[albert_e]

I use a physical notebook but not really an engeneering notebook as described here.

I make notes while working and notes during meetings. Honestly most of it never gets read after a eay but I still do it.

Very few of my colleagues carry a notebook around. Those who do are not seen taking notes too often.

[Terr_]

Almost all my paper notes these days are write-only media.

The benefit is not the artifact itself, but the immediate act of formalizing the idea, emphasizing its importance, and being mindful/attentive to what's going on.

[rramadass]

Right. I am not sure why people have a hard time understanding this.

You almost always remember more of what you have consciously written down by hand than by typing. You can write as little or as much as you see fit; the point is that the conscious involvement of "whole body and mind" in the act of writing enforces mental discipline, helps find inter-disciplinary patterns and in general, is an aid to thinking.

Here is an article on the brain areas involved in writing; Psychologically speaking: your Brain on Writing - https://uwaterloo.ca/writing-and-communication-centre/blog/p...

Finally, if you look at any of the great Scientists, almost all of them wrote prodigiously viz. Letters/Papers/Books/etc. I am quite convinced that this was one important factor in the development of their greatness.

My personal role model for writing is of course Edsger Dijkstra :-)