A MoC is a cluster of information that maps “things” in context with other “things”.

Practically, this means that MoCs can help you gather, develop, and navigate ideas. That’s why its important to view MoC’s as “mapping” notes. You are the map-maker. You are the cartographer. As you make and customize the map, you are making sense of some part of the world that matters to you.

In link-based thinking tools (like Obsidian), a MoC often gets mistaken as a boring index. Sure, the end-product sometimes resembles an index. But an MoC is so much more. It is a new kind of thinking tool that supports and extends cognition.

A MoC provides cognitive support by reliably holding any ideas you put on it, while giving you the ability to rapidly shuffle and edit each interrelated idea—leading to an environment where you are thinking at a higher level, learning more deeply, and generating unexpected insights.

Examples of Maps of Content

  • A digital note with a bunch of links to other notes clustered into groups.
  • A desk with a bunch of index cards on it that you’ve clustered into groups.
  • A map of almost anything: World maps, concept maps, even Google Maps.
  • A detective’s wall of suspects with strings linking people and objects of interest together.

Shamelessly cribbed from Nick Milo's incredible Linking your Thinking content.