managed to make him jump. "…Oh, I'm not… I wasn't looking for her- for anyone!" He quickly corrected though he knew there was no way even a toddler would buy that one.

"Mmhm." She nodded back with a knowing smile. "She normally comes in later on and in the evenings."

David nodded slowly and tried to make his face look as though she had told him it was meant to rain in a different country, like it didn't affect him. He failed.

After he drank his expresso, sitting at the table in the hopes that it would conjure a short dark haired woman to his table and make her start shouting at him, he walked across the campus to the classroom. The coffee shop was perfectly situated half way between his dorm and the buildings his classes took place, which was how he found it the day before, that was one of the plus points of the place, the other pro seemed to be the raven haired woman who frequented it. He pushed open the door to the empty class room and took a seat on the second row at the front right next to the wall. He slowly drank his mocha, savouring every bit of the hot coffee to which he had already added more sugar to, he wondered briefly what his mother would say if she knew he had drunk so much coffee already – she probably had a saying or life lesson about too much coffee.

He heard the door of the room open and placed his coffee cup down, he leant down to reach under the desk and grab his laptop and book from his bag, to make himself look at least a little busy to whoever had just walked in.

Mary came to a stop as she saw the sandy haired man sat in the seat next to her usual one, or at least she hoped… no, she corrected herself, thought it was, she supposed it could be any blonde haired male who was at the college and wore plaid shirts, but she knew she was right the first time. He looked up at her and saw the recognition in his blue eyes. She tried to stop herself from smiling, instead she smirked, he looked even more surprised than he felt.

"You take this class?" His eyes looked as though they were about to pop out of his head.

She raised a single eyebrow. "You're really sticking to that Prince Charming act aren't you?"

"I didn't mean it like that." He quickly told her, clearly worried that he had insulted her. "It's just that you had your book for this class with you in Starbucks yesterday, I just assumed you had the class then, not that I'm not pleasantly surprised." He grinned at her with his eyes twinkling almost mischievously but his words were honest.

"I like to be ahead." She smiled and shrugged a little self-consciously. "I want to do well in this class, in college." She hadn't said it out loud before, but she hadn't thought it needed to be said, the same way her having black hair didn't need to be said, it just was, it was a fact.

David considered that for a moment and wasn't at all surprised. "Smart move. You strike me as the type of person who has pretty much everything under control, I'm sure you'll pass this class with flying colours."

Mary forced herself not to blush, but there was something about him which made that rather hard. She sat down in the seat beside his. "I always sit here." She felt the need to tell him as she pulled her own laptop and book out.

David smiled to himself as he saw all of the sticky page markers sticking out the side of her book, they seemed to be in some kind of colour order but David couldn't figure it out. "I'm glad to see I haven't taken your place this time." He smiled at her, every fibre of his being wanted to talk to her, to know her in any and every way… but it wasn't just up to him.

She smiled at him, she bit the corner of her lip to make sure it didn't turn into a full on beam, there was a playful glint in her eyes. "No, but you did take my bag's place, so as you would expect it is very upset with you." She kept looking at him, not wanting the conversation to end, no matter what her sensible side was telling her.

David laughed. "I'll make it up to it." He winked at her and Mary thought it was lucky she was already sitting as she felt her knees go weak.

"Good, 'because you know it's really upset about it." She told him, why was she still talking? And brilliant, now she apparently had a sentient bag, not crazy at all…. But for whatever reason he laughed… and not in a 'please don't stalk me and kill me in my sleep' kind of way.

The longer he looked at her the bigger David's smile got. She still a neatly ironed red dotted shirt beneath a tan suede blazer, a scarf was around her neck though it was an accessories kind not a winter kind, and she had a woollen beret atop her head. He didn't know much about fashion, but god, did she wear that outfit well. She probably looked just as good, if not better, without the outfit… He almost missed her question as he came back to his senses, other students started to file in, he wished he could stretch this moment out, just talking to her.

"Did you switch classes?"

It took him a second to realise what she was on about. "Oh no, I missed out on a few weeks of college, I was meant to be here day one."

Mary opened her mouth to say something else, but on her other side her friend Ella suddenly dropped into her usual seat, practically buzzing with excitement at wanting to tell her about her previous night of fun. Mary glanced from her friend to David, and was surprised that she felt disappointed that he had politely focused himself on his laptop to give Mary and Ella some privacy.

