To fly: Use keyboard cursor arrow keys (then add Shift, Alt or Ctrl).
Press the Home key to return to the starting position.
Slow zoom with + and - on the number pad.
Dramatic Quickzoom: Hold Shift, then click on topic cones.
Hover over topics to see …
details in the Details Panel,
an enter button, and
sometimes an “open link” button.
Click a topic cone to reorganize the landscape around it.
Don’t forget you need an up-to-date driver for your 3D graphics hardware for WebView to work (just like Topicscape). Here’s reference for Troubleshooting.
WikIT (the mind mapper’s wiki) has had an article on the use of mind maps by the medical profession for a while. Recently I’ve been adding to this and it turns out that they are quiet giants in the use and publication of mind map collections.
If this most important discipline is making heavy use of mind maps, both in study and after graduation, perhaps there’s hope yet for those of us who believe that one day, mind mapping will go mainstream.
Have you noticed the serious shortage of ‘e’s recently? Here’s another site, hit hard by the e drought: Diagrammr
What it does is intriguing. Key in a series of propositions and, if they are sensibly related, it will produce a concept map for you. Here’s an example:
(click to see full size)
Click here to visit the full concept map in diagrammr itself. You’ll see that the propositions all follow the form “concept1linking phraseconcept2“. If a concept requires two or more words, you’ll need to join them with underscores – common_mindmaps for example.
The placement of the linking phrases could be improved – you can’t always see straight away which relationship line a phrase relates to – but I can see that placement over the middle of the line with elegant wordwrap would not be trivial.
You have to decide on your concepts rather carefully to get the full benefit of diagrammr’s atomatic linking. Take the last proposition: Tony_Buzanwould probably not approve of maps output bydiagrammr. Maps-output-by-diagrammr is really the concept here, but then we would not have an automatic link to diagrammr. There are other ways round this, but I include it as an example.
Diagrammr can also make another form of diagram – click ‘change layout’ under the map. It takes the same input and produces something like this:
This is something like a sequence diagram (can anyone tell me what it’s really called?) For this to be workable, you need to keep your proposition names short or they overlap across the title bar.
I’m distrustful of web sites holding my data, so I cut and pasted a backup copy of the propositions to a text file on my computer when I made the map yesterday. When I went back today, it had reverted to an earlier version – excluding roughly the second half of the propositions. So take the same precaution if you do any useful work here! I should mention that there are no accounts, no login, and no apparent protection against vandalism either.
Roy
If you want the detail, here are the propositions that generated the map: informationmapsincludemindmaps; informationmapsincludeconcept_maps; informationmapsincludespidergrams; informationmapsincludeargument_maps; mindmapsincludeBuzan_mindmaps; mindmapsincludecommon_mindmaps; common_mindmapsare similar tospidergrams; Buzan_mindmapsfollowguidelines; common_mindmapsare more loosely defined thanBuzan_mindmaps; informationmapscan be used to storeinformation; informationmapscan be used to point to computer_files; informationmapscan help generateideas; mindmapscan help organizethoughts; concept_mapsneed not behierarchical; mindmapsfollow atree_structure; concept_maps generally have linking_phrases; linking_phrasesare not well placed indiagrammr; concept_mapshelp demonstrateunderstanding; guidelineswere set byTony_Buzan; Tony_Buzanwould probably not approve of maps output bydiagrammr
This is a response to a Twitter question from @danieljohnsonjr, but it is an often-discussed subject, so here’s my take (140 characters was not enough!)
I most often use a computer for the first rough-out of a mind map, because it allows for continuing change, growth and maximum flexibility. But this is probably because most of my mind maps are for my consulting business or clients. Often I mind map to organize a lot of information. Or to track information as I research a topic on the web. Here too, a computer-based map (or 3D landscape in my case) is best.
But – but – but …
Hand-drawn, paper maps really do have strengths in some areas and for some people. The physical pleasure of working with bright colors and drawing your own images (however rough – like mine) can encourage creativity and be motivational.
Choosing a hand-drawn map, which means you won’t have to worry about computer navigation or shortcut keys, can help with total focus when trying to carry out a detailed analysis of a subject.
The use of color, having items appear in the same place on the map (computer software often moves nodes to make space) and your own thinking about how to illustrate nodes (instead of ’pick a clipart image’) are said to help with learning.
Mind maps are such general purpose visual thinking aids, that there’s no simple answer to whether software or paper is best, though I’ve often seen claims to the contrary on the web.
I hope that helps.
Roy
PS – sorry there’s no mind map in this! It was quickly done to answer the question. I’ll add some later and put it in WikIT the mind mapping wiki.
Those two indefatigable artistic mind mappers, Adam Siciniski and Paul Foreman, have banded together to launch a new mind maps gallery, with a focus on the artisitic element in hand-made mind maps.
You’ll be familiar with our Mindmaps Directory where Adam’s and Paul’s work often appear. Well, at the new MindMapArt site, they are collecting the work of like-minded (and like-talented) artists, as well as offering their services to the world – to those of us, that is, who are not so talented at visual design and presentation.
