This is why Socrates refused to write things down. As he said, writing is a crutch for memory. Just as a man who leans on crutches will have his legs atrophy, so will one who relies on writing have his recall atrophy.
I on the other hand am a prolific notetaker because my recall isn’t eidetic as it was when I was younger and I need the crutch to operate at the level I became accustomed to.
I hate when you think you've made a good point only to find that Socrates beat you to it! I think his sentiment is valuable, but I don't think that kind of extremism is the answer for most people. There is a fine line between a crutch and a ladder, and if you don't take the time to figure out which you are using you will find yourself spending more time leaning than climbing.
Crutches normally connote injury, but I bet a non-injured person who actually did athletic sports on crutches would become really dexterous with the things. Four points of contact with the ground. Or they could be used to assist when balancing.
Anyway, I don't think the crutch model is correct, even at the risk of disagreeing with Socrates. I think we just learn some way to learn, and part of that is a memorization ritual. Socrates learned to load things into his long term memory by discussing them. The vast majority of over-30 (at least) American who learned to load things into long term memory learned to do so by the ritual of writing them down with pen and paper. I'm sure there'll be a contingent who learn a ritual of typing notes.
Writing often improves memory and retention. I understand the sentiment but I believe writing something down (even in a digital way) improves recollection because of the physical movement involved which is (distinct from each written item).
A picture, and typing, is the same action regardless of the substance being captures. There is not enough uniqueness to the process to help memory. But writing I believe is.
I on the other hand am a prolific notetaker because my recall isn’t eidetic as it was when I was younger and I need the crutch to operate at the level I became accustomed to.