Steven Berlin Johnson discusses the software he uses to organize his research, Devonthink.

This week’s edition of the Times Book Review features an essay that I wrote about the research system I’ve used for the past few years: a tool for exploring the couple thousand notes and quotations that I’ve assembled over the past decade — along with the text of finished essays and books. I suspect there will be a number of you curious about the technical details, so I’ve put together a little overview here, along with some specific observations. For starters, though, go read the essay and then come back once you’ve got an overview.