Are Mind Maps a WASTE OF TIME?
Summary
TLDRDr. Justin, a former medical doctor turned learning coach, challenges the effectiveness of traditional mind mapping techniques. He emphasizes that mind maps are not a one-size-fits-all tool and often fail due to a lack of cognitive engagement. Through his experience, he illustrates the importance of creating mind maps that genuinely reflect one's thought process, advocating for a deeper, more intuitive approach to learning that enhances memory and understanding. The video also features interviews with high-achieving students who share their insights on the transformative impact of effective mind mapping on their academic success.
Takeaways
- 🧠 Mind maps are not universally effective and require a deeper understanding of the thought process behind them.
- 🌐 The effectiveness of mind maps is not about their appearance on paper but the cognitive processes they represent.
- 👨🏫 Dr. Justin, a former medical doctor turned learning coach, emphasizes the importance of evidence-based techniques in learning.
- 📚 The script discusses the commonality of mind maps not working for many students and the need for alternative learning techniques.
- 🔍 Dr. Justin critiques popular mind mapping methods as often being unsupported by evidence or theory, potentially leading to ineffective learning.
- 🤔 The process of creating a mind map should engage higher-order thinking and not just be a passive activity.
- 🔄 Grouping information in mind maps should be an active process that reflects the relationships and understanding of the concepts.
- 📉 A lack of effort in creating a mind map can lead to disorganized thinking and poor retention of information.
- 📈 The organization of a mind map should aim to be as intuitive and logical as possible, reflecting a deep understanding of the material.
- 💪 Engaging in the effort of creating a high-quality mind map can enhance memory and lead to more efficient learning in the long run.
- 🌟 Top-performing students like Archer and Derek have found success in learning through the effective use of mind maps, underscoring the importance of technique over effort.
Q & A
What is the main issue with mind maps according to Dr. Justin?
-The main issue with mind maps, as Dr. Justin explains, is that most of the time they do not work effectively because they are often created without a proper understanding of the cognitive processes involved, leading to disorganized and ineffective representations of information.
Why did the student in the seminar ask for an alternative to mind maps?
-The student asked for an alternative to mind maps because she had tried mind maps and found that they did not work for her, indicating a common experience where mind maps do not meet the individual's learning needs.
What is Dr. Justin's professional background, and how does it relate to his expertise on learning techniques?
-Dr. Justin is a former medical doctor who transitioned to being a full-time learning coach. His professional background and over 10 years of experience as a learning coach make him an expert in teaching effective learning and self-management techniques.
What is the significance of the mind map being an 'accurate reflection of your thought process'?
-An accurate reflection of the thought process in a mind map is significant because it ensures that the mind map is not just a random collection of information but a meaningful representation of how the individual understands and connects different concepts, which is crucial for effective learning and memory retention.
Why do some mind mapping methods fail to be effective according to the script?
-Some mind mapping methods fail to be effective because they are often based on personal preferences or 'favorite flavors' of the technique creators rather than being supported by evidence or sound educational theory, leading to recommendations that may be detrimental to the learning process.
What is the importance of the appearance of a mind map on paper in relation to cognitive processes?
-The appearance of a mind map on paper is important as it can be a reflection of the cognitive processes happening in the mind. A well-organized mind map can indicate clear and organized thinking, which is essential for effective learning and retrieval of information.
How does Dr. Justin suggest improving the quality of a mind map?
-Dr. Justin suggests improving the quality of a mind map by ensuring it is a true reflection of one's thought process, engaging in deeper thinking, and organizing the information in a way that feels simple, logical, and intuitive, which facilitates better learning and memory retention.
What is the role of effort in creating an effective mind map?
-Effort is crucial in creating an effective mind map because it involves active learning, deep thinking, and processing of information. It helps in forming clear connections and relationships between concepts, which enhances understanding and memory.
How does Dr. Justin use the analogy of a city with disorganized streets to explain the ineffectiveness of certain mind maps?
-Dr. Justin uses the analogy of a city with disorganized streets to illustrate that just as a confusing map of a disorganized city would not be effective for navigation, a disorganized mind map would not effectively support the learning process or the ability to navigate between different concepts and ideas.