Do you find all the blog posts about how to mind map take pretty much the same approach? Most reword and dish up Buzan’s guidelines in a short page? Well now there’s a new approach. One that recognizes that why you’re mind mapping will affect how you go about it, the style of map you produce and whether you mind map on a computer or on paper.
It also helps first-time mind mappers overcome the ‘first level’ hump.
It gives worked examples. One shows a map as it grows and describes the thinking and development process that typically takes place as we map.
Others illustrate different styles of maps for different purposes.
InformationTamers has just released a factual, hype-free wiki, covering all forms of information mapping.
This is WikIT, the mind mapping wiki describing many different types of information map; when you would use each type; benefits and drawbacks; how to recognize them; how to use them in web sites; and a wide range of articles on business, personal and educational uses of mind and concept maps. The authors draw on more than thirty years of mind mapping experience in personal life and across a wide range of businesses.
This wiki already has a very extensive content plan (mind mapped, naturally) with interactive maps on key articles and with substantial articles already included, covering:
There are many more sections than this. Explore the interactive Flash mind map showing the overall plan for WikIT here: On this WikIT outline interactive mind map, you can click on the small + symbols to open branches, zoom or reduce the map, and click on the small link images to open pages in WikIT.
WikIT will not be limited to that plan, other items can be added – by you, if you wish. WikIT is open for editing according to the policies described at the site.
See the All Pages list for a list of titles of all articles so far. This shows redirected titles in italics. It also includes titles as placeholders for planned articles. The names of these are preceded by a tilde (~) so that they appear at the end of the “All pages” table.
I came a little late to this post by one of my favorite mindmappers, Austin Kleon (hat-tip to Philippe Boukobza for the link). It’s titled Mind maps: Pictures and words in space and is an engaging run-through of Austin’s unique uses for mind maps, from July this year.
And if you want to know why I call this a “prequel” you’ll need to look through a few of my recent posts. While you’re at it, why not vote at the favorite mappers survey, if you haven’t already done so?
I didn’t keep my promise to post the results of the hand-drawn mindmappers face-off on 6th October. Sorry you were kept waiting with bated breath<grin>, but there’s a reason: I couldn’t find examples of the work of all the newly recommended mappers. I’m still short of one (Nick Duffill’s recommendation, Elaine Collier, a former mindmapping world champion no less) but I feel I can’t hold this post up any more. Maybe I’ll be able to locate examples of Elaine’s work later. [Update: I should have been looking for "Colliar". Thanks to Paul Foreman for putting me right. Will post about her work later.]
“New faces” in the title here means “new to the face-off”. The great hand-drawn mindmappers now added to my earlier list are no Johnny-come-lately artists.
Clicking on any of these images takes you to the original page.
Nancy Margulies – her works – she calls them Mindscapes – are wonderful. I omitted her from the original list only because I couldn’t remember how to spell her name and therefore find her site. If you’re not familiar with her work, take a look at her Mindscapes site. If your artistry and insight is, unfortunately, anything like mine, weep quietly as you do so.
Roberta Buzzacchino – Roberta’s work is in Italian – she works in public administration and has a legal background.
Alberto Martinez – is an engineer-turned-manager and an active mapper whose work has the simplicity and clean appearance of good business mapping.
Nancy White – Nancy has pages of work on flickr.com. Not all are mind maps. She uses visual communication in her work as a presenter, writer, teacher, coach, facilitator, rapporteur.
Debbie Showler – Debbie is an IT consultant and certified Idea Mapping Instructor from Canada.
Vanda North – Vanda runs her own company: The Learning Consortium. She was the founder and global director of the Buzan Centres from 1988 to 2006.
Lex McKee – I found Lex’s work by chance while searching for example of the work of mindmappers that commenters and survey respondents recommended. He works with Vanda in the Learning Partnership.
My thanks to all who filled in the survey, commented and gave me names and links to the work of other mindmappers who produce wonderful hand-drawn work.
The survey is still open, and any hints on other great producers of hand-drawn mind maps will be investigated with interest and probably blogged about. Anyone with any leads to Elaine Collier’s work on the web? [now solved]
A month ago, I set up The Great Hand-drawn Mind Mappers Face-off when I invited you to tell me your favorite maker of hand-drawn mindmaps from the best five I had found. I had a survey on the subject as well. In response, your comments, direct emails and responses to the survey came in, telling me of other mappers that you thought I should know about.
Soon, I’ll post about these additional mindmappers who produce high-quality work by hand, with examples and links to their work, but first the results of the survey.
As I said originally, this was not a survey about “who’s best”, but rather who is your favorite amongst the five. I wasn’t very surprised that more people said that Adam Sicinski was their ‘absolute favorite’ than anyone else, with Austin Kleon a close second and Jamie Nast third. Paul Foreman had very solid support in the ‘I really like this’ and ’Pretty good’ columns – almost across the board, in fact. All great mind mappers, though.
‘Imagination’, ‘Drawing capability’, and ‘Useful ideas and thinking’ played an almost equal part in influencing respondents’ choice of favorite.
WikIT has a wealth of practical guidance about many forms of information map.
