\u003Cfigcaption>HarshLight from San Jose, CA, USA, CC BY 2.0 \u003Ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0\">https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0\u003C/a>, via Wikimedia Commons\u003C/figcaption>\u003C/figure>\n\u003C!-- /wp:image -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\n\u003Cp>In the \u003Cem>Harry Potter \u003C/em>series, Dumbledore’s \u003Ca href=\"https://tenor.com/bkvFW.gif\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Pensieve\u003C/a> serves a second-brain function, storing disconnected thoughts and memories and shaping them into coherent patterns to inform actions and decisions. “One simply siphons the excess thoughts from one’s mind, pours them into the basin, and examines them at one’s leisure,” explains Dumbledore. “It becomes easier to spot patterns and links, you understand, when they are in this form.”\u003C/p>\n\u003C!-- /wp:paragraph -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:heading {\"level\":3} -->\n\u003Ch3 id=\"h-a-second-brain-reduces-cognitive-load-by-doing-your-thinking-and-remembering-for-you\">A second brain reduces cognitive load by doing your thinking and remembering for you\u003C/h3>\n\u003C!-- /wp:heading -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\n\u003Cp>Think of a second brain as \u003Ca href=\"https://aseemthakar.com/how-to-build-a-second-brain-as-a-software-developer/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">an extension of your mind\u003C/a>: somewhere you can offload cognitive work so you don’t have to struggle to remember information or put it to good use. Like Sherlock Holmes’s \u003Ca href=\"https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-memory-factory/202105/use-sherlock-holmes-mind-palace-technique-improve-your-memory\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">mind palace\u003C/a>, a second brain is a system for collecting, storing, and curating the tide of information that continually washes over us. “It’s a way of ensuring that the ludicrous amount of information we have to deal with day-to-day stops bouncing around our heads and is recorded somewhere where we can make sense of it in the long term,” \u003Ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mpBC83l1dY\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">explains\u003C/a> Stack Overflow developer advocate and evangelist Matt Kiernander. \u003C/p>\n\u003C!-- /wp:paragraph -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:heading {\"level\":3} -->\n\u003Ch3 id=\"h-a-second-brain-is-built-on-digital-technology\">A second brain is built on digital technology\u003C/h3>\n\u003C!-- /wp:heading -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\n\u003Cp>It’s certainly possible to cobble together a second brain using manual methods, from a notebook to a filing cabinet to a wall plastered with sticky notes. In college, I took notes in the margins of secondhand books as I read, blithely assuming I would remember what my scribbled abbreviations meant (spoiler: I would not, nor would the bookstore buy back any of my books).\u003C/p>\n\u003C!-- /wp:paragraph -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\n\u003Cp>None of these analog methods is scalable, portable, searchable, or capable of handling data in any format—all essential qualities in the kind of second brain you need. Unless you have access to a Pensieve, I suppose, a digital second brain is far and away the best and most natural choice for most of us who sit in front of computers all day. Your second brain must be: \u003C/p>\n\u003C!-- /wp:paragraph -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:list -->\n\u003Cul>\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>Scalable\u003C/strong>, so you can capture and preserve a virtually unlimited amount of information.\u003C/li>\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>Capable of storing and organizing data in various formats\u003C/strong>, from images to videos to chunks of code.\u003C/li>\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>Portable\u003C/strong>, to permit quick capture and editing of information.\u003C/li>\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>Searchable\u003C/strong>, so you can easily pull up the knowledge you need when you need it.\u003C/li>\u003C/ul>\n\u003C!-- /wp:list -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:heading {\"level\":4} -->\n\u003Ch4 id=\"h-what-platforms-are-developers-using-as-their-second-brains\">What platforms are developers using as their second brains?\u003C/h4>\n\u003C!