What are some of the common mistakes people make when creating mind maps according to the script?
-Common mistakes include creating mind maps passively without engaging in deep thinking, organizing information in a way that is not intuitive or logical, and focusing too much on the appearance of the mind map rather than the cognitive processes it represents.
How does Dr. Justin define 'human cognitive architecture' in the context of learning?
-While the script does not provide a direct definition, 'human cognitive architecture' refers to the underlying structure and processes of the human mind that influence learning, including how we form networks, pathways, and connections between different pieces of information.
Outlines
😖 The Inefficacy of Traditional Mind Mapping
The speaker, Dr. Justin, a former medical doctor turned learning coach, begins by addressing the common misconception that mind maps are universally effective study tools. He shares a personal anecdote from an early seminar on study skills where a student's question about alternative techniques to mind mapping, which she found ineffective, highlighted a widespread issue. Dr. Justin emphasizes that mind maps are not a one-size-fits-all technique and that many popular methods lack empirical support. He suggests that the true value of a mind map lies in the thought process it represents rather than its appearance, urging students to focus on the cognitive effort behind creating one.
🧠 Mind Maps as a Reflection of Cognitive Processes
Dr. Justin delves into the importance of aligning mind maps with cognitive processes, explaining that the way information is grouped and connected in a mind map should mirror the thought patterns and pathways formed in the brain. He illustrates how different individuals and even the same individual on different days may activate distinct cognitive pathways, leading to varied mind map structures. The speaker uses the analogy of navigating a city to explain how a well-organized mind map can serve as an effective reference and navigational tool for the thought processes. He also discusses the significance of explicit relationships between concepts in deepening understanding and knowledge retention.
🔍 The Nuances of Grouping in Mind Mapping
This paragraph explores the nuances of grouping information within mind maps, demonstrating how different methods of grouping can significantly affect learning outcomes. Dr. Justin uses a list of basic learning principles as an example to show the spectrum of grouping, from a passive approach based on trivial criteria to more active and meaningful groupings based on historical significance, cognitive perspectives, or practical applications. He stresses that the depth of thought invested in grouping directly influences the quality of learning, and that even seemingly straightforward tasks like grouping can be cognitively enriching when approached thoughtfully.
📚 The Pitfalls of Passive Mind Mapping
Dr. Justin highlights the common issue of creating mind maps that are linear and passive, resembling the format of textbooks and lecture slides rather than facilitating the complex, interconnected thought processes of the brain. He critiques the superficial organization often found in educational materials and warns against the disorganization that can result from attempting to represent complex relationships without a deep understanding. The speaker demonstrates how even with identified relationships, a mind map can become overwhelming and ineffective for learning if not thoughtfully structured.
💡 The Importance of Active Learning in Mind Mapping
The speaker advocates for active learning through mind mapping, contrasting it with passive techniques that offer little cognitive benefit. Dr. Justin explains that a meaningful mind map should engage the brain in a way that simplifies and clarifies the relationships between concepts, making them more intuitive. He emphasizes the effort required to create a high-quality mind map and how this effort enhances memory and understanding. The paragraph concludes with a call to action for viewers to invest time and thought into the mind mapping process to achieve deeper learning and better retention.
🤔 Embracing the Cognitive Effort in Learning
Dr. Justin discusses the importance of embracing cognitive effort in the learning process, likening it to the physical effort required in a gym workout for strength gains. He dispels the myth of easy, effortless learning techniques, insisting that true learning mastery comes from engaging deeply with the material. The speaker provides tips for effective mind mapping, including ensuring the mind map accurately reflects one's thought process and not avoiding the effort required for organizing and understanding the material. He stresses that the mind map should serve as a tool for introspection and a visual cue to assess and improve one's cognitive processes.
