Divergent thinkingFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Divergent thinking is a thought process or method used to generate creative ideas by exploring many

possible solutions. It is often used in conjunction with convergent thinking, which follows a particular set of

logical steps to arrive at one solution, which in some cases is a "correct" solution. Divergent thinking typically

occurs in a spontaneous, free-flowing manner, such that many ideas are generated in an emergent cognitive

fashion. Many possible solutions are explored in a short amount of time, and unexpected connections are

drawn. After the process of divergent thinking has been completed, ideas and information are organized and

structured using convergent thinking.[1]

Psychologists have found that a high IQ alone does not guarantee creativity. Instead, personality traits that

promote divergent thinking are more important. Divergent thinking is found among people with personalities

which have traits such as nonconformity, curiosity, willingness to take risks, and persistence.[2] Additionally,

researchers at Vanderbilt University found that musicians are more adept at utilizing both hemispheres and

more likely to use divergent thinking in their thought processes.[3]

Activities which promote divergent thinking include creating lists of questions, setting aside time for thinking and

meditation, brainstorming, subject mapping / "bubble mapping", keeping a journal, creating artwork, and free

writing.[1] In free writing, a person will focus on one particular topic and write non-stop about it for a short period

of time, in a stream of consciousness fashion.[1]

Mind mapFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may

be challenged andremoved. (January 2009)

A hand-drawn mind map

A mind map is a diagram used to represent words, ideas, tasks, or other items linked to and arranged around

a central key word or idea. Especially in British English, the termsspidergram and spidergraph are more

common,[1] but they can cause confusion with the term spider diagram used in mathematics and logic. Mind

maps are used to generate,visualize, structure, and classify ideas, and as an aid

to studying and organizing information, solving problems, making decisions, and writing.

The elements of a given mind map are arranged intuitively according to the importance of the concepts, and

are classified into groupings, branches, or areas, with the goal of representing semantic or other connections

between portions of information. Mind maps may also aid recall of existing memories.[citation needed]

By presenting ideas in a radial, graphical, non-linear manner, mind maps encourage a brainstorming approach

to planning and organizational tasks.[citation needed] Though the branches of a mindmap represent hierarchical tree

structures, their radial arrangement disrupts the prioritizing of concepts typically associated with hierarchies

presented with more linear visual cues.[citation needed] This orientation towards brainstorming encourages users to

enumerate and connect concepts without a tendency to begin within a particular conceptual framework.[citation

needed]

The mind map can be contrasted with the similar idea of concept mapping. The former is based on radial

hierarchies and tree structures denoting relationships with a central governing concept, whereas concept maps

are based on connections between concepts in more diverse patterns. However, either can be part of a

larger personal knowledge base system.

Contents

[hide]

1 Characteristics

2 Mind map guidelines

3 History

4 Uses

5 Effectiveness in learning

6 Tools

7 Trademarks

8 See also

9 References

10 Further reading

[edit]Characteristics

Mind maps are, by definition, a graphical method of taking notes. Their visual basis helps one to distinguish

words or ideas, often with colors and symbols.[citation needed] They generally take a hierarchical or tree branch

format, with ideas branching into their subsections. Mind maps allow for greater creativity when recording ideas

and information, as well as allowing the note-taker to associate words with visual representations.[citation

needed] Mind maps differ from concept maps in that mind maps focus on only one word or idea, whereas concept

maps connect multiple words or ideas.

A key distinction between mind maps and modelling graphs is that there is no rigorous right or wrong with mind

maps, relying on the arbitrariness of mnemonic systems. A UML Diagram or a Semantic network has structured

elements modelling relationships, with lines connecting objects to indicate relationship. This is generally done

in black and white with a clear and agreed iconography. Mind maps serve a different purpose: they help with

memory and organization. Mind maps are collections of words structured by the mental context of the author

with visual mnemonics, and, through the use of colour, icons and visual links are informal and necessary to the

proper functioning of the mind map.