-- /wp:heading -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\n\u003Cp>We’re awfully proud of the fact that \u003Ca href=\"https://stackoverflow.blog/2020/06/19/searching-for-answers-and-finding-purple-links-youre-not-alone/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">90%\u003C/a> of developers turn to Stack Overflow when they get stuck, often via a \u003Ca href=\"https://www.wordstream.com/navigational-query\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">navigational query\u003C/a>. (For example, “how to exit vim stack overflow” will take you to \u003Ca href=\"https://stackoverflow.com/questions/11828270/how-do-i-exit-vim\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">this question\u003C/a>, viewed 2.7 million times and counting.) Often, developers return to the same question or answer regularly. \u003Ca href=\"https://stackoverflow.blog/2022/06/22/asked-and-answered-the-results-for-the-2022-developer-survey-are-here/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">More than 60%\u003C/a> of regular Stack Overflow users visit the same question more than once in a three-month period—so if you’re thinking, “Didn’t I \u003Cem>just \u003C/em>look this up?”, the answer is probably yes. \u003C/p>\n\u003C!-- /wp:paragraph -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\n\u003Cp>These findings reveal how many developers rely on our public platform to serve a second-brain function. Most developers are inundated with information: languages, libraries, frameworks, and tools with their own use cases, shortcuts, workarounds, and optimizations. Second brains tailored for developers’ needs help us capture, organize, and surface knowledge, reducing cognitive load while realizing more value from the knowledge we’re exposed to.\u003C/p>\n\u003C!-- /wp:paragraph -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\n\u003Cp>Other second-brain tools developers favor include \u003Ca href=\"https://www.notionsecondbrain.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Notion\u003C/a> (whose digital system is actually called Second Brain), \u003Ca href=\"https://obsidian.md/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Obsidian\u003C/a> (which bills itself as a personal second brain), \u003Ca href=\"https://evernote.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Evernote\u003C/a>, and \u003Ca href=\"https://roamresearch.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Roam\u003C/a>, just to name a few.\u003C/p>\n\u003C!-- /wp:paragraph -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:heading -->\n\u003Ch2 id=\"h-what-does-our-reliance-on-second-brains-reveal-about-how-we-think-and-work\">What does our reliance on second brains reveal about how we think and work?\u003C/h2>\n\u003C!-- /wp:heading -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\n\u003Cp>Knowing that so many of us rely on second brains, we wondered what this dependence could tell us about human memory and cognition, especially when it comes to developers and how they work. \u003C/p>\n\u003C!-- /wp:paragraph -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:heading {\"level\":3} -->\n\u003Ch3 id=\"h-we-need-help-accessing-knowledge-and-memories-over-time\">We need help accessing knowledge and memories over time\u003C/h3>\n\u003C!-- /wp:heading -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\n\u003Cp>In his 2001 book \u003Cem>The Seven Sins of Memory: How the Mind Forgets and Remembers\u003C/em>, Harvard researcher Daniel Schacter defines seven “sins of memory,” including transience and absentmindedness, the two failings most relevant to us here. \u003C/p>\n\u003C!-- /wp:paragraph -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\n\u003Cp>Transience refers to memories that simply don’t stick in our minds, or “the decreasing accessibility of memory over time,” according to the \u003Ca href=\"https://www.apa.org/monitor/oct03/sins\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">American Psychological Association\u003C/a>. This usually involves new information that you’re trying to remember, from an unfamiliar function to the name of that person you were just introduced to.\u003C/p>\n\u003C!-- /wp:paragraph -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\n\u003Cp>Absentmindedness refers to “lapses of attention and forgetting to do things,” per the \u003Ca href=\"https://www.apa.org/monitor/oct03/sins\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">APA\u003C/a>. “This sin operates both when a memory is formed (the encoding stage) and when a memory is accessed (the retrieval stage).” Classic examples of absentmindedness: forgetting where you left your phone, accidentally throwing away \u003Ca href=\"https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/12/13/half-a-billion-in-bitcoin-lost-in-the-dump\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">half a billion in Bitcoin\u003C/a>, or leaving your \u003Ca href=\"https://www.classicfm.com/artists/yo-yo-ma/stradivarius-cello-left-in-new-york-taxi/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$3.5 million cello\u003C/a> in the back of a cab.\u003C/p>\n\u003C!-- /wp:paragraph -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\n\u003Cp>A second brain helps us overcome transience and absentmindedness by allowing us to categorize, search, and retrieve information and experiences. Ideally, a second brain empowers you to work “more effectively in the moment,” \u003Ca href=\"https://fortelabs.co/blog/the-7-benefits-of-building-a-second-brain/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">writes\u003C/a> Tiago Forte: “You can spin up and complete your projects far faster because you’re starting with a collection of valuable material and reusing work you’ve already performed instead of a blank page.”