📈 Prioritizing Intuition in Mind Mapping
The speaker encourages finding an intuitive and simple way to organize information in mind maps, explaining that this approach helps integrate new information with existing knowledge schemas. Dr. Justin illustrates how associating new concepts with familiar experiences or skills can enhance understanding and retention. He advises spending time and effort to reach a level of intuitiveness in mind mapping, which, despite being more challenging, leads to better learning outcomes and saves time in the long run by reducing the need for repetition and improving memory.
🎓 Student Perspectives on Mind Mapping
In this paragraph, Dr. Justin shares insights from interviews with two high-achieving students, Archer and Derek, who both use mind mapping as part of their study techniques. Archer, a top-performing medical student, and Derek, who achieved one of the highest IB grades in the world, discuss their experiences with mind mapping. They emphasize the importance of the cognitive process behind mind mapping, the value of effort in learning, and the realization that a mind map's appearance is less important than the depth of understanding it represents. Their stories serve to validate Dr. Justin's teachings and provide relatable perspectives on the effectiveness of mind mapping when done correctly.
💡 The Evolution of Mind Mapping Understanding
The final paragraph features the students' reflections on their initial experiences with mind mapping and how their understanding evolved over time. Both Archer and Derek initially found mind mapping unhelpful and even repulsive due to its perceived lack of structure and organization. However, after learning the technique properly, they discovered the value in the cognitive effort required to create meaningful mind maps. They realized that a mind map's effectiveness lies in its reflection of clear relationships and a simplified structure, which indicates a deeper level of understanding. The students also discuss the misconception that more content in a mind map equates to better comprehension, highlighting the importance of prioritization and clarity instead.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Mind Maps
💡Study Skills
💡Cognitive Processes
💡Human Cognitive Architecture
💡Encoding
💡Retrieval
💡Concept Mapping
💡Knowledge Mastery
💡Effort and Cognitive Load
💡Intuitive
💡Repetition
Highlights
The speaker, Dr. Justin, challenges the effectiveness of traditional mind mapping techniques, suggesting they often do not work as expected.
Dr. Justin shares a personal anecdote about a student's question that sparked his interest in the nuances of learning techniques.
He emphasizes that mind maps are not a single technique and are often taught differently without solid evidence or theory support.
Dr. Justin explains the importance of the thought process behind creating a mind map, rather than its appearance on paper.
He uses the analogy of city maps to illustrate the idea that a mind map's effectiveness is tied to the organization of thought, not just its visual layout.
The speaker discusses the infinite ways to create a mind map and the importance of aligning it with one's cognitive processes.
Dr. Justin introduces the concept of human cognitive architecture as a foundational theory for understanding how learning works.
He provides insights into how mind maps can serve as a diagnostic tool for a coach to understand a student's cognitive processes.
The talk addresses the variation in mind mapping due to individual differences and the impact on cognitive pathways and learning.
Dr. Justin demonstrates the difference between passive and active mind mapping through grouping information in various ways.
He critiques the linear format of textbooks and how it can limit the understanding of complex relationships between concepts.
The speaker shows how to transform a linear list into a mind map, highlighting the importance of cognitive engagement in the process.
Dr. Justin explains the problems with creating mind maps that are disorganized and how it reflects on the mind's processing of information.
He advocates for a more active learning approach, emphasizing the effort required to truly understand and remember information.
The talk includes a side-by-side comparison of ineffective versus effective mind mapping, showcasing the impact of cognitive effort.
Dr. Justin concludes with advice on making mind maps that are intuitive and simple, reflecting a deeper level of understanding and knowledge.
The video features interviews with high-achieving students discussing their experiences and insights on the effectiveness of mind mapping.
