Introduction

ntra-subject : Within a particular subject, you'll have an organization. You'll have your speed thoughts for that subject, you'll have your maps, you'll have your big dissertations (``Point of Interest'', or ``POI''), you'll have your cheat sheets, your abbreviations/shorthands (``A/S'') particular to that subject, all sorts of wonderful things. Mo... See more

When I have a piece of writing in mind, what I have, in fact, is a mental bucket: an attractor for and generator of thought. It’s like a thematic gravity well, a magnet for what would otherwise be a mess of iron filings. I’ll read books differently and listen differently in conversations. In particular I’ll remember everything better; everything wi... See more

Specifically, in his own words:2 1. A map may have a structure similar or dissimilar to the structure of the territory. The London underground map is super useful to travelers. The train drivers don’t use it at all! Maps describe a territory in a useful way, but with a specific purpose. They cannot be everything to everyone. 2. Two similar structur

... See more

writing it down on paper or on a computer where you can see it is because the brain, unlikely as it may sound, is no place for serious thinking. Any time you have serious thinking to do, the first step is to get the whole shootin’ match out of your head and set it up someplace where you can walk around it and see it from all sides. Attack, switch

... See more

If you’re part of the map-building process there’s no better tool for organizing your team’s research and keeping everyone on the same page. [...] However… I f you’re not part of the map-building process, systems maps can be exhausting to interpret.