\u003C/p>\n\u003C!-- /wp:paragraph -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:heading {\"level\":3} -->\n\u003Ch3 id=\"h-we-re-overloaded-with-information\">We’re overloaded with information…\u003C/h3>\n\u003C!-- /wp:heading -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\n\u003Cp>As we’ve \u003Ca href=\"https://stackoverflow.blog/2020/06/19/searching-for-answers-and-finding-purple-links-youre-not-alone/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">previously covered\u003C/a>, there’s \u003Ca href=\"https://www.encyclopedia.com/psychology/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/attention-and-memory\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">a strong correlation\u003C/a> between how much attention we give something and our ability to remember it later. Both transience and absentmindedness are exacerbated when we’re unable to focus, and chronic multitasking can cause us to perform worse on simple memory and cognition tests, according to \u003Ca href=\"https://news.stanford.edu/2018/10/25/decade-data-reveals-heavy-multitaskers-reduced-memory-psychologist-says/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">a study\u003C/a> from the Stanford Memory Laboratory. \u003Ca href=\"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3656338/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Things get even harder\u003C/a> for people experiencing significant stress and anxiety at work, whether those feelings stem from clinical anxiety or a professional culture of looming deadlines, unsupportive managers, and unrealistic expectations. \u003C/p>\n\u003C!-- /wp:paragraph -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\n\u003Cp>Most developers encounter constant, overlapping distractions: pings from chat and email programs, urgent tickets, the need to write code while joining calls and preparing for other meetings. In such a noisy environment, it’s no wonder that things slip your mind. Information overload leads to information exhaustion: We’re exposed to so much information every day that we simply can’t absorb and remember it all without an assist from technology. If you’ll pardon the plug, this is why companies like \u003Ca href=\"https://resources.stackoverflow.co/topic/client-stories/microsoft-case-study/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Microsoft\u003C/a>, \u003Ca href=\"https://resources.stackoverflow.co/topic/client-stories/dropbox-case-study/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dropbox\u003C/a>, and \u003Ca href=\"https://resources.stackoverflow.co/topic/client-stories/elastic-case-study\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Elastic\u003C/a> use \u003Ca href=\"https://stackoverflow.co/teams/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Stack Overflow for Teams\u003C/a> as an organization-wide second brain, to ease the cognitive burden of constant context-switching and to manage collective knowledge.\u003C/p>\n\u003C!-- /wp:paragraph -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:heading {\"level\":3} -->\n\u003Ch3 id=\"h-but-we-don-t-want-to-miss-anything\">…but we don’t want to miss anything\u003C/h3>\n\u003C!-- /wp:heading -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\n\u003Cp>While most of us are all-too-aware of our information exhaustion, it’s still a priority for us to absorb and retain as much information as possible, especially as we move from project to project or job to job. But that’s much easier said than done. Developers face a proliferation of programming languages, frameworks, libraries, and tools, all of which have various, sometimes-overlapping applications, best practices, common pitfalls, and so on. No wonder some feel there’s simply \u003Ca href=\"https://www.reddit.com/r/learnprogramming/comments/uud5dm/too_much_to_learn_web_development_sde/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">too much to learn\u003C/a>.\u003C/p>\n\u003C!-- /wp:paragraph -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\n\u003Cp>A second brain allows us to reduce noise and manage information overload without worrying that scraps of invaluable knowledge will slip through the cracks while we have 800 different mental tabs open. “By outsourcing the job of remembering to an external tool,” \u003Ca href=\"https://fortelabs.co/blog/the-7-benefits-of-building-a-second-brain/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">writes\u003C/a> Forte, “we gain the peace of mind of knowing exactly what to do with each piece of incoming information and the confidence that it will never be forgotten.”\u003C/p>\n\u003C!-- /wp:paragraph -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\n\u003Cp>Matt Kiernander \u003Ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mpBC83l1dY\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">points out\u003C/a> that a second brain is enormously helpful for retaining the knowledge you’ll need for repeatable tasks. If, like Matt, you find yourself Googling how to set up PATH variables for your command line every time you set up a new environment, or trying to remember the predefined list of tools and npm packages you need to install, offloading that information to a second brain could save you hours of time and didn’t-I-used-to-know-this frustration.