# Learning Tools Occasionally, I receive questions about the tools I use for personal learning. So here's my attempt to document them. When learning, I generally consider two main processes: (1) how I consume information/knowledge and (2) how I try to convey what I have understood. And since reading and writing are the most dominant, I will focus on them. Of course, as with anything, there is no one-size-fits-all solution, and better tools keep appearing over time. I will try to update this as my preferences change. ## Read I prefer to consume information by reading, as highlighting and note-taking are more convenient. For reading books, I generally use the [Kindle](https://read.amazon.com) app on an iPad. Not only for those bought through Amazon but also uploaded ePub or PDF files obtained elsewhere. I also have a Kindle device, but while it is more convenient for the eyes, it slows down note-taking, and thus, I rarely use it. When dealing with e-books on a computer, I use [Calibre](https://calibre-ebook.com). For reading papers, I generally use [Zotero](https://www.zotero.org). There are also many search engines involved, like [Consensus](https://consensus.app), [Elicit](https://elicit.com), [GScholar](https://scholar.google.com), etc. involved, but honestly, I usually just try any search app I could get my hands on. I also listen to audiobooks a lot. These days, I use [Snipd](https://www.snipd.com) to listen and take notes from audiobooks I buy through [Audible](https://www.audible.com). Besides, I regularly listen to several podcasts, though I enjoy audiobooks more, given their substance density. While not "reading" per se, technically, I can switch to reading the transcription and notes whenever I encounter interesting parts. It's also nice to use [NotebookLM](https://notebooklm.google) to read long books, documents, articles, etc., to quickly get through the main points. It can even be used to summarize YouTube videos, which is helpful to me as I like to watch documentaries and take notes from them. ## Write I generally consider writing as a way to evaluate my understanding of something. Or I guess, given lots of annotation or summarization tools available today, I consider organizing those tidbits in my notes as a way to better absorb the knowledge. These days, I primarily use [Obsidian](https://obsidian.md) for almost all of my notes and writing, at least those that are personal. When the documents are expected to be shareable or when I would expect myself to occasionally switch to self-review mode, then I will use [GDocs](https://docs.google.com) or [Notion](https://www.notion.so). Besides, for academic writing, I use [Overleaf](https://www.overleaf.com). And when I need flowcharts or need to include lots of visuals, I use [Miro](https://miro.com). I generally prefer to use [Git](https://git-scm.com) (stored in [GitHub](https://github.com)) to maintain versioning of my overall notes. That's why I like writing in Markdown or LaTex format, whose diffs (between versions) are nicely readable, and also why I favor Obsidian for its [file over app](https://stephango.com/file-over-app) philosophy. I also regularly export data from many apps I use (e.g., Kindle, Audible, Notion, Overleaf, Snipd) in such formats to be versioned properly -- and even wrote my own [tool](https://github.com/stevenwjy/ncli) for it.