Understanding the Zettelkasten as an "Asymmetric" Communication Partner

Theory doesn’t need to be put into practical scenarios for it to be valuable. Theory can, and often does, remain very much impractical until a context arises permitting practical application. Case in point, Luhmann's theory of communication. Without an IRL context to frame it, Luhmann's theory has for decades been considered controversial, even implausible.1 Its acceptance of non-human interlocutors puzzles those wanting to apply it to everyday conversations, chit-chats, and discourse. Luhmann's essay, "Communicating With Slip Boxes," situates this theory in the context of note-taking, but its effect on zettelkasten users, many of whom don't possess a background in communication theory, has been mixed. Consequently, readers unfamiliar with the nuances in its terminology are forced to take only those bits describing slip box mechanics (section II), leaving behind much of the remaining three-fourths (sections I, III, and IV). Forty five years later, and Luhmann's essay remains only…