[edit]Mind map guidelines

Mind map of mind map guidelines

Author Tony Buzan suggests the following guidelines for creating mind maps:

1. Start in the center with an image of the topic, using at least 3 colors.

2. Use images, symbols, codes, and dimensions throughout your mind map.

3. Select key words and print using upper or lower case letters.

4. Each word/image is best alone and sitting on its own line.

5. The lines should be connected, starting from the central image. The central lines are thicker, organic

and thinner as they radiate out from the centre.

6. Make the lines the same length as the word/image they support.

7. Use multiple colors throughout the mind map, for visual stimulation and also to encode or group.

8. Develop your own personal style of mind mapping.

9. Use emphasis and show associations in your mind map.

10. Keep the mind map clear by using radial hierarchy, numerical order or outlines to embrace your

branches.

This list is itself more concise than a prose version of the same information and the mind map of these

guidelines is itself intended to be more memorable and quicker to scan than either the prose or the list.

[edit]History

Pictorial methods for recording knowledge and modelling systems have been used for centuries in

learning, brainstorming, memory, visual thinking, and problem solving by educators, engineers, psychologists,

and others. Some of the earliest examples of such graphical records were developed by Porphyry of Tyros, a

noted thinker of the 3rd century, as he graphically visualized the concept categories of Aristotle.

Philosopher Ramon Llull (1235–1315) also used such techniques.

The semantic network was developed in the late 1950s as a theory to understand human learning and

developed further by Allan M. Collins and M. Ross Quillian during the early 1960s.

British popular psychology author Tony Buzan claims to have invented modern mind mapping.[2] He claimed the

idea was inspired by Alfred Korzybski's general semantics as popularized in science fiction novels, such as

those of Robert A. Heinlein and A.E. van Vogt. Buzan argues that while "traditional" outlines force readers to

scan left to right and top to bottom, readers actually tend to scan the entire page in a non-linear fashion. Buzan

also uses popular assumptions about the cerebral hemispheres in order to promote the exclusive use of mind

mapping over other forms of note making.

The mind map continues to be used in various forms, and for various applications including learning and

education (where it is often taught as "webs", "mind webs", or "webbing"), planning, and in engineering

diagramming.

When compared with the concept map (which was developed by learning experts in the 1970s) the structure of

a mind map is a similar radial, but is simplified by having one central key word.

[edit]Uses

Rough mindmap notes taken during a course session

A mind map is often created around a single word or text, placed in the center, to which associated ideas,

words and concepts are added.

Mind maps have many applications in personal, family, educational, and business situations,

including notetaking, brainstorming (wherein ideas are inserted into the map radially around the center node,

without the implicit prioritization that comes from hierarchy or sequential arrangements, and wherein grouping

and organizing is reserved for later stages), summarizing, as a mnemonic technique, or to sort out a

complicated idea. Mind maps are also promoted as a way to collaborate in color pen creativity sessions.

Mind maps can be used for:

problem solving

outline/framework design

structure/relationship representations

anonymous collaboration

marriage of words and visuals

individual expression of creativity

condensing material into a concise and memorable format

team building or synergy creating activity

enhancing work morale

Despite these direct use cases, data retrieved from mind maps can be used to enhance several other

applications, for instance expert search systems, search engines and search and tag query recommender.[3] To

do so, mind maps can be analysed with classic methods of information retrieval to classify a mind map's author

or documents that are linked from within the mind map.[3]

Mindmaps can be drawn by hand, either as "rough notes" during a lecture or meeting, for example, quality. An

example of a rough mind map is illustrated. There are also a number of software packages available for

producing mind maps.