Transcripts
so a lot of people know me as the mind
map guy that was one of the first videos
that i made that sort of went viral but
the thing is that mind maps most of the
time
do
not
work and let me explain why a number of
years ago i was giving the seminar on
study skills it was one of the first
times i've ever given a big seminar on
study skills and i remember that a
student in the front row she put up her
hand and asked what's another technique
that's not mind maps because i've tried
it and it didn't work for me and at the
time i wasn't experienced enough to
really know the nuance behind the
question that she was really asking
years on looking back at it now that's a
memory that sticks out to me because it
was a very simple question and a very
common thought that a lot of students
have a lot of you may have this thought
as well that you've tried mind maps
before and it hasn't worked so well for
you
and what's an alternative technique
and let me explain why that question is
kind of not looking at things in the
right angle for those of you that are
new i'm dr justin i'm a former medical
doctor now a full-time learning coach
and it's my job to teach students like
yourself and professionals how to learn
and manage themselves more effectively
i've been practicing now as a learning
coach for almost 10 years and if you
like the content i'd appreciate if you
give it a like and a subscribe now the
first thing that i need to establish
straight off the bat is that the mind
map is not a single technique
this is very important see a lot of
people teach mind maps very differently
there are different methods there are
different books each guru seems to have
their own kind of version of it and i
guess i'm no different i have a very
specific way that i teach it but the
thing is that most of these methods and
very specific instructions on how to do
the mymab are basically completely
unsupported by any evidence or even
theory in most of the situations that
i've seen especially with some extremely
common methods of mind mapping which i
won't name because i don't want to get
sued the guidelines seem like they were
just the favorite flavor of the person
that made that technique and then they
just felt that it would work or
something and then they published on it
and as a result inadvertently some of
those recommendations actually end up
being detrimental and can lead to a bad
experience and what i think a lot of
people don't realize is that there are
literally an infinite number of ways
that you can make a mind map because
what's important is not the way that a
mind map looks on paper once you've
written it all down
what's important is what's happening in
your brain it's about what you're
thinking about and how you are
processing the information that you
consume in your mind and how your
note-taking technique facilitates that
kind of thinking it is a mind map a map
of your mind and just like if you go to
a new city that has roads that are
really hard to follow and you look at
the map and you think man this map is
really hard to follow you wouldn't say
that therefore
maps are categorically not effective you
would say that this city is disorganized
and if you had you know some city level
god powers you could rearrange this city
streets and roads to make them more
organized and then your map would
reflect that and so it too would be more
organized and you would be able to use
it as an effective reference point as
well as to facilitate your ability to
navigate from point a to point b
obviously this is analogy because this
is kind of also how the brain works as
well we form these networks we form
these pathways and the more organized
and the clearer the pathways are i guess
the better quality the roads are that is
how deeply we've thought about the
connection and how explicit we are
because there's a difference for example
between knowing that two concepts or
ideas or facts are related together
understanding what the relationship
between those is
and being very clear and explicit about
the nature of that relationship and how
important that relationship is compared
to let's say another set of
relationships that may be very similar
those are different levels of thinking
live different levels of knowledge
mastery and that also translates to a
different ability to perform and
retrieve that knowledge it's very
logical and this is kind of all within
this field of what we
now call human cognitive architecture
which is one of the leading schools of
thought behind how learning works now
the appearance of a mind map on paper
can be a good reflection of what's
happening in the mind so often when we
have students working through our
program myself and my coaches
we
look at your work and then we pull out
symptoms like a doctor diagnosing we
look at signs we look at symptoms we
look at particular patterns we say hmm
if it looks this way if they've
demonstrated that they're writing words
like this and there's a certain arrow
going in this direction instead of the
other direction it indicates that they
probably didn't think about a certain
aspect of it which informs us about the
likely cognitive processes that you are
using but the tricky part is that there
is a lot of variation between different
individuals different topics even on
different days the same person studying
the same topic may activate different
cognitive pathways and therefore
they would have different thoughts and
therefore those thoughts would affect
other thoughts in a different way in a
different order and if your mind map is
truly reflecting your thought process
your mind map would actually look
