Michael Jackson and your ability to GROK

Posted by Faizel Mohidin on Aug 30, 2009 in Mind Mapping, Mind Maps in Education | 3 comments

I first discovered the word ‘Grok’ in Joyce Wycoff’s book, Mindmapping about 15 years ago. I covered the word in my article ‘The Mind’s unknown potential’ based on a chapter in her book.

‘Grokking’ falls into the category of gestalt psychology, where humans are able to see things as a whole despite apparent contradictions and ambiguities. One’s understanding of the situation is so good that it becomes a part of us. Its pattern is understood completely as a gestalt.

Gestalt psychology also covers things like eemergence, reification, multistability and invariance.

From Wikipedia:

Emergence

Emergence is demonstrated by the perception of the Dog Picture, which depicts a Dalmatian dog sniffing the ground in the shade of overhanging trees. The dog is not recognized by first identifying its parts (feet, ears, nose, tail, etc.), and then inferring the dog from those component parts. Instead, the dog is perceived as a whole, all at once. However, this is a description of what occurs in vision and not an explanation. Gestalt theory does not explain how the percept of a dog emerges.

Reification

Reification

Reification is the constructive or generative aspect of perception, by which the experienced percept contains more explicit spatial information than the sensory stimulus on which it is based.
For instance, a triangle will be perceived in picture A, although no triangle has actually been drawn. In pictures B and D the eye will recognize disparate shapes as “belonging” to a single shape, in C a complete three-dimensional shape is seen, where in actuality no such thing is drawn.
Reification can be explained by progress in the study of illusory contours, which are treated by the visual system as “real” contours.

Multistability

Multistability (or multistable perception) is the tendency of ambiguous perceptual experiences to pop back and forth unstably between two or more alternative interpretations. This is seen for example in the Necker cube, and in Rubin’s Figure / Vase illusion shown. Other examples include the ‘three-pronged widget’ and artist M. C. Escher’s artwork and the appearance of flashing marquee lights moving first one direction and then suddenly the other. Again, Gestalt does not explain how images appear multistable, only that they do.

Invariance

Invariance

Invariance is the property of perception whereby simple geometrical objects are recognized independent of rotation, translation, and scale; as well as several other variations such as elastic deformations, different lighting, and different component features. For example, the objects in A in the figure are all immediately recognized as the same basic shape, which are immediately distinguishable from the forms in B. They are even recognized despite perspective and elastic deformations as in C, and when depicted using different graphic elements as in D. Computational theories of vision, such as those by David Marr, have had more success in explaining how objects are classified.

Now what has this to do with Mind Mapping and Michael Jackson?

Mind Maps allow you to see the ‘whole picture’. If you memorise a Mind Map of a topic, you create the hooks for your brain to create memory associations. Your brain will automatically fill in the blanks and complete the picture, making it easier to recall detailed information, even if you only memorise the main branches.

When you think of Michael Jackson, what picture do you see in your Mind’s eye?

If you have a look at the following pictures, your brain will immediately know that it’s Michael Jackson, despite the radical changes. Your wonderful brain naturally builds the neural networks to associate the various pictures of him as being the same person.

The pattern is understood completely as a gestalt. i.e. you have Grokked it!

Five Minutes to better Time Management – using Mind Maps

Posted by Faizel Mohidin on Apr 11, 2009 in Five Minute Mind Maps, Mind Mapping, Mind Maps at Work, Personal Mind Maps | 0 comments

Time is the one resource that has been given to every human being in the same quantity. How you use it is up to you.

By using Mind Maps as your main Planning and Time Management tool, you will always have a handle on your time.

There are numerous Time Management Principles which you can use with your Mind Maps to  ensure that you are always focused on the correct things. By using good time management principles you can actually ‘gain time’. Good Time management will leave you with more time on your hands to do what you really want to do.

I will cover time management principles in other articles. This article will show you an amazing technique that you can apply to all your important and urgent tasks.

For maximum results, do this daily. Spend the first five to ten minutes of your day to plan the day ahead.

Forget about yesterday and don’t worry about tomorrow. Plan today!

The ‘quick burst’ Five Minute Mind Map for better time management

When I am in a in a crisis situation, or just simply have too much to do, I often apply the following technique.

