Thanks for sharing, it was an interesting read that made me introspect on my usage of Obsidian too.
I think there's a couple of points during his journey the author could've came to a more balanced conclusion than deleting his "second brain" (obsidian folder).
First is ofc the tool-creep that he mention. It was supposed to be a support tool, to make you reach a goal or solve a problem. Yet it become a goal in itself. A classic Goodhart's law. This should've led him to realize that he need to limit what context the Second brain idea is applied to. Luhmann, the Zettlekasten guy kept in his physical office, segregating his "thinking & writing, work" with the rest of his life. The authors case is the classic "Todolist trap". If he could've identified that early, he could've maybe siloed it better to the useful part.
Second, The "Unread list". One of the first things even in the Zettlekasten ideal (which spanned the entire second brain idea) is to never put in anything unprocessed. Everything, new idea to new reading, should be first processed, thought of, and then written down in your own word. When you break this principle, your second brain is not a brain, it's a todo list.
The third is to humanize it. This also affect point 2. If you properly review your second brain, you'll notice that great insight or ideas you wrote down doesn't seem so great anymore, or lacking. It's also hard to recount why you considered this thing great, or worth writing down. That's when you realize that sometimes, the detail of the idea doesn't matter as much as why/when and how you came up with it. You more often can come up with same idea, hopefully even more refined, if you just remember the context of it.
This should transform your "second brain" from not merely being a list of connected ideas, but with contexts. Who did you share that idea with? Where you sad/mad/angry? what did you do the day you got that idea? Those are all ques your brain can use to reconstruct the entire picture, wayyy better than just words. People that wrote diaries have known this since forever. It's not the ideas you want to keep, but the mental state that reached you to that idea. New, future you, can take that idea way way further, given the same mental state. This insight alone should delete all unread lists. At best it should be delegated to a reference/archive "folder" disconnected from your second brain.
Second brain is not an archive, it's a process. When you misunderstand that, often because you're attached (ego) to the ideas you generate, you fall for the trap the author did.
Edit:
I realized that the author is from the rationalist movement. That kinda figures.
I think there's a couple of points during his journey the author could've came to a more balanced conclusion than deleting his "second brain" (obsidian folder).
First is ofc the tool-creep that he mention. It was supposed to be a support tool, to make you reach a goal or solve a problem. Yet it become a goal in itself. A classic Goodhart's law. This should've led him to realize that he need to limit what context the Second brain idea is applied to. Luhmann, the Zettlekasten guy kept in his physical office, segregating his "thinking & writing, work" with the rest of his life. The authors case is the classic "Todolist trap". If he could've identified that early, he could've maybe siloed it better to the useful part.
Second, The "Unread list". One of the first things even in the Zettlekasten ideal (which spanned the entire second brain idea) is to never put in anything unprocessed. Everything, new idea to new reading, should be first processed, thought of, and then written down in your own word. When you break this principle, your second brain is not a brain, it's a todo list.
The third is to humanize it. This also affect point 2. If you properly review your second brain, you'll notice that great insight or ideas you wrote down doesn't seem so great anymore, or lacking. It's also hard to recount why you considered this thing great, or worth writing down. That's when you realize that sometimes, the detail of the idea doesn't matter as much as why/when and how you came up with it. You more often can come up with same idea, hopefully even more refined, if you just remember the context of it.
This should transform your "second brain" from not merely being a list of connected ideas, but with contexts. Who did you share that idea with? Where you sad/mad/angry? what did you do the day you got that idea? Those are all ques your brain can use to reconstruct the entire picture, wayyy better than just words. People that wrote diaries have known this since forever. It's not the ideas you want to keep, but the mental state that reached you to that idea. New, future you, can take that idea way way further, given the same mental state. This insight alone should delete all unread lists. At best it should be delegated to a reference/archive "folder" disconnected from your second brain.
Second brain is not an archive, it's a process. When you misunderstand that, often because you're attached (ego) to the ideas you generate, you fall for the trap the author did.
Edit: I realized that the author is from the rationalist movement. That kinda figures.