\u003C/p>\n\u003C!-- /wp:paragraph -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\n\u003Cp>Second brains also allow you to make the knowledge you acquire as you move between jobs and projects portable, so that you can bring information like useful code snippets with you on your professional journey. The same goes for using your second brain to document the educational resources you encounter as you learn different technologies, languages, and systems.\u003C/p>\n\u003C!-- /wp:paragraph -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\n\u003Cp>The \u003Ca href=\"https://resources.stackoverflow.co/topic/thought-leadership/prioritize-learning/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">best developers\u003C/a> are \u003Ca href=\"https://towardsdatascience.com/great-developers-never-stop-learning-77b9ce867eac\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">constantly learning\u003C/a>: reskilling and upskilling, mastering new systems, adding additional languages and technologies to their repertoires. Instead of information going in one ear and out the other, a second brain “helps you take control of your own learning,” \u003Ca href=\"https://fortelabs.co/blog/the-7-benefits-of-building-a-second-brain/\">says\u003C/a> Forte, curating your learnings in a searchable format you can return to anytime you need to. \u003C/p>\n\u003C!-- /wp:paragraph -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:heading -->\n\u003Ch2 id=\"h-innovation-is-rooted-in-knowledge\">Innovation is rooted in knowledge\u003C/h2>\n\u003C!-- /wp:heading -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\n\u003Cp>When you can access information from your personal knowledge store when you need it, you can apply that wealth of experience to new skills and new projects. The idea is to surround yourself with context-rich associations and priceless nuggets of insight and problem-solving that you’ve collected and stored over time—the contents of your mind palace. The value of a second brain goes way beyond reminding you (once again) how to exit Vim or how much brown sugar your favorite cookies call for. It’s about making your learnings, insights, and experiences accessible and actionable as you navigate your professional journey.\u003C/p>\n\u003C!-- /wp:paragraph -->","html","2022-10-03T14:00:00.000Z",{"current":919},"two-heads-are-better-than-one-what-second-brains-say-about-how-developers-work",[921,929,934,938,945],{"_createdAt":922,"_id":923,"_rev":924,"_type":925,"_updatedAt":922,"slug":926,"title":928},"2023-05-23T16:43:21Z","wp-tagcat-code-for-a-living","9HpbCsT2tq0xwozQfkc4ih","blogTag",{"current":927},"code-for-a-living","Code for a Living",{"_createdAt":922,"_id":930,"_rev":924,"_type":925,"_updatedAt":922,"slug":931,"title":933},"wp-tagcat-developer-survey",{"current":932},"developer-survey","developer survey",{"_createdAt":922,"_id":935,"_rev":924,"_type":925,"_updatedAt":922,"slug":936,"title":937},"wp-tagcat-memory",{"current":937},"memory",{"_createdAt":922,"_id":939,"_rev":940,"_type":925,"_updatedAt":941,"slug":942,"title":944},"wp-tagcat-productivity","ZP7627ZkmfDRGke9Ig9IwB","2024-01-23T15:01:58Z",{"current":943},"productivity","Productivity",{"_createdAt":922,"_id":946,"_rev":924,"_type":925,"_updatedAt":922,"slug":947,"title":949},"wp-tagcat-second-brain",{"current":948},"second-brain","second brain","Two heads are better than one: What second brains say about how developers work",[952,958,964,970],{"_id":953,"publishedAt":954,"slug":955,"sponsored":12,"title":957},"370eca08-3da8-4a13-b71e-5ab04e7d1f8b","2025-08-28T16:00:00.000Z",{"_type":10,"current":956},"moving-the-public-stack-overflow-sites-to-the-cloud-part-1","Moving the public Stack Overflow sites to the cloud: Part 1",{"_id":959,"publishedAt":960,"slug":961,"sponsored":908,"title":963},"e10457b6-a9f6-4aa9-90f2-d9e04eb77b7c","2025-08-27T04:40:00.000Z",{"_type":10,"current":962},"from-punch-cards-to-prompts-a-history-of-how-software-got-better","From punch cards to prompts: a history of how software got better",{"_id":965,"publishedAt":966,"slug":967,"sponsored":12,"title":969},"65472515-0b62-40d1-8b79-a62bdd2f508a","2025-08-25T16:00:00.000Z",{"_type":10,"current":968},"making-continuous-learning-work-at-work","Making continuous learning work at work",{"_id":971,"publishedAt":972,"slug":973,"sponsored":12,"title":975},"1b0bdf8c-5558-4631-80ca-40cb8e54b571","2025-08-21T14:00:25.054Z",{"_type":10,"current":974},"research-roadmap-update-august-2025","Research roadmap update, August 2025",{"count":977,"lastTimestamp":978},11,"2023-05-25T09:47:55Z",["Reactive",980],{"$sarticleModal":981},false,["Set"],["ShallowReactive",984],{"sanity-La_ZIMBRUW4qNtuEBnHNvMZ-AvXOejQEZXHAlMwa5AQ":-1,"sanity-comment-wp-post-20774-1756460229998":-1},"/2022/10/03/two-heads-are-better-than-one-what-second-brains-say-about-how-developers-work"]