> [!tldr] Some general observations Admittedly this note is mostly for symmetry in my [[Maximally Durable Dataset Types]] note. HOWEVER there's some interesting stuff to say here, I think. Tables represent [[Tabular Data]]. Humans like pretty, easy-to-visually-parse, data. This is different from what machines like. A [[CSV]] is maximally easy for a machine to parse. But is VERY difficult in practice for people: ```csv timestamp,workout_type,workout_name,workout_note 2026-04-19T17:04:46-06:00,Strength,Full Body - Hevy AI,First workout at lifetime fitness 2026-04-18T20:22:17-06:00,Cardio,Stationary Bike, 2026-04-17T19:12:45-06:00,Strength,Full Body - Hevy AI,Good. And twoaday! 2026-04-17T12:12:45-06:00,Cardio,Walk,A bit over 4 miles in 59 minutes. 2026-04-16T21:54:34-06:00,Mobility,Mobility Work,20 min 2026-04-15T18:31:40-06:00,Cardio,Sustained Pace,3.24 mi in 36 min 2026-04-14T16:25:59-06:00,Strength,Full Body - Hevy AI,Hard ``` [[Spreadsheet]]s are where regular people interact with tables. There's also [[SQL]] tools for data people. [[Extended Markdown Syntax]] includes tables for human-consumption. They are tedious to write (by hand, at least), but DO look prettier. In practice I use [[Obsidian]] as a tool to beautify my [[Plain Text Superpowers|plaintext]] tables. ```markdown | timestamp | workout_type | workout_name | workout_note | | ------------------------- | ------------ | ------------------- | --------------------------------- | | 2026-04-19T17:04:46-06:00 | Strength | Full Body - Hevy AI | First workout at lifetime fitness | | 2026-04-18T20:22:17-06:00 | Cardio | Stationary Bike | | | 2026-04-17T19:12:45-06:00 | Strength | Full Body - Hevy AI | Good. And twoaday! | | 2026-04-17T12:12:45-06:00 | Cardio | Walk | A bit over 4 miles in 59 minutes. | | 2026-04-16T21:54:34-06:00 | Mobility | Mobility Work | 20 min | | 2026-04-15T18:31:40-06:00 | Cardio | Sustained Pace | 3.24 mi in 36 min | | 2026-04-14T16:25:59-06:00 | Strength | Full Body - Hevy AI | Hard | ``` **** # More ## Source - self