different as well and you could in some
cases actually get a different result in
terms of your retention in terms of the
depth at which you were able to
understand the information
so there are relatively subtle small
differences that can make very large
significant impacts anyone going through
my program you will know completely what
i'm talking about here and in fact if
you are going through programming
actually can you leave a comment down
below just to tell other people about
how significant some of these tiny
little nuances can be at affecting your
result so let's take an example let's
take the six steps to a perfect mind map
video that i made and one of the first
things that i talk about there which is
grouping information now it seems
relatively straightforward all you have
to do is group information together how
hard could it be to group information
well i'm just going to demonstrate to
you right now
how big of a difference it is in terms
of how you group it and what thoughts
you have while you are grouping it so
what i've got here is a list of some of
the basic principles of learning it's
not a comprehensive list but i thought
it was enough just to set an example
now this could be a list of keywords
that you got from your curriculum or
from your coursework or wherever you're
getting the information from and what
we're going to do is we're going to go
through and we're going to show how
different ways of grouping can affect
this now the thing about grouping
something is that it's not a checklist
it's not just like oh here's a group
done here's a group done here's a group
done you're not activating much
cognitively from doing that you are
comparing the ideas against each other
you are having to evaluate them and you
are having to use slightly higher orders
of thinking to
group something even if you're grouping
it poorly you're still having to do that
but the level and the depth at which
you're thinking about things completely
affects the quality of the group and
therefore the quality of the learning so
for example if i looked at this group
and i just said okay i'm just going to
group this based on the things that have
the letter o in them well then i'd group
this and then this and so on and so
forth you get the picture so
that's not a very meaningful way of
grouping and you guys already know this
intuitively that that's not really going
to produce any learning it's kind of
like a meaningless activity but it's a
spectrum right so that method of
grouping is very brainless it's very
passive and so a more active way of
grouping it is to think a little bit
more about each of the ideas to see how
we can group it to make a bit more sense
but it's not binary like i said it's a
spectrum so even if we're saying that it
makes sense to group it this way it
makes sense to group it in multiple
possible ways so for example it would
make sense to group this list in terms
of maybe
the historical significance things that
were
you know old older schools of thought
versus transitionary versus newer
schools of thought see that type of
grouping is very logical and actually
makes a lot of sense but alternatively
we could group the exact same set of
words into things that are from a
cognitive perspective versus a
self-management perspective versus a
self-regulation perspective versus a
strategy perspective and so these would
also be completely logical and very
valid ways of grouping it or we could do
it in terms of things that are more
theoretical versus things that are more
practical we could do it in terms of
things that affect encoding versus
things that affect retrieval versus
things that affect both versus things
that allow you to achieve them so
each of these methods of grouping would
be potentially
valid
and they involve different types of
thinking you can imagine that the type
of comparison and the similarity and
differences that you're looking at when
you're looking through this list to see
which one is historically significant in
different ways is a different type of
thinking and a different type of
exploration as would be to divide it
into encoding versus retrieval for
example and in this process of grouping
we're gonna have to go through and we're
gonna have to learn a little bit about
each of the words and we're gonna have
to get a basic understanding of it so
that we can form these groups
so this is the thing is that the way
that we're thinking about the groups
completely affects the type of groups
that we form obviously but also that
changes the way that we are processing
the information and that changes the way
that we're encoding the information and
there's obviously flow and effects
because if we groups you know half of it
in one way that affects the way that
we're going to group the remaining half
so let's say i use a slightly more
passive way of grouping this information
and then i try to represent that on a
mind map and i'm going to show you an
extremely common issue that occurs so
the tricky thing is that often when
you're taught about things in a textbook
or even in lecture slides because of the
way that most of the information you
consume is written it's in a linear
format usually left to right down a page
bullet points and things like that it's
very difficult to show relationships
especially relationships between three
or more pieces of information
because that's simply just the
limitation of linear structures you'd
have to really explain a lot to show
relationships and if you've got four or
five things that are interrelated to
each other you kind of need to have like
a whole paragraph just talking about the
nature of those relationships across an
