paper, used usually to print, write and read text. but people have started going paperless, since all them trees are going bye bye and turning into paper.

but which is more ideal though? paper or no paper?

going paperless simply means writing things down digitally. so you write notes on a text file instead of a blank piece of paper.

going full digital with your notes is an option. in fact, it'll be easier to organize and look through. try using VSCode (or Codium) with the Foam extension. it greatly helps organize your notes, link them together, and all that jazz. oh and markdown. it also doesn't take up any physical space, since it's on a drive. but using physical paper is nice too. there's just something nice about picking up a pen and writing something down, compared to grabbing a keyboard and go clicky clicky. you can't smell the paper either when you go paperless.

same thing with books: there are books and there are ebooks (not counting audio books). sure ebooks are more convenient, just slap them onto a smart nugget phone or something and you're good to go. but you can't hold an eBook in your hand and flip through the pages. you can't sniff the beige pages either with an eBook.

quick note taking is also one thing to consider: would you grab your phone, unlock it, look for the note app, create a new note and then type out your couple word-long note? now it should be faster nowadays, what with fingerprint sensors, better keyboards and such. but it still will be slower compared to pulling out a small piece of paper (or notebook, assuming you have a small enough one to fit it in a pocket) and a pen and scribbling out your note (all assuming you have this prepared and on you at all times).

I guess the answer would be different for everyone. I personally don't have much paper with me so I take all my notes digitally, and I can't afford books so I borrow them from the Open Library. but if I do get paper, I will use that paper.