[edit]Effectiveness in learning

Buzan[4] claims that the mind map is a vastly superior note taking method because it does not lead to a "semi-

hypnotic trance" state induced by other note forms. Buzan also argues that the mind map uses the full range of

left and right human cortical skills, balances the brain, taps into the alleged "99% of your unused mental

potential", as well as intuition (which he calls "superlogic"). However, scholarly research suggests that such

claims may actually be marketing hypebased on the 10% of brain myth and exaggeration of the importance of

lateralization of brain function. Critics argue that hemispheric specialization theory has been identified as

pseudoscientific when applied to mind mapping.[5]

Farrand, Hussain, and Hennessy (2002) found that spider diagrams (similar to concept maps) had a limited but

significant impact on memory recall in undergraduate students (a 10% increase over baseline for a 600-word

text only) as compared to preferred study methods (a 6% increase over baseline). This improvement was only

robust after a week for those in the diagram group and there was a significant decrease in motivation compared

to the subjects' preferred methods of note taking. Farrand et al. suggested that learners preferred to use other

methods because using a mind map was an unfamiliar technique, and its status as a "memory enhancing"

technique engendered reluctance to apply it. Nevertheless the conclusion of the study was "Mind maps provide

an effective study technique when applied to written material. However before mind maps are generally

adopted as a study technique, consideration has to be given towards ways of improving motivation amongst

users."[6]

Pressley, VanEtten, Yokoi, Freebern, and VanMeter (1998) found that learners tended to learn far better by

focusing on the content of learning material rather than worrying over any one particular form of note taking.[7]

[edit]Tools

Mind mapping software can be used to organize large amounts of information, combining spatial organization,

dynamic hierarchical structuring and node folding. Software packages can extend the concept of mind mapping

by allowing individuals to map more than thoughts and ideas with information on their computers and the

internet, like spreadsheets, documents, internet sites and images.

[edit]Trademarks

Psychologist Edward Tolman is credited with the creation of cognitive mapping.[8] The use of the term "Mind

Maps" is claimed as a trademark by The Buzan Organisation, Ltd. in the United Kingdom[9] and the United

States.[10] The trademark does not appear in the records of the Canadian Intellectual Property Office.[11] In the

US "Mind Maps" is trademarked as a "service mark" expressly for "EDUCATIONAL SERVICES, NAMELY,

CONDUCTING COURSES IN SELF-IMPROVEMENT" — other products and services are not covered by the

trademark.

\

16 Ways to Increase Creativity and Generate Clever Ideas

by SETH  · 1 COMMENT

We’re all looking for ways to increase creativity, but sometimes it isn’t easy. No matter what kind of work you do, sometimes you run into a wall; the ideas dry up and you feel anything but creative. It happens to

everyone. Don’t worry. You’re not alone. You need a break. You need a strategy. You need a saga.

Here’s your saga, delivered in 16 steaming hot points. Use them, abuse them, but do tell me how they work for you.

1. Consistent Effort If you make a consistent effort to create new things, you’re bound to have results. If you just wait around for inspiration to strike, you could be waiting for a long time. Inspiration tends to strike those who are already in the middle of the creative process. A reward, if you will, for your diligent work.2. Record Everything Keep a notebook, sketchbook, or recording device handy at all times. Ideas are slippery as eels, and if you wait too long, the damn things will swim away. If you have a smashing idea just before you fall asleep, you probably won’t remember it in the morning, and if you’re driving or rolling on the subway, something else will distract your attention.3. Elaborate on Something If you’ve already made something cool, go back and see if you can’t expand on it.

Especially if some time has passed and an idea has had time to incubate, you’ll have new things to add, angles to elaborate on.4. Switch Gears If you’re doing brain work, do body work, and vice versa. If you’re writing a report, do a puzzle, if you’re building a sculpture of a giant chrome sponge, sing a song.5. Think Laterally Look for associated ideas, especially while you’re already working on something. As I’m writing this, I’ve had ideas for four six more posts. While I won’t use them all, it’s nice to have them to draw from.6. Mind Maps Mind maps are effective because they make the most of lateral, horizontal thinking. They give you a chance to put a lot of information down about a topic without worrying about actually organizing the information. This is just my opinion, but mind maps may be a close representation of how thoughts are structured. Here’s the wiki entry.7. Don’t be Afraid of Bad Ideas When you have a lot of bad ideas, you’re bound to have good ones. Plus, with lots of bad ideas you’ll have less trouble telling the good from the bad.8. Get Emotional Horror movies and comedies come to mind, but you can also read really sad stories, instigate an argument with a stranger, walk in a grave yard, whatever. Just apologize if things get out of hand.9. Hang out With Friends Depending on your ‘vert persuasion*, you may need more or less of this, but fun with friends can be relaxing. Just shooting the shit and forgetting about things for a while can give your brain some breathing room (*introvert or extrovert).10. Sleep On It Whether you’re working on a problem or looking for new ideas, sleep can give your brain the chance to mull a problem over, give you a new plan of attack.11. Take a Hike Walking is good, but hiking is better. Mind-body connection, you’ve heard it before, but it really works. If