Mary spent the two hour seminar trying not to laugh at the notes she watched David write on his laptop. They were rather different to the detailed notes she wrote on hers, though she had to admit his were much more entertaining. The best of which was 'zoned out for 5 minutes idk what I missed – make something up'. He obviously noticed her reading them, though she supposed it was obvious considering she kept trying to stifle her laughter, so he started to mutter some of his literary analysis under his breath. She joined in. The blue in his shirt brought out the blue in his eyes, she noted while trying not to notice anything at all about him, his eyes reminded her of the ocean – a never ending cycle of blues sometimes looking almost grey while at other times they looked as light as a Caribbean sea. Mary was too old to believe in magic, at least in the same form as a child might believe in it, but those eyes came pretty close…

Once the class had finished Ella raced off to her next class, only pausing long enough to hug Mary behind, soon it was just Mary and David left in the room. They packed up their stuff at the same pace, and walked side by side out of the classroom, then out of the building.

"I have the notes from the classes you missed," Mary broke the silence, "if you want them."

David's smile came easily. "That would be awesome, thanks." The two continued to walk side by side as David searched for something to say to her.

"So, Charming-"

"-Charming?" David interrupted her with a raised eyebrow and a hint of amusement in his eyes which invaded him whenever he she said that name. "I thought it was Prince Charming?"

"Bit of a mouthful." She admitted. "…Unless you're insisting on the royal title."

The look on her face clearly read 'don't even think about it' and David laughed. "I'm good with Charming." Her smile let him know that was the right answer. "Although, I do have a name, you know." He added with a smirk.

"This one suits you better." Her mouth matched his.

"I'm glad you think I'm so charming." She had walked right into that one.

Mary rolled her eyes. "In your dreams."

"Oh, every night." He only kept his face straight enough to see her scowl at him before he broke the façade and burst into laughter. "Sorry," he said when he had regain his composure, "I couldn't resist."

She couldn't stop herself from laughing a little as a smile attached itself to her face. They walked for a little while in silence which was surprisingly not awkward at all. "Are you free now?" Mary asked him as they walked and she suddenly became aware that they were walking without any real destination. "I mean, like, do you have a class?"

David grinned down at her though her eyes were straightforward and couldn't see him. "No, I'm free…Why?"

"I…I just… the hot chocolate." She spluttered out a little embarrassed. She tried to remind herself that he was probably just a spoilt rich kid, but that was a lot harder to do when he was so kind, and he wasn't too horrible to look at she guessed. No. She wasn't at college to date people or whatever, she was there to pass her classes at the highest level she could, she had something to prove. But he had bought her a hot chocolate the day before, and a muffin, so she was just paying off a debt. "I owe you a drink, you bought me one yesterday, so I owe you."

David smiled at her though he felt his heart drop, though he wasn't quite sure why, this was more like a business transaction than anything else. He should be used to it, he was a Nolan after all, business was what they were best at. Though it seemed weird that this girl would feel the need to pay him back, it seemed to contrast with how he felt she should be, but then half of her personality seemed to be in contrast with that too. "It was just a drink and a muffin, you don't have to owe me anything," he assured her gently, "if you'd rather be doing something else I wouldn't hold it against you."

Mary tilted her head to the side, a Nolan turning down compensation for something? And one who was going to work in law enforcement? Plus she couldn't exactly imagine George Nolan CEO millionaire sitting through a literature class, or making people, her, laugh… or even him really smiling. Mary was beginning to doubt that he was even related to those Nolans at all.

She shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. "I don't have anything I need to do." She noticed the smile on his face as they headed towards the Starbucks, she ducked her head so he wouldn't be able to see her smile.

"My name's D-"

Mary interrupted. "I already told you, Charming suits you better." If she didn't hear his name direct from his lips she could think that the name on the class schedule she saw the day before was a coincidence, she wouldn't be tempted to google it to see if it was as she expected, she could ignore his almost aristocratic standing and that within a couple of weeks he would be just another frat boy trying to get with any girl at any party. He could just be her Charming.

David laughed loudly, his head thrown back, though it was not an obnoxious gesture. They entered the coffee shop, both smiling in earnest. "If I'm not allowed to tell you my name, can you at least tell me yours?"

