What is the "generative principle" of note-taking, and why does it make the method matter less than it seems?

Notes help most when they force ACTIVE processing — reorganising, summarising, connecting, paraphrasing — not verbatim copying; so what your brain does matters more than which method you use.

The value of note-taking is not the artifact of notes; it's the mental work of producing them. Rephrasing an idea in your own words, grouping related points, and drawing links all require you to understand and transform the material — which strengthens memory. Transcribing word-for-word requires none of that.

This is why the endless debates over note systems are partly beside the point. Almost any method works well if it forces generation, and almost any method fails if you use it to copy passively. Judge a method by how much active processing it forces on you.