entire topic that gets extremely
overwhelming so textbooks often
structure their information in a way
that makes it easily readable for a
linear format and so they group the
information in a way that is suited for
that but that method of grouping is
often not the best way of grouping it
for our human cognitive architecture in
facilitating our memory and allowing us
to have high depth of knowledge after
all someone that memorizes a textbook
word for word clearly has a lower level
of true expertise than someone that is
able to use that information freely
back in front you know
side to side all over in a fluent way
fluidly utilizing all of those concepts
to solve real world problems there's
obviously a deeper level of expertise
and that relies on their ability to
manipulate that information and to find
those relationships and navigate them
so let me give you an example here so
what i'm going to do is i'm going to
take this list of words and i'm going to
group them in a way that would be very
similar if you would have read about
these in a book for example so let's see
what that looks like
[Music]
all right so we now have a order that is
kind of similar to how you might find it
in a textbook
it's looking obviously a lot more
organized you can see that i shuffled
things around now i'm able to do this
because i obviously have insight into
each of the
particular words themselves if you were
reading this in a textbook it would
already be laid out for you like this or
if you needed to shuffle things around
you'd have to go through the textbook uh
and and learn a little bit deeper about
it not that much but you know maybe
spend you know 30 seconds a minute kind
of reading about it just so that you can
figure out okay well i could move it
here i could move it here to see what
makes sense it doesn't take super deep
knowledge to be able to figure out
whether a group kind of makes sense or
not especially if you can revise it
later
so
we'll start with this and let's say that
we then want to represent this
information in terms of a mind map so
that my map would end up looking
something a little bit like this
[Music]
[Music]
and there we have it uh that took me i
don't know how long but it was super
boring
i'm glad i got that over and done with
so this is what it would often look like
with some changes and variations
obviously
this was a super super passive process
and most people when they do mind maps
for the first time it looks kind of
similar to this
now
here are the issues okay first of all
that took absolutely no brain power at
all my brain was completely not active
in doing that process and it was
essentially just the same thing as
writing this list
except in a non-linear format so this
thing here activated no real meaningful
cognitive effects and
it's you know kind of useless i'm not
really gaining much benefit from having
done this activity you can see it's
basically the same thing as what was on
the
uh the
the list it's the only difference is
that literally it's just in this webby
kind of mind map format that everyone is
used to now here's where some of the
problems start arising
is when we start thinking about it a
little bit deeper we start learning
about a little bit more we know that
we're meant to represent these
relationships so let's go through now
and start identifying some of the key
relationships not all of them just some
of the ones that are really important
that we want to show on this mind map
okay let's do that let's see what that
looks like
[Music]
[Music]
do
[Music]
right now we've got some relationships
and that's this is by no means
comprehensive and uh in terms of
additionally the actual value that was
added here in this case i already know
the relationship so i'm able to do this
without looking at anything else but in
reality you would be going through the
words you'd be reading about them you'd
be learning about them you'd be thinking
about them and you'd be thinking oh this
and this thing i related and you'd show
that relationship and you draw it in so
every time i drew an arrow here that
process would take you maybe like three
to four or five minutes per arrow
because you're having to read like
paragraphs and think about it okay so
we've got relationships now
however
look at it it's impossible to follow you
cannot see what's going on it's super
disorganized imagine going to a new city
and then you get a map that looks like
this
who knows where to get anywhere and your
brain is thinking the same thing when
it's hit with a difficult question that
requires you to navigate these
relationships and connect multiple ideas
together to synthesize something that is
at a higher level it's going to be very
difficult to do that with this even
though technically it's grouped and
technically there are relationships that
have been thought of and they have been
demonstrated so it ticks all of the
boxes but it kind of doesn't because at
a cognitive level it still wasn't
sufficient it didn't really do much at a
cognitive level and this is why what i
said at the very beginning it's not
about what it looks like on page it is
what is going on in your brain to create
what is out here and so if it looks
disorganized here on paper then it
probably is going to also be
disorganized in your mind as well now
yes you can use different colors and you
can arrange things in space a little bit
differently trust me
i've seen many many many many many mind
maps in my professional experience not
even looking at my own experience it
doesn't make a big enough difference
it's still going to be messy and it's
still going to be a very hard limit on
