---
up:
  - "[[Ideaverse Map]]"
related: []
created: 2020-06-01
---
Sometimes the best way of understanding something is hearing what people have to say about it. 

*What is an MOC, in 10 seconds?*

- A non-exclusive folder with a completely customized organizational structure.
- In an MOC, the party is always happening. It's the "room where it happens." Individual notes can “shadow-clone” themselves and essentially be in multiple parties simultaneous—interacting and developing complexity from each party at the same time!
- Another way to consider MOCs is through "Idea Emergence". MOCs are [[Evergreen notes]], just at the next level of emergence.

---

- **Aren't MOCs just index notes?**
	- No! MOCs are not static way-points. They are thinking, creating, and writing tools. We are not just map readers. We are the map makers. 

---

- **It seems to me creating MOCs creates more work, therefore distracts from note creation, writing and thinking. I cannot see the magic of it.**
	- Making MOCs don't distract from note creating and writing, they *are* note creating and writing. 
	- That's where the magic happens. 
	- What is the magic? It's having a thinking tool that forces difficult conversations, that highlights holes in arguments, that shines a bright light on ideas that to be developed further. 
	- See [[MOCs are Dialectics]] for more on this terribly awesome power. 

---

- **Why do you need a MOC to lead to other new notes? Isn't that what Direct Links are all about? ...... In other words, what does an MOC achieve that Direct Links don't?**
	- Direct Links are the strongest links. But many times we do not want a strong link. We want weaker links. Tags do this and so does naming notes starting with the topic, like: `Mandarin - NOTE1`, `Mandarin - NOTE132`. 
	- But neither tags, nor alphabetical filenames, allow for a fluid conversation between notes to happen, where their relative positioning can change. MOCs allow for that. 
	- In a sense, they allow for mini-folgezettels. It's hard to get over how powerful of a thinking tool this is.