You probably think I’m going to enthuse about the maps and their uses.  Well, I’m not. Not in this post.  You can find several acres of my enthusiasm for all types of mind maps at WikIT.  (If acres are a suitable measure for wiki pages.)

No, not the maps themselves, those two words “mind maps”.

This is not a term that goes back centuries even though some forms of tree diagram do.   So, many languages other than English have just adopted “mind maps” as well.

As a result, when we search on Twitter, we get to see what the mind mapping action is in Spanish, French and German-speaking countries.   The Spanish do have mapas mentales, the French cartes heuristiques (and quite a few others), but “mind maps” is used often enough that Internet searches reveal activity in countries the world over.

And thanks to Google Translate, we can even keep up with what mappers are doing in Thailand, Indonesia and Japan.

Roy

You can follow me on Twitter for more news about mind mapping.

Two items that may be of interest to mappers:

A while ago, Nick Duffill published a paper on Root Maps (Oh yes! that’s not “route maps”).

I didn’t pick up on it until Wallace Tait referred to it on Twitter yesterday. And after seeing it, I felt it had to be part of WikIT.  And now it is: Root Maps

The other item is a guest blog post that I was recently invited to contribute at the Visualmapper blog.  It’s an overview of information map types and when to use the different varieties, all hanging off a large mind map which you can download in MindManager form, image or PDF.

I hope they will both be useful.

Roy

Follow me on Twitter! @roygrubb

Concise Learning is a new book (it came out yesterday) about learning with mind maps, but it’s a lot more than that.

I was invited to critique this book, and I read it in late draft.  In my opinion, it should be no more than an arm’s length away from the desk of every student starting college.  It sets out a systematic five-phase study process, built on the principle that visualizing information makes learning concrete and generates interest.  It describes how to organize the material being learned visually.  It gives a method for critical thinking. It shows how to spot gaps in understanding and fill those gaps and it does all this in a highly motivating, visual, style.

It reduces work by identifying key points early on – introducing the ‘question culture’ of the curious mind – and provides important questions that you can ask yourself to support critical thinking.

I recommend parents give this book to new college students to read before the next semester begins.

Roy

OK now we’re getting there. 

Here is the mind mapping wiki in 3D

Hover over a topic, and if it has a link, you’ll see an ‘open link’ button.  Click that to open the appropriate article in WikIT.

This is Topicscape WebView and it’s getting better all the time with user feedback, like the request to open web pages more easily.

You can fly, zoom, search and re-center the landscape on a different topic, just as with Topicscape itself.

There’s WebView Help here: http://www.topicscape.com/topicscape-wiki/index.php?title=WebView_Help but for an even shorter version try these:

• To search: Just type.
• 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.

Roy

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.

• The main article
• AllergyCases [NEW]
• a team of Australian physicians 
• University of Dundee
• Kathleen Sundmark [NEW]
• Medic’All Maps 
• Madhero88
• Rowena Birch [NEW]
• Vanumu [NEW]
• Visual Medical Dictionary

I expect to be expanding on this.  [UPDATED Jan 23 '10]

Roy

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 “concept1 linking phrase concept2“.  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_Buzan would probably not approve of maps output by diagrammr.  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:
informationmaps include mindmaps; informationmaps include concept_maps; informationmaps include spidergrams; informationmaps include argument_maps; mindmaps include Buzan_mindmaps; mindmaps include common_mindmaps; common_mindmaps are similar to spidergrams; Buzan_mindmaps follow guidelines; common_mindmaps are more loosely defined than Buzan_mindmaps; informationmaps can be used to store information; informationmaps can be used to point to computer_files; informationmaps can help generate ideas; mindmaps can help organize thoughts; concept_maps need not be hierarchical; mindmaps follow a tree_structure; concept_maps generally have linking_phrases; linking_phrases are not well placed in diagrammr; concept_maps help demonstrate understanding; guidelines were set by Tony_Buzan; Tony_Buzan would probably not approve of maps output by diagrammr

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.

Start exploring now.

Roy

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.

This is all at WikIT, the information mapping wiki, right here: How to make a mind map. 

There is a separate brief article about How to make a Buzan style mind map, with useful links to pages by Buzan himself and Illumine at its foot.

WikIT has a wealth of practical guidance about many forms of information map.

Roy

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:

♦ Information maps ♦ Information map types
♦ Information map uses ♦ Mind maps ♦ Common mind maps
♦ Concept maps ♦ Concept maps or mind maps? the choice
♦ Clustering ♦ Collaborating with mind maps
♦ Creativity through mind mapping ♦ Idea maps
♦ Personal uses of mind maps ♦ Project planning with mind maps
♦ Research on the web ♦ Use of mind maps in formal education
♦ Visual thinking guides ♦ Spidergrams … and many more.

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.

Roy