As some of you may know, I am a fan of mind mapping.
I have recently tried an AI-driven mind-mapping summarising software called Mapify, which basically takes web-based input and turns it into a mind map to assist those who assimilate information in this way.
This is today's video summarised from the video, not the transcript. There are a few transcription errors as a result, but not serious ones:
Clearly, there are problems with viewing this as it is, so click this link to see a larger version.
Read it from the first main heading at 1 o'clock to the centre, and work clockwise from there.
This reveals that there are, in effect, six big ideas or chapters in the video, each with two main sub-headings (bar the conclusion) and then with arguments in support of each.
My question is, does that help anyone? Is adding these mind maps of use, or a waste of my time?
Is a mind map of use when seeking to summarise a video?
- Yes (37%, 98 Votes)
- Don't care - I would not use it (25%, 67 Votes)
- No (20%, 52 Votes)
- Don't know (18%, 47 Votes)
Total Voters: 264
Loading ...Thanks.
Thanks for reading this post.
You can share this post on social media of your choice by clicking these icons:
There are links to this blog's glossary in the above post that explain technical terms used in it. Follow them for more explanations.
You can subscribe to this blog's daily email here.
And if you would like to support this blog you can, here:
Buy me a coffee!
There’ll be no one-size-fits-all answer. For me, reading from a start position one o’ clock didn’t sit naturally – but maybe that’s an age thing. The other aspect for me is that these are generally 10 to 15 minute videos, it’s surely not that hard to sit down and watch it and take it in – presumably you’ve clicked on it in the first place because you’re interested in the subject. For online events of a similar nature that I take part in, I still use a note pad and pen to take notes on the fly, typing them up into a coherent format afterwards also adds to the process of having “got it”. But to stress, this is just me. Other people will have different processes for taking things in, so mapify may well suit them better. My only concern with that format is that some people may be tempted cut and paste and present it as completed coursework.
Plagiarism testing software would easily pick that up
Thanks
I haven’t had a chance to watch the video but I looked at the mind-map and read the summaries of each, which gave me a good picture of the content. Works for me! Thanks Richard
Thanks
Fascinating and frankly humbling because it would take me a great deal of effort to analyse my own work like this; it’s what AI is really good at – summarising what it’s given. But in this case I can’t see any use for it. It’s so good because it looks backwards at a piece of work already written. If it could write as well as you Richard, when it was given just the prompts that it has produced, then we should all be worried.
You flatter me.
I voted don’t know for 2 reasons.
I really don’t know what you are talking about.
Even when I clicked the link to see a larger version I could not read anything but the centre, so I couldn’t work out what you are talking about.
I would be fascinated to read why others voted yes or no.
Sorry you could not read it
Where you on a phone?
I’ve been using Mapify for about a couple of months or so and I use it to summarise youtube videos and other articles. I find it really good as a time saving device and to formulate my thoughts on various matters. It does miss out some details though so you can’t rely on it totally and nothing beats watching the video or reading the article in full if it’s that important.
Thanks
Very good. Liked it. How to pick out common threads.
As someone who never watches the videos but always reads the transcripts, the mind map did nothing for me, I’m afraid. For one thing, despite providing a visual structure (which presumably is its main raison d’être), the mind map is much harder to read than a piece of conventional text. It also gives me the slightly panicky feeling that I’m studying for an exam, which is not what I’m looking for when I visit your blog every evening! So, sorry, but I voted no.
As I have already noted, I expect sine to dislike these. Those they suit the most are by and large neurodivergent, which is an issue that has concerned me since my time as a school governor for around fifteen years.
ADHD people, in particular, like this type of structure. For others it will not work.
We are discussing the issue here today.
They take very little time to produce.
I am neurotypical and find mind maps a terrific way of making information clear, and once seen, an easy way to remember it; whereas plain text doesn’t.
Thanks
As a deaf person listening is not an easy process and often inaccurate. So although I enjoy the personal contact with a speaker I always read the transcript. This mind map gives me considerable pleasure. I like to see the analysis and the completion of a train of thought. It isn’t completely closed so I suppose it is possible to add personal thoughts or emphasis to an argument?
Thanks for that
I am not sure how I could post them as open documents, unfortunately. But scribbling on them would work!
Richard, I had never heard of mind mapping before but it looks fascinating. I’ve been using decision trees and critical path analysis for years and they’re both very useful. I’ll get back to you when I looked into mind mapping.
It’s worth the effort in my opinion, but there are now two forms (at least). This is ex post, summarising ideas. There are, of course, also ex ante, creating ideas, which I have used for years.
I couldn’t come to a conclusion on this: on the one hand I can see the usefulness of the diagram as a visual shorthand for some people, but I tend to think in complete sentences (rather than abbreviated phrases & bullet points – generally I use bullet points as a memory-jogger and sequence indicator), so viewing the video and/or reading the transcript works better for me.
Mind maps are an ASHD thing, in part. They will never work for everyone, and that’s exactly how the world is.
I’ve never heard of mind mapping!
Look it up
It has been around for years
I voted yes, but am (almost) literally in 2 minds!
Once I’d found where to start, I thought the map did a good job in summarising your major arguments and organising their flow in a coherent and logical fashion.
The analysis itself is similar to the way I’ve organised essays, articles, presentations etc for many years – although I’ve always used paragraphs and bullet points. So in that respect I could appreciate it and thought many people would find it useful. I didn’t know it would help neurodivergent people but, especially as it does, I’d go for it.
My, purely personal, problem is almost the opposite and is with the chart itself. Due to a head injury (minor in the scheme of things) I struggle with symbols, maps, graphs, charts etc The lines and boxes disrupt my reading flow and, unless I use a finger or cursor as a marker I lose my place and have to start again.
