## John Locke's Indexing Method for Commonplace Books - [[John Locke]] created a unique indexing method for a Common Place book, a collection of notebooks where one compiles wisdom and knowledge acquired from various sources, including books, nature observation, traveling, and conversations [(00:00:10)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asXjBxs0WEI&t=10s). - The method is concise, brief yet comprehensive, and flexible, allowing for an expendable index with minimal waste of paper and space [(00:01:11)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asXjBxs0WEI&t=71s). - The index requires only two pages, according to John Locke, and its functionality depends on the layout of the page [(00:01:29)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asXjBxs0WEI&t=89s). - To set up the index, one needs to select a notebook, dedicate the first or last two pages to the index table, and divide each page into two halves with a black vertical line [(00:01:41)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asXjBxs0WEI&t=101s). - The page is then subdivided into sections with horizontal black lines, and each section is further divided with red horizontal lines, leaving narrow margins for alphabet letters and vowels [(00:02:14)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asXjBxs0WEI&t=134s). - When indexing, one thinks of a keyword, and according to John Locke's method, the keyword is indexed based on the first letter and the first following vowel [(00:03:07)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asXjBxs0WEI&t=187s). - This method allows for easy retrieval of notes, as one can look up a keyword by its first letter and vowel, and find the corresponding page number [(00:03:30)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asXjBxs0WEI&t=210s). - The method is efficient, even when dealing with multiple page numbers for the same keyword, as one can check all the relevant pages [(00:04:16)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asXjBxs0WEI&t=256s). ## Keyword Handling in Commonplace Books - A keyword in a commonplace book should be written in a relatively larger font, ideally as a title, and added in the margin, with margins typically added to all commonplace books to include keywords [(00:04:26)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asXjBxs0WEI&t=266s). - Keywords can also be added in a larger font and in the form of a heading, even without margins, as seen in an art commonplace book [(00:04:53)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asXjBxs0WEI&t=293s). - When indexing multiple pages about a single topic or artist, such as Morio, the list of pages can be extensive, covering multiple pages with notes about the artist's works [(00:05:13)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asXjBxs0WEI&t=313s). ## Specific Rules and Best Practices for Indexing - According to [[John Locke]], if a word starts with a vowel and only contains one vowel, that vowel will be both the letter and the characteristic vowel [(00:05:37)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asXjBxs0WEI&t=337s). - The indexing method works best when the commonplace book is dedicated to a single specific topic, making it easier to think about keywords related to that topic [(00:05:48)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asXjBxs0WEI&t=348s). - In a commonplace book with diverse topics, such as history, mathematics, science, and art, it's recommended to use the standard way of indexing by having a few pages assigned to letters with the full key word written [(00:06:52)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asXjBxs0WEI&t=412s). - This method may occupy more pages but is easier to use when dealing with multiple topics in one notebook [(00:07:09)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asXjBxs0WEI&t=429s). ## Conclusion - The concise and abbreviated system developed by [[John Locke]] can be beneficial for indexing and note-taking, especially when used consistently [(00:07:23)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asXjBxs0WEI&t=443s). ## Sources - [website](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asXjBxs0WEI)