Hi all, Since I use Org Mode I have been noticing a gradual change in the way I work with a computer (as a simple user). It is not something consciously sought, but I have to say that I see it as a positive evolution. I've always been used to (or rather resigned to) the typical Unix directory/file scheme: everything must be a file and everything must be stored in a directory. When one has many and varied interests and tasks, and manages a wide variety of files and folders, it is certainly hard to maintain order and 'digital hygiene' within that scheme. Before using Gnu Emacs as a shell and as a desktop environment, I used KDE and Gnome for quite a while. The indexers and file search tools in these environments (especially the GnomeShell one, tracker) were somewhat helpful in keeping things tidy and close at hand. But, at the end of the day, the directory/file scheme was always present.
With Org something curious has happened. I've gotten used to working around nodes (regardless of what documents those nodes are in), rather than around folders or files. Little by little, a kind of virtual world of ideas, objects, etc., all intertwined with each other, is being built. What amazes me about Org is that all of this is tremendously transparent and simple. I'm not saying that the detachment of the directory/file schema is complete: directories and files are there, actually, but at least they don't show up when working. It is somewhat akin to being in a play, where there is a suspension of disbelief. Of course, there are tools that I find indispensable. Helm-org-ql, for example, is what I use to nimbly navigate that virtual world of nodes. I also make heavy and obsessive use of org-attach and org-capture (I barely use the classic 'Documents', 'Images', 'Videos', 'Music', etc. style directories, but everything is stored in folders associated with nodes). And since I've started using org-transclusion, a new dimension has been opened to that virtuality that I mentioned before. Sometimes I wonder if this isn't a working style similar to that of the old Lisp machines, a subject I find exciting but know little about, so I apologize if that statement sounds too ignorant ;-). I don't know if anyone has had a similar experience... Best regards, Juan Manuel