So my vote would actually be Yes – but I won’t/can’t use it.
Thanks
THis will always be in addition to the transcript, by the way
My reservation is that the heavy energy usage of so-called AI is contributing to climate change, and that the water used for cooling data centres is contributing to water shortages. So it isn’t just about whether the thing created is useful – it’s “at what cost?”
That is fair
I think this is a useful recap tool in the way that it breaks your video into themes that makes it quick to revisit points via pathways; it looks like this tool benefits from the clear, concise and well defined structure of your talks. I think the visual representation will suit some people well.
It would be interesting to see how this would cope with longer, more indepth videos, and whether it would degrade in quality, again I think the output may reflect the quality of the input. Perhaps this could also act as useful feedback for the content creator, although I’m not so sure on this point?
This is something that I could see myself using on occasion, but I wouldn’t want to see it replace transcripts.
Thanks for all your excellent work, Richard.
Thanks
I admit I find it useful, and I created the video. The thing is, I don’t write them as I do them unscripted. These can then be a quality control check.
Two observations from me, 1 pro and one strongly anti mind mapping. Am I conflicted? No! A mind map is just a tool. Use it appropriately and it’s very powerful. Use it wrongly and it’s the opposite
1 – I’ve mostly used them for organising technical specifications (software engineering) and – separately – for structuring complex information in research projects (biochemical analysis and research).
With the latter, the reason it does not help me is that it can dis-organise (properly, ‘wrongly organise’) information. When the inter-connectedness of the data is unknown, it is possible (likely?) to hypothesise it wrongly. As every research scientist can tell you – when hypothesised wrongly, data loses its significance, meaning.
2 – When I’ve used mind mapping to structure facts where the inter-connectedness is known (or believed) , then MMs are beautiful and exhibit concision. If only I’d known of them when I did my chemistry or history A levels, I’d have needed to swott less and probably got better results!
I use them to brain storm
And planning
I find them invaluable for both purposes – especially if electronic as it is then so easy to move data around
That feels so right Richard. Thanks. Bain storming is a creative undertaking. A mind map would avoid the need to ‘think outside the box’ – the ‘flow’ would take over!. Result? A more creative brain storm.
I’m going to try it next time some solitary brain storming is called for.
I wished to provide input to your request for feedback about the nature/purpose of ‘bitcoin’ (in your entry dated November 14/15). However, by the time I had prepared my contribution, the ‘Leave a Reply’ section had disappeared. I could not find anywhere to ask you to re-instate that section, and am sending this to the ‘wrong’ comment. Could you resolve that issue?
Sorry, but no Tim
Reopening comments creates real work overload difficulties fur me. There is a good reason for cutting them off. Please post here.
I think you have hit the nail on the head, Richard, when you say that this type of presentation may appeal more to those leaning towards ADHD.
When I was involved in explaining the financial requirements of funding final salary (defined benefits) pension schemes, I found that some of my colleagues turned to these diagrammatic presentations to help convey an understanding of all the implications – while others were left mesmerised by it!
That’s diversity for you.
I’m not neuro-divergent as such but I know I think differently than others around me. Seeing the big picture plus the details to form a connected story/narrative and then innovate for pragmatic solutions.
At any rate, that’s my way of saying I like the whole system. Mind Maps, Text and Video.
What would be really clever is to have time stamps at each topic!
Cheers
We are working on that….
Thanks
I tried to use them when I was working about 30 years ago. If little is known MMs can provide a useful starting point. But then, the first point made by RonaldM 10.34 above, always came into play. J found that it is those interactions and inevitable interdependencies that I could find no way to capture in MMs. So they have their uses, but are not a panacea. Sorry.
I never tbhink anhything a panacea
Maps are always extractuions from reality
The qiuestion is, do they help you manage the terrain? I find they do. Many won’t.
I find MM along with a range of other tools such as logic models and driver diagrams very useful for summarising and linking key themes and concepts. Often useful as an adjunct to a presentation. I encourage my students to use them when presenting their work. Some really struggle but often report a much better understanding of the topic as a result of the struggle.
Agreed
As you say, different people prefer different approaches.
I prefer text because it is quick to read- so I read your articles rather then watch the videos.
During my business career I sat in on presentations that used mind maps. They are not too bad if they grow organically – created interactively by a group as ideas flow – but they can become impenetrable and very time consuming if simply presented complete. My brain switches off when it sees one – partly because I associate them with flavour of the month and the sort of stuff that “consultants” used to wheel out.
Have bullet points died?
Ever since my history teacher used them at “A” level I have used them as a teacher, in business presentations and when writing user manuals.
I have also spent 40+ years writing software (between running companies) so I prefer to follow a logical chain of thought – which bullet points can provide.
They also overcome the problem of “too many words”.
* Define the problems (bullet points).
* Define the solutions (bullet points).
* Do it.
It’s the last bit that’s hard – we have politicians who don’t recognise the things that concern most of us, they lack analytical skills and they don’t understand that problems can be solved – as long as you step out of the “same old” way of seeing things.
Don’t even mention Pat McFadden or RR! These people usually have good degrees but they lack useful experience (with real people, real jobs, real management, etc.) and, to be honest, many of them are not very bright.
I like bullet points…..
Start reading at one o’clock…..? That’s not convenient either at one pm or one am 🙂
But seriously….. no I don’t find this format conducive. Maybe as Mike Lake suggests, above, seeing it develop might work but the complete presentation is overwhelming. (I’m easily overwhelmed I find)