Part of the inspiration for this blog came from a wonderful series of slides published by Michael Covington. In his presentation, Michael talks about the interconnectedness of writing, thinking, and learning. A central point of his talk is the idea that writing provides a vehicle for clarifying and condensing ones thoughts. I would like to expand on this with several additional methods of thinking and laying out ones thoughts.
Mind Maps
In a mind map, one relates concepts and thoughts to each other in a giant interconnected web. Rather than write everything in a purely linear fashion, a mind map takes advantage of the massively parallel nature of the brain. Mind maps are an excellent tool for learning, thinking, and memorizing and are discussed in depth all over the internet.
Drawings, Visual Representations, and Abstract Thought
An aspect of the mind that has been less widely considered is the vehicle the right side of your brain uses to convey information. Sequential actions such as writing are primarily a domain of the your brain’s left hemisphere. Even mind mapping, which is of a less sequential nature than “regular” writing, still uses language (a sequential/serial construct) and thus is heavily dependant on your brain’s left hemisphere. What then, can one use to plumb the depths of thought and insight generated in the right half of your brain?
One method is to take advantage of the heavily visual nature of your right brain and construct a series of images defining your thought or problem. If it helps, you can draw diagrams or pictures to represent aspects of your thoughts. If you do this, try to include as little actual text as possible. Instead, represent concepts as symbols or pictures in your mind. Play with the pictures and try to combine them in as many ways as you can. Oftentimes a concept can be expressed far more eloquently and succinctly as a collection of related images than as words on a page. To use a famous example, Einstein described a “deep thought experiment” he used as picturing himself flying along on a beam of light through the universe. The view he gained from that beam allowed him to come up with the theory of relativity.
Combining Techniques
As in all things, using exclusively one technique is never a good thing. To fully engage your brain and explore all aspects of a thought or idea, try every way you can think of to express the idea. Write about it, make a mind map, draw a picture, build a simulation out of household objects. At the very least the multiple forms of expression will ensure the concept becomes fully embedded in your long term memory. You may also discover that looking and thinking about the problem through a different lense opens up new avenues of thought not previously considered.
Example
While each visual “Brain Map” contains thoughts and queues unique to the thinker, I have provided a sample visual representation of this post below. See if you can catch the infinite bit.