you’re trying to generate new ideas or feeling stumped, getting the blood flowing seems to mix things up.  When the body starts working, more neurons start firing. While walking is good, getting  out in the woods is better. Being in nature reduces stress.12. Free Write Similar to morning journaling, only more focused on a single problem. Write about your topic, whatever you’re stuck on, for about fifteen minutes. Don’t censor, don’t edit, just write whatever comes to your head. Works  best if the pen doesn’t leave the paper.13. Take a Media Fast Lots of people of written on this, but there’s a reason: it’s effective. Media, this blog included, can be a huge time sink; consumption can can stifle creativity. Taking a complete break can be challenging, but the rewards are well worth it.14. Learn a Useless Skill Useless skills are entertaining and make life more fun.15. Really Listen To Music. Without other distractions, just put on a amazing record, put on good headphones, sit back, relax, and listen. Pick out a single instrument to follow. Feel the groove, the flow of the record. If the feeling gets you, get up and dance.16. Do stuff you find troubling. Shoot a gun. Gamble. Get sick on liquor. Eat a bloody steak. Give alcohol to a bum. Go to a strip club. Watch television for a couple hours. Sniff glue and go to a creepy mega-church (okay, scratch the sniffing glue part). Going outside of your comfort zone will give you new ideas.We’ve reached the end of a long list, but I’m sure I’ve missed some stuff. What can you add? Don’t be shy!

14 More Ways to Increase Creativity and Generate Clever Ideas

by SETH  · 0 COMMENTS

The last post was fun to write, so without further ado about nothing, let’s continue the list. Here we go with 14 more ways to generate ideas, increase creativity, cure cancer, end all wars…you get the idea.

17. Travel Travel will give your brain a chance to go wild. New places, sights, smells, gravitational pulls, all these will give you a ton of new ideas. Remember, travel doesn’t mean going to the other side of the world. Try going to a nearby town, a place you’ve never or rarely been. Or imagine how you’d visit your town if you were a tourist.18. Screw Off. Give yourself time just to do whatever you like. Anything. Guilt free. Just get away and have fun.19. Try a Different Medium (or instrument) Writers drawing, painters writing, drummers singing (uh, on second thought…), all these things could be messy but useful. Creating in a different medium, especially with the understanding that it’s just for fun, makes you use different parts of your brain.

20. Just Start. Don’t worry about making something awesome. Just make something. Something is better than nothing. Nothing is  perfect the first time or the tenth time.21. Optimize your Workspace. I just did this a few days ago by clearing a bunch of crap off desk, duct taping some wires to the back of the desk, replacing the desk lamp with a little plant, and getting rid of the dead hookers. Those small change helped motivate me to clear some old stuff of the to-do list.22. Move Your Space. My wife hates it, but every few months I’ll move the furniture around. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, but at least it keeps things fresh. Plus, I usually find something interesting.23. Screw Perfection. Perfection is the worst enemy of creativity. Creativity is play, and play can never be perfect. Striving for excellence is great, but perfection is an unattainable goal, sure to kill any creativity. Internal editors and censors aren’t you’re friends in the first rounds of creating. Keep them at bay as long as possible.24. Visualize. Whether in your mind or on paper, seeing things in pictures rather than thinking of them in words can give you a different way to look at things.25. Abandon Stuff Sometimes activities just take up too much mental power. Focus your energies and drop low-value brain draining tasks.26. Get Injured. When I broke my foot, I sat around the house for a month. While that wasn’t the brightest time of my life, I did get a new perspective on mobility and  health, as well as a few story ideas. Of course, intentionally injuring yourself is pretty stupid, but if you do get injured, make the most of it. Make sure you have health insurance (Seriously, don’t injure yourself. I don’t want to get sued).

