Blogs/How to read a mind-map?

How to read a Mind Map?

The word mind-map itself seems so complicated. Is this because our mind is the toughest thing to crack? Its capabilities are endless and it seems to be a black hole that cannot be visualized, controlled, seen?

Whether it is or not, is neither my intention nor my target. But, a mind-map is definitely much simpler and helps simplify things in a way that we may never understand.

Another reason, we treat mind or mind-map as a tough nut to crack is because of the depths to which it can take; is because of the multiple tangents that we may start riding into.

Isn't that the beauty of it? Anything, a concept, a lesson, a story, an algorithm – if we can imagine it in a graphical (linear or non-linear) manner triggering multiple visualizations in our mind, the chances are – we will never forget it. The stimulation that the mind or intellect receives is tremendous, leading to an understanding beyond belief.

So, how do we understand it? I am still not going into creation of a mind-map; my thought process being, if we can understand a mind-map, I am sure we will also be able to create plenty.

Let's dive in now…

Every mind-map has two basic components:

Node

A node holds a concept in itself. It can have a title and a little description with some details about the concept. Every mind-map has a central node which is the starting point, and then multiple other nodes connected directly or indirectly to the central node.

Edge or a Connector

The edge defines the relationship between the two nodes it is connecting.

At the crux, it is just these two and you can use these in a plethora of ways to depict or decipher information.

Start from the central node. Read the title and the description, navigate to the immediate child nodes and read them too. At the same time, review the edge/connector to understand how the two nodes are linked in connection with the topic you are learning.

Do this exercise between every two nodes that are connected.

This sounds very simple, right? The real fun begins now because we now enter into the realms of the mind.

Before we jump in there, let me take a slight detour. Trust me, we are not avoiding the subject.

Imagine the places we have lived all our lives, where we are born, brought up, the college or any other place that is significant to you. Every memory is photographically etched into our mind. They are not in a written form. They are in a form that is understood by your mind.

This leads us to a simple fact: our mind understands graphics better than any other form. Hence, the mind-maps.

Coming back now, let the nodes and the connectors with their concepts sink into your memory. Start conversing with the nodes, visualize them in a way only you may understand (we do this already with every scene that we see consistently and constantly).

Take a simple topic, try it! If not at the first time, you will soon.

Blogs/How to read a mind-map?