the efficiency that you can gain so this
is not the way that we want to do things
so someone that does mind maps like this
it's just going to be a waste of time
that you're really going to get no real
benefit from doing this if we want to
have a higher quality of learning and
that is to spend time studying and
actually have that information in our
brain so that we can actually use it in
real life purposes
we have to engage our brain and have a
little bit more active learning a bit
more thought a bit more processing and a
bit more effort
injected into this process and the thing
is that even though that allows you to
have better encoding
most people do not do that because they
cannot be
bothered
and they see that the effort is a
negative thing they don't understand the
relationship that that effort has and
actually saving them time and effort
overall because they are enhancing their
memory and so they're forgetting less
and getting a deeper level of knowledge
mastery
so
i'm going to take that same list and
what i'm going to do is i'm going to run
through a few different steps and i'm
going to show you how the exact same
information can look completely
different and i want you to really pay
attention again not to what's on the
page but i want you to be more meta
cognitive what that means is we're
thinking about our thinking i want you
to think about what's going on in my
brain and i want you to think about what
type of thinking does that engage in and
think to yourself
in what world would that result in
my depth and knowledge mastery being
worse and what world would that make the
knowledge less relevant in what world is
my memory
not improved from engaging in that
process so let's go into that now
off the bat every time i do a video
people are always asking for more more
specific more examples
learning is a complicated thing it is
not possible for just these tips alone
to be sufficient for you this is the
reason why i have a whole program which
takes months to go through to completely
retrain yourself from start to finish in
terms of how to learn these techniques
properly if you're interested in working
with me to develop yourself from scratch
and completely transform your learning
system then i recommend that you check
that out you'll see the link in the
description below however these tips are
going to be very solid
starter steps for you they're not going
to be easy but they're not easy because
it's not meant to be easy there is no
path there it's kind of like saying hey
you should do these workouts at the gym
and you're like oh i would love to do
that and get stronger but i also don't
like the fact that it makes me have to
work out it's like there is no way for
you to achieve that
without doing the work you know those
like platforms that you stand on that
just like vibrates you and then like you
know it's like burn your belly fat and
there's like this you know this belt
around you and it just kind of like
vibrates on the spot
like the shake weight thing doesn't work
okay it doesn't work you need to put in
the work there is no secret magic hack
for this okay so here are the tips that
i'm going to start you off with the
first one is make sure your mind map is
an accurate reflection of your thought
process and when i say thought process
i'm talking about like the pattern of
thinking and the order in which you've
thought about things it needs to reflect
the type of thinking that you've done if
it doesn't reflect that then it's going
to be very hard to improve on it because
you've essentially got two completely
different processes that are not linked
together you've got thinking that's
going on which may frankly be quite good
and a lot of people that um have higher
levels of deep processing that are
naturally kind of a you know they don't
have to try that hard to get good grades
or their you know it's enough just to
use a few flash cards here and there
people that are like that often have
subconsciously a decent level of deep
processing that's going on that you can
really tap into and then absolutely
weaponize if you don't have that kind of
natural ability per se then it's even
more important to be in tune with that
because you need to know what's going on
in your head to start retraining
yourself to think more like the people
that are naturally intelligent so in
order to start fixing that you need to
know what's happening and it's a great
tool to have a mind map that shows
what's happening
rather than just like constantly being
just deeply introspective and reflective
um you know it's a lot easier to have
the introspection as well as like a
visual cue that you can look at and
think oh okay so this part looks a
little bit weird so therefore the way
that i was thinking about that must also
be a little bit disorganized right we
want to be able to have those insights
so that's the first reason
the second reason is because we want the
mind itself to facilitate the right type
of thinking so we need to get into the
habit of making sure that when we're
writing the notes we're not just writing
it thoughtlessly we're not just like
reading it and then just writing it
straight away we want to be thinking
about it first and we want to know what
we want to put down and how we want to
put it down when you i was doing this
you'll see that i was just i was just
going i was just going ham i was
essentially just spamming out the words
onto the page and it wasn't activating
any cognitive effects and as a result
you can see that you know it ends up
looking really really messy instead of
doing that i should have thought about
everything that i'm going to put down on