27. Ignore People Some people…geez. If you listen to them long enough, you’ll believe everything awesome  has already been done, all ideas are rip-offs, and all people are shitheads. Don’t let their negativity, laziness, and failures of imagination to drag you down.28. Meditation I’m still not 100% sold on meditation, but millions of Buddhists can’t be wrong. If nothing else, just stepping away from the mundane, closing your eyes, and doing some breathing is effective. For me, meditation is sitting on a mountaintop and listening to the wind.29. Step Away. Adding psychological distance   frees up a little of your brain, giving you a chance to examine a problem as an abstract problem rather than a concrete issue. Concrete can be tough to move. For example, why is it so easy to see the problems of others but so damn difficult to see your own? There’s no distance.30. Work in a Different Venue Changing scenery can yield new ideas and inspiration. Our surroundings influence us more than we care to admit. Change your surroundings and you’ll change your work. For me, this means leaving my apartment and taking my notebook to the neighborhood pub. Nobody speaks English there so I get left alone, and they feed me peanuts. Maybe a pub isn’t the best place for everybody, but I always come up with stuff when I’m there.Photo credit : josefstuefer

ncrease Creativity With Mind Mapping

by SETH M. BAKER  · 11 COMMENTS

I’m not a smart man.

In fact, I’m a little dim, like a fluorescent bulb that’s about to die. Sometimes I have a bright flicker, other times I forget how to tie my shoe.

Yet, to do the things I like to do, I need all the brains I can get. For this reason, I keep two kinds of journals, make a lot of lists, take a lot of notes, and use all the mind tricks I can. Minds maps are one of my favorites. Used in conjunction with my knockoff moleskine and daily journal, it’s like having an extra brain.I use mind maps because they are fast, visual, and associative. Using a mind map is like thinking on paper. Why else use mind maps?

Mind maps help you: Write faster and with greater ease Smash the walls of writers block See a problem in a new way Organize large amounts of information

Discover new connections between concepts Solve complex problems Remember past events with great clarityAbout two years ago, I started messing around with mind maps. I’ve used them for fiction writing, note taking, and blog posts. In fact, almost every post I write starts out as a mind map. Maybe its because I’m lazy and dim, but I’ve found using a mind map or concept map cuts my writing time almost in half andgives me a more concise final product.Additionally, researchers have shown that using mind maps increases recall by 10% among motivated students.If you’re interested, read on…

How to Make a Mind MapFirst, let me say that I don’t always follow the ‘official’ instructions to the letter. My maps are usually devoid of drawings, sloppy, and notoriously monochromatic.

Think of a mind map like the root system of a tree. The central idea is the tree, and each supporting idea is a root. Each main root will have several smaller roots growing out from it.

1. Start with a blank sheet of copy paper, oriented horizontally. Write the main idea in the middle. Since I need to do some planning for a temporary move to Chiang Mai, Thailand. Let’s use that for a quick and dirty example.

2. From the main idea, add the main categories. Silly pictures helpful.

3. From each main category, add relevant sub-categories.

4. Add supporting information as needed. Making your mind map will spark new ideas. When I started this, I only had six main categories, but by the time I finished, I had ten, and I’ll probably add a couple more.

5. If you like, you can add color. Just for fun, I did. The final product:

For other, better examples of mind maps, check out some of these: Link 1, Link 2, Link 3, Link 4Now that I’ve got all this information down on paper, I have a pretty complete picture of what I need to do to make my temporary move happen. The next thing I’ll do is turn this into a project list; each category will have its own to-do list…but that’s a post for another day.

