Back To Origins With Org-Mode And My Wiki
Happy Thanksgiving from here in NYC all. It’s going to be a chilly day, with temperatures rising about 50 while the sun is out. I wanted to write another update on my recent work while the coffee is still hot.
My wiki is growing slowly and growing well. I’m learning more about how to do things in TiddlyWiki as I go. The details are (as usual, it seems to be) in the CaptainLog if you want to check it out. If you’re curious you can take a look under the “recent” tab at the sidebar to the right to see what articles I worked on recently.
I started working on the org-mode section in the wiki again. My original notes date to 2018 when I started to learn Emacs with dedication (which is a nice way of saying obsession). The org-mode tiddler (article) dates back to 20180617150127439 (you can see for yourself, under the “info” tool for that article). It’s interesting to reflect on my thoughts from back then when I was drawn to org-mode from the direction of note-taking and writing. You can tell I was skeptical of programmers, who talked about Emacs with confidence and used terms I could not understand. If you’re one of the folks who come to Emacs from a non-computer background, check the link out. It contains an interesting video from Jay Dixit, an author, who found himself in the same rabbit hole I fell into a couple of years after.
Today, the fear of code turned into curiosity. Emacs has been one of the precious gems in my life that challenged me to understand how it works better and become a better computer person in the process; one that prefers Linux and tinkers with privacy and FOSS.
When I received my official ADHD label a year ago, I wanted to share Emacs org-mode with others in my shoes. org-mode is not just a tool anymore but a life changer, and I do mean the full definition of the term. But Emacs org-mode is still far from inviting to most folks without familiarity with Linux or programming. There have been attempts over the years, but the problem is, at least the way I see it, that the folks who speak the praises of Emacs and spread the word are computer folks themselves. When I started tinkering around some 5 years ago, I often felt that Emacs was an alien planet and Emacs users were its residents. Jay and folks like him spoke to me in terms I understood.
Perhaps that’s what I’m trying to do with the wiki. It sounds noble and smells right, but I’m not going to claim to be writing “org-mode for the masses.” For now, I’m just enjoying explaining how things work and telling stories.