The Mind Map Book: How to Use Radiant Thinking to Maximize Your Brain's Untapped Potential
Author: Tony Buzan, Barry Buzan
List Price: $25.00
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ISBN: 0452273226
Publisher: Plume (March, 1996)
Sales Rank: 9,433
Average Customer Rating: 4.04 out of 5
Customer Reviews
Rating: 4 out of 5
Does It Work? Do You Use It? Is It Helpful?
The majority of the reviews seem to focus on the reviewer's feelings: towards the author, his previous works, "it was too simple," "too complicated," "repetitive," and so on. However, if you're not familiar with mind-maps (which are creative techniques used to organize thoughts, identify key ideas, link themes, and remember more effectively, while using the both sides of the brain), you might think of it as a gimmicky New-Agey concept without practical applications. In other words, not useful, interesting but not useful. I'd just like to give personal endorsement. I've used mind maps for about twenty years to organize engineering projects at work, remember books I've read, identify daily goals, learn chess opening ideas, outline papers I'm writing, and identify the important from the trivial. This book does have flaws in that Buzan has already written it in his earlier works, and the title suggests to more impressive results than can be delivered ("maximize your brain's potential"). You won't become a genius, you will still have to work at thinking, you'll just have an additional tool to help you. Mind maps are fun, easy-to-use, useful ways to organize and retain information and generate ideas. Linear notes just don't jog the memory. It's still amazing to me how a hastily drawn mind map on an article, book, movie, lecture - a map I'll scribble with stupid little drawings and doodles and throw away days later - can help me remember so much years later !! It works. I use it. It helps.
Rating: 4 out of 5
A good technique for your analysis toolkit
I came to mind maps through a reference to the technique in a book on business analysis. It's fun to work through Buzan's book a couple of evenings a week. I appreciate the extensive use of color and the example mind maps. Sure enough, mind maps have proved to be a useful tool for visualizing the scope of a project, process, or system. I tend to put together a mind map whenever the project feels un-focussed. I do mine by hand, with colored pencils, then distribute colored photocopies, and this seems to wake people up nicely (no "Death by Powerpoint" here!) No, mind maps are not a be-all,end-all communications or learning method, but they definitely useful.
Rating: 2 out of 5
Interesting but not all that
I can't recommend this book. It was on to something but fails to deliver. I'm a computer guy and I think that affects my opinion. What this book teaches if that you organize your brain or plan things with a tree structure and that you should use as many pictures as possible. You start with specific items. Say a book, them you make branches coming out describing different aspects. Then you have branch coming out of those branches describing those aspects in detail. Example of on branch: Book - Plot - Love Story - Body meets girl. And Etc. And every branch should be a different color that changes with each branch. 1st branch is red, 2nd is blue, 3rd is green. And use as many colors as possible. The theory of the colors and pictures are logical because of our visual minds. The branching is semi logical because it will only half work in half the occasions. It tries to get you to relate ideas and fact through the tree structure, but its' limitations is that those things can only relate through the other branches it is connected to. So if you're trying to relate something on the left to something on the right, then you're going to have to travel through each on the branches that connect them. That could be 8 or 10 branches to connect two thoughts. One of the easiest ways to remember (and understanding) something you're learning is to relate it to something that you already know (and understand). And with each new fact you relate to the previous fact and with anything else that it is relative to. Since everything is relative and everything in this world relates to everything else, it is a simple task to accomplish with your imagination. In my mind, all new knowledge I learn affects everything I already know. Everything mesh's and connects. Every neuron in your brain is connected to another but not in a tree structure like they're selling, but a fishing net. What they suggest is a Windows Explorer based mind with colors and fancy icons. It's a nice concept but too flawed to be anywhere near a perfect system. Saves you're money, you'll spend more time on coloring and drawing than you will reading and learning. That's great if you're an artist but not for someone looking for straight answers. Read 'The Memory Book' if you're average, but if you're imagination (not creativity mind you, there is a difference - imagination is to visualize and creativity is to create. It is possible to have more of one and almost none of the other) is advanced then read its' source of inspiration 'The Art of Memory'. Similar Products
Use Your Perfect Memory: Dramatic New Techniques for Improving Your Memory, Based on the Latest Discoveries About the Human Brain
How to Mind Map: Make the Most of Your Mind and Learn to Create, Organize and Plan
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