Right on point. This is not a book for regular people who need to capture information for use in their jobs and personal lives. The give-away is that he explicitly says, as you quote, that the book is for researchers (students, academics and nonfiction writers). Nevertheless, I think it is useful to read a book like How to Take Smart Notes, even if you discard most of it as being unrelated to your own needs. There is always something to be culled from a book by a smart person.