Bonus tip: To keep all your mind maps organized, use a three-ring binder with clear sheets/sleeves. After you finish each map, date it, give it a page number, slide it in the plastic sleeve, and make an entry in the index.6 Easy Ways to Increase Focus

by SETH  · 2 COMMENTS

Focus is as elusive as a ghost and slippery as a sturgeon, here one minute and gone the next. We need a high level of focus to do our best work, but emails, cell phones, and the repo man all beg for our attention like neglected children.

Here are sixteen ways to increase focus, attention, and mindfulness.1. Eliminate Distractions The internet, television, cell phones, other people. All these things eat away at our attention and focus. The closer you can come to monk-like isolation, the easier you’ll find focus. If that’s impossible, headphones with good music are a viable alternative.2. Turn off the Inner Monologue If your inner monologue is hurting and not helping, if your mind is like a wild monkey jumping all over the place, you need to take steps to quiet it. Daily journaling will help you increase your focus by reducing excessive mental chatter.3. Set a Schedule If you have a set time to do some activity every day, you’ll have an easier time settling in that time and blocking out all else. The benefit of having a clear finish time will make it easier to say ‘I’ll attend to [insert distraction here] after my time is up.”

4. Care About Your Task Doing meaningless work is a recipe for disaster.  If you have something you really don’t want care about but have to do anyway, take the carrot and stick approach. Promise yourself a steak dinner or a stiff drink when you finish.5. Clear Your Head Our mind likes to hold onto stuff, all in the hopes we’ll remember to do something about it.  By writing things down, you’re telling your brain it can relax and stop holding onto so many thoughts. Take a few minutes and write down everything you think you need to do and turn it into a todo list.  Be thorough, and don’t forget the small items and things you’ve been putting off.6. Know your Body Your circadian rhythms will determine your best time to work. For me, morning and late at night are my favorite times to write. I have a couple energy slumps during the day when my mind shuts down. Fortunately I’m at work during this time.7. Take Breaks Everyone has a different threshold for how long their focus lasts. This time also varies from task to task. If I’m recording songs or killing zombies, I’m good for hours, but when I’m using my logical brain I need to stop every 45 minutes or so.8. Go For a Walk (or Hike) A short walk around the block, or a longer walk in the woods, gets the blood moving and the brain focused. Take some deep breaths and let your body get into the rhythm of the walk. Goethe swore by evenings walks. You should too.9. Learn about  Flow  In short, Flow is a state of attention and engagement where you’re totally wrapped up in your task. When you enter the flow state, you increase your focus by a factor of ten. As skill level and difficulty increase, the likelihood of reaching flow increases.

10. Do a Repetitive Physical Task Repetitive physical activity like scales for musicians, knitting, whittling, or throwing darts demand focus and can help shut down  the internal monologue.11. Study Music Learning piano is a great way to develop concentration, focus, and patience. Using both hands, playing progressively more difficult pieces, learning the language of music, all these will teach you soft skills that allow you to focus longer.12. Get Plenty of Rest A decent night’s sleep can mean the difference between being a javelin or a jellyfish. If you’re flagging in the middle of the day, a short nap will rest and refresh you.13. De-stress and Relax Too much work isn’t good for anybody. If you can’t focus, maybe you’re overworked, tired, run down. Besides leading to distraction, too much stress can cause health problems.14. Shift Gears If you find yourself staring at your project and drooling, maybe you need to work on something else. Joyce Carol Oates, an insanely creative and productive novelist, says never has less than two projects to work on at any given time. When she gets stuck on one, she switches to another one.15. Have Your Own Space and Set Boundaries If you can’t have a separate workspace/studio where you putter around undisturbed, set boundaries with the people in your life. Tell them that the sooner you finish your task, the sooner you can spend time with them.16. Begin with the end in mind If you can visualize your outcome, your brain will fill in the steps between where you’re at and where you need to go; if you know where you’re going, you’ll figure out how to get there, avoiding distraction due to

uncertainty. Visualizing the end is like knowing your destination on a long trip.