"I can." She walked backwards towards the counter so she could grin at him. "I won't though."

David shook his head though he couldn't stop himself from grinning and rolling his eyes a little. "Gertrude? Myrtle? Enid?"

Mary rolled her eyes back. "A combination of the three actually." She joked. She noticed that Ruby was working at the counter and leant forward to whisper into her ear, asking her to come up with a fake name to put on her cup, and 'Charming' on David's cup. Her best friend didn't question it, but did eye David appraisingly as he chose what he wanted and grabbed two muffins.

"Those two muffins as well, Rubes."

"Actually I'm getting these." David interrupted, his coffee companion opened her mouth to challenge him. "It's the least I can do considering you're lending me your notes."

Mary tipped her head in agreement. "You're right, mine are actual notes on the lesson though," she mocked a warning, "I haven't noted down how long I was daydreaming for."

"Your loss." David laughed and accepted the coffee he was given, with the name 'Charming' on it, he was growing to like it. He looked at her cup and saw 'Snow' on it, and looked up to see her roll her eyes at the barista, clearly it was an inside joke. He found himself uncharacteristically wanting to know more about it, he wanted to know everything about her, but he didn't even know her name.

"Shall we, Charming." She raised her eyebrow at him challengingly as though expecting him to object to the nickname.

"After you, Snow." He held his hand which held his coffee cup out to let her lead the way, as he carried their muffins in the other hand.

They both settled down at the table they had sat at the previous night, in the same chairs, though this time no wall of books separated them.

"This is still my table though," she informed him, "you're just a onetime guest."

"But this is the second time I've sat at it, plus," he pretended to look on the table and the chair he was sat on across from her, "it still doesn't have your name on it." David chuckled as she shot him a glare. "Anyway, I like the view." He stared right at her as she looked outside at the old buildings which surrounded them, she smiled at the buildings as though she was the only one who notice them, and perhaps she was.

"It is a pretty good view." She said, though she was downplaying it.

Her eyes never left the window and his eyes never left her face.

"Spectacular." David breathed out, though he was downplaying it.

"So, who was that you were with, in the coffee shop?" Ruby demanded as soon as she had entered the dorm room, she had to repeat the question again when she realised that Mary had her earphones in while typing away on her laptop and couldn't hear her.

"Oh that was just this guy from my lit class, I owed him a coffee." She saw Ruby's look and rolled her eyes trying to show that that was all it was.

"'Charming'." Ruby raised an eyebrow as she said the name as though it was a question.

"It's a joke."

Ruby smiled at the defensive tone. Mary had never felt the need to defend herself like that, and Ruby had never seen her look at anyone else in that way, and she had been friends with her since they met in kindergarten. "He seems nice."

Mary bit her lip to stop herself from smiling, but her intent was clear, she shrugged her shoulders. "Oh, I need to borrow a costume for that party Ella's dragging us to."

Ruby sent her a wicked smile. "Cheer up, you might enjoy it." Mary sent her a look which clearly said she doubted it, parties weren't really her thing, but they had both promised Ella. She thought for a second. "I have just the costume for you."

"I met someone."

"Oh yeah?" David shook his head a little with one eyebrow raised, this was not the first time Thomas had met a girl and decided David needed to hear all the details.

"Not like that. We just talked, for hours, but I feel like I've known her my whole life."

David turned to fully look at Thomas. This was new. "What's her name?" His voice was soft and his smile was kind.

"That's the thing... I don't actually know it."

David would normally have rolled his eyes a little at that, but all of a sudden it didn't seem like such a bizarre or foreign concept to him, he had found himself in the same position. Though he doubted she saw him in the same light.

"But I'm meeting her again at a party, end of the week," Thomas added, "before you say anything I already know you don't have classes in the middle of a Saturday night. Come on man, I need you there, please." Though Thomas hadn't really needed to ask. The two had been friends since David's family had moved to Boston, through thick and thin, even staying best friends when David moved back to the town he had been born in a couple of months previously.

David nodded though parties had never really been his thing, they were much more James' scene, much to his uncle's disdain and confusion. "I guess one night away from studying won't hurt."

Thomas grinned at him as he switched the television on. "Oh, and it's a costume party, I already got you something to wear"

"Great." David said in a deadpan voice.