• Take out a blank piece of paper (A4, or 81/2 x 11 in), turn it sideways (landscape) and draw a circle in the centre.
• Put today’s date in the centre
• Add an image if you can think of one that suits the tasks at hand
• Spend five minutes jotting down what needs to be done on this new Mind Map using branches radiating out from the centre
• Take a short break (2 mins. max)
• Reorganise your Mind Map into categories that can be naturally grouped together on a new Mind Map
• Number the branches in order of priority

You now have a visual representation of everything that needs to be done with priorities assigned. You will be amazed at how powerful this technique is.

Do this once a day for a month; each time starting a new Mind Map without looking at your old one. You will be amazed at how your brain adapts and actually becomes better at managing your time.

If you are not sure how to Mind Map, enrol for our Free Mind Map classes at classes.mindmaptutor.com. The Principles of Mind Mapping and the Seven Steps in creating a Mind Map can be learned at no cost at all. You could also browse MindMapTutor.com for free articles on Mind Maps and Mind Mapping.

Awaken your creative genius with Mind Maps

Posted by Faizel Mohidin on Apr 10, 2009 in Mind Mapping, Mind Maps at Work, Mind Maps in Education, Personal Mind Maps | 0 comments

The world is divided into people that almost match the way the brain is structured; creative people and uncreative people. As knowledge of the brain grew, this divide became more entrenched instead of being eradicated. People are now being labelled as being ‘left-brained’ and ‘right brained’. The left brained people are the logical, mathematical people and the right brained are the creative, artistic people.

The result? Quotes like: ‘I am not logical’, ‘I cannot problem solve’, ‘I am not creative’, ‘I cannot draw’, ‘I cannot come up with new ideas’. I cannot, I cannot, I cannot…

How do you label yourself?

Tony Buzan, the inventor of Mind Maps, is one of the few people that say that this labelling is simply wrong!

We are not ‘left-brained’ or ‘right-brained’ people. We are ‘whole-brained’ people!

If you feel that you have an inclination to one side, then the more you introduce the ‘other side’ of the brain into your daily life, the better you will perform.

Let’s take me, for example.

I work in the Information Technology field. “Ah, left-brained“, you say!

Yet my websites were conceived and planned using Mind Maps. The layout, the colours, the logo, even the article you are reading at the moment had to be conceptualised first – before implementing.

This conceptualisation and design issues are largely ‘right brain’ activities. Without me applying my ‘right brain’, I would never have been able to put together something like this. I would have remained ‘behind the scenes’, doing the programming and would’ve gotten a ‘right brained’ graphic artist and writer to do the Website layout and write the articles.

Granted, there are probably people better at writing, or better at website layout than I am, but the combination of those functions, brings out the best in me.

The Mind Map is the perfect tool to explore your creativity, as it naturally combines your artistic flair with your logical organizing abilities.

Creative thinking requires you to think in new ways – to be original. Creative thinking involves:

Flexibility

• To be original, you have to be able to see things from different angles.
• You should be able to see existing links between ideas and find new ones.
• You have to see the opposite point of view.
• You have to take old concepts and rearrange them in new ways.
• You need to reverse pre-existing ideas.
• You need to include all your senses in the creation of ideas

Originality

This is the heart of all creative thinking. To be original you have to:

• Be unique
• Be unusual
• Forget about the ‘right’ answer
• Be ‘illogical’
• Break the rules
• Be ambiguous
• Forget about making mistakes
• Be foolish
• Be frivolous
• Introduce ‘play’ into your work

While people think that this is uncontrolled, exactly the opposite is true. Creativity often comes from a great deal of intellectual energy and high levels of concentration.

The Mind Map enables you to do all of this – and more!

Five minutes to being more creative

The next time you have to tackle a project, or something big try the following technique:

• Take out an A4, or larger page
• Turn the page sideways
• Draw a circle in the centre of the page
• Put an image or a description of what you are trying to accomplish in the centre
• Spend five minutes Mind Mapping your ideas and thoughts on the subject
• Take a short break
• Draw a new Mind Map and categorise your thoughts and ideas into what you think are logical groupings

You will now have a graphical overview of what needs to happen. There are often some ‘surprises’, which you would never have thought of, if you did not Mind Map it.

If you are not sure how to draw a Mind Map, enrol now for our Free Course on Mind Mapping. Go to classes.mindmaptutor.com and enrol now!

The free course will teach you the Principles of Mind Mapping, as well as the Seven Steps in creating a Mind Map – and more.