How to Make a Complete Map of Every Thought you Think

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writing better than 80%

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Original and thought-provoking work by drowling (drowling@narod.ru) on 2004-10-16 15:24:13, review #427

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There are two approaches to recording your thoughts. One is to simply write down everything that comes into your mind, in order, without any particular structure and organization. The other is to use something akin to the notebook system that Kimbro proposes. The hefty 131-page document, whilst being presented in an informal, stream-of-consciousness style, is nonetheless filled to the brim with technical recommendations regarding how to record and organize the output of your thinking processes. The main question to ask - an important one from my perspective as a psychologist - is whether indeed a formal system is required in order to collect thoughts. One has to wonder whether or not a system full of prescribed technicalities (though Kimbro informs us that "there is no notebook police") is beneficial or detrimental to creativity, which is, after all, one of the main goals of thinking. Some might question whether imposing any king of structuring on a process, which is perhaps exemplary of free expression of will, is of any practical benefit to the thinker. This will particularly be contested by the Platonists and Jungians among us. That said, let us not take away credit from what is a substantial effort in developing a field of study that, up to this moment, hasn't received its due attention. The body of work is, in itself, very thought-provoking; it should and hopefully will be scrutinized and adapted in order to stimulate both human and humankind to greater levels of awareness and understanding.

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Opening Doors by ProteanPrankster on 2006-10-08 11:38:52, review #489

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If like everyone else you've faced an apparently unsolveable problem or feel an opportunity is out there but can't make progress then this is the book for you.The authors style makes it feel like a personal dialog while the content is potentially life changing, IF APPLIED. Personally, I read this book 6-12 months ago and it meant nothing. I've reread it twice in the last 4 days, at least partially understanding it and beginning to apply it. Doors have opened and dead-ends blocked off permanently. The concepts (e.g. Mapping Vs Chronology, dividing when big) and illustrated examples (Personal favourite is Kitty) are linked with a stream of consiousness style of writing that at times confuses but ultimately appeals. Just thoroughly recommend it and only wish for the sake of others and myself I'd seen it earlier. USE it.

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worthwhile reinvention of the wheel by Castelo lopes on 2007-11-17 21:05:48, review #501

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writing typical

This book is about meta-cognition, developing ideas with creativity & freedom and nonlinearity in thought. It seems to describe a note-to-map technique that allows various projects to develop at the same time without the need to write heavy expository prose to get the ideas out. Rather, it wants to catch them as they fly and map their flight to know how to see them better. These intentions are duly noted. My criticism, however, is that the system being created fails to take account of how the clerical part of basic research is normally done, i.e how ideas develop through exposure to other ideas; thus, if the author (or anyone reading this) could replace the non-standard terms the author is using for more common place ones, I think very little editing of the original text would be needed (assuming that the stream-of-consciousness style was deliberate); and, we could more easily compare his methods to 'standard ones' to make an evaluation for ourselves. The problem for me is just 'how' to follow his text when the terms have not been defined and clearly exemplified. The structure of the book is clear and logical so that helps a lot. I would really like to know if the reason the book has never been revised is that its creator found fundamental flaws in it, and if so what they were (e.g. after 4 years, can computers now do the job?). But, the major issue - and I feel a crucial error in logic - that colors the system he outlines for us, is his poorly argued claim that books - non visual languages - are inherently 'coercive.' The error is to assume that a subjective experience of 'coercion' is somehow universal and to base an entire manifesto on its subsequent decimation. In fact, its frightening. Have we become so 'dehabituated' to reading that the thought - for a younger generation? - of submitting to an author's point of view, so as to apprehend it, is the very act of subjugation itself. I think this is the real criticism that compels me to comment here: all self-help culture (whether it be Buzan or the book GTD he mentions), the late dot.comers and other denizens of visual culture seem to fall into the same trap, confusing form with the content of thought. That is to say: everything the author presents here is everything you need to map out the totality of your thoughts and delineate them with precision...if you lack personal judgment. It is a personal treatise on mechanical thinking and thus an artifact of the failure of literacy itself. And it's hardly his fault. It's a cultural tide the result of years of indoctrinatory non-thought that culminate in higher education everywhere outside of the hard sciences. In the eons since the 'death of the author' we must pause briefly here and acknowledge a true author, Lion Kimbro, for his gargantuan effort on our behalf and in spite of his constraints. An author of the highest degree. In conclusion, I highly recommend reading this book (if you can get through it, it's self-rewarding). It a superb organizational system that assimilates many others and common sense and improves them all a bit, an excellent work in progress. I really think that a redaction down to 5 or 10 pages would serve the subject matter well and offer the reader a highly useful conceptual tool for many different applications besides self help. ...And a few pictures would be nice too!

The above review is copyrighted by its author, and is copylefted under the following license:
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The contents of this web page, except the parts contributed by members of The Assayer, are copyright (c) 2000 by Benjamin Crowell, and are copyleft licensed under the Open Publication License 1.0, without options A or B.