Shape: note

One topic per note. A note is written to be read again: on the day it is written, before it is used, and, long after, by search.

Skeleton

# <The topic, named as the field names it>

> One line: what this is and why it matters.

## In three points          the overview, before any detail
1. ...
2. ...
3. ...

## Terms                    each term bold where it is defined, with its definition
- **term**: definition, one line.

## The idea                 figure first when the content is a relation, a set or a process;
                            then the text, one idea per line, no block past three lines

## Check yourself           two or three questions answered from memory; each answer folded
                            in <details><summary>Answer</summary> ... </details>, or listed
                            under a last heading, Answers

## Open                     what is still unclear, as questions

## Links                    the notes this one leans on and the notes that lean on it;
                            omit the section while there are none

Worked example

A note written to this shape, from the evidence behind worked examples with subgoals:

# Expertise reversal

> A help that teaches a novice slows down a reader who no longer needs it.

## In three points
1. Worked examples and full explanations help novices learn a method.
2. The same help costs an experienced reader, who must process what they already know.
3. So the help is set by the reader's level, and faded as the level rises.

## Terms
- **expertise reversal**: a help that benefits low-knowledge learners loses its benefit, or turns harmful, for
  high-knowledge ones.

## The idea
In a meta-analysis, novices gained from more assistance (d = +0.51) and advanced learners from less (d = -0.43)
(Tetzlaff 2025). An earlier review named the effect (Kalyuga 2003).

## Check yourself
1. Why does a full worked example slow an expert down?
<details><summary>Answer</summary>The expert must read and hold steps they already know.</details>

## Open
- How to tell a reader's level before they start reading.

## Links
- Worked examples with subgoals; the reader styles for a novice and an expert.

The principles it applies

Part	Principle
In three points	overview first
Terms	define before use
The idea	draw relations, signal the structure
Check yourself	retrieval prompts
Links	one place per fact: link to the note that holds a fact, never copy it

Variants

A lecture note may add ## Outline of the lecture after the terms, in the order the lecture taught. A shared concept used by several courses lives in one note that each course links to.