the page first and then organize that a
little bit more and so by holding
ourselves accountable to what we are
putting down
that's also going to force us to engage
in the right type of cognitive process
it's kind of this feedback loop it gives
us the chance to catch ourselves when
we're not doing the right type of
thinking so that's the first tip is to
make sure that they're very well aligned
you want to make sure your mind map is
truly a map of your mind in this example
here that i've shown it is a map of my
mind and the way that i've done this it
is disorganized it is hard to follow and
that's because the way that i was
thinking about it is passive i never
bothered to organize it and so naturally
it will just be disorganized even though
it looked so neat when i was in that
list form you can see in actual fact
just trying to get even a little bit of
depth uh it's it falls apart and in your
brain this is how it's gonna learn it
it's not gonna learn it in that list
otherwise studying would be really easy
if you could just be like
and then just store it into your brain
it doesn't work like that your brain is
going to think about it more in this
networked kind of way and if this is the
network that it's formed that's that's
not something that's going to last it's
going to say this is an incomprehensible
tangle of information i don't know why
it's relevant to keep let's bend this
and there you go you've forgotten half
of it the second tip is what i've
already talked about which is to not
avoid the effort and the thinking
process with cleaning this up and
organizing it and what type of thinking
do we want to engage in here's the kind
of sort of lighthouse that you should be
following is try to get it to a point
where the way you've organized it and
the way you've expressed the
relationships feels as simple and as
logical and here's the key one
as intuitive
as possible so when we say that
something is logical and intuitive what
we are saying is that our brain feels
that it just makes sense that feeling
that it just makes sense is our brain
saying this is relevant i get it it fits
in with my existing knowledge structures
if you're a strong competitive swimmer
and you learn something about biology
that reminds you of something you learnt
about swimming
that is going to be easier to remember
because it has a way to fit you know how
to understand it through the lens of
swimming if you are great at playing an
instrument or playing a sport and then
you learn something about how learning
works you might think oh yeah i actually
do that when i'm learning my instrument
or learning how to play my sport better
it would make sense that i might be able
to use that same kind of process in my
academic studies so you would be able to
understand that learning technique a
little bit more easily than someone that
didn't have that experience so it would
make sense because it fits with your
existing knowledge schemas so we're
always looking for a way to fit it with
what makes sense to us whenever we say
oh i don't really get this i'm gonna
need to repeat this whenever we get that
feeling i'm gonna need to repeat this
again and again in my head when we get
that feeling like i don't really get it
but i'm just going to smash it through
repetition if you feel that repetition
is going to be necessary
that is your brain telling you
my dude this is not relevant to me i
don't get it i don't know why i need to
hold on to it and you are overwriting
that you're saying keep it hold on to it
keep it keep it remember it remember it
and that's why it takes repetition
because your brain doesn't get it it's a
red flag it is a warning sign that
should indicate that you need to think
of another way to integrate and
associate that information into your
memory and truly consolidate it so
spend the time spend the effort to get
to the point where you can find the
angle that makes it more intuitive and
this involves reading a little bit more
you're gonna have to go through your
textbook again you're gonna have to go
through your notes you're gonna have to
ask more questions you're gonna have to
google a lot of things to get the answer
to see
does it make sense if it works this way
can i group it in this way does this
relationship make sense
that all takes effort and that takes
time however just remember as i've
talked about in many of my other videos
and as i've demonstrated through my own
practice and as thousands of my students
will testify to you can join the discord
if you want to talk to them directly
it will testify to the fact that it
saves massive time overall because by
not forgetting things and being able to
reach higher levels of knowledge mastery
at an earlier stage you just cut down
your total study time
by a ton especially for big complex
topics you know university level and
beyond it thrives with this type of
thinking so let me just go through all
of that i'm now going to exert effort
and energy to make it feel more
intuitive and more aligned and then i'm
gonna show you the end result of what
that looks like so let's take the exact
same list of keywords but this time i'm
gonna think about differently okay so
let's do that and we're gonna do that
side-by-side comparison
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okay so uh that would take normally i
suppose um i mean for me right now it
took probably two to three times longer
than the first one and in reality it
would also be like two to three times
longer because you're looking through
the material yada yada
uh to form it but
uh right now what i've got here is is
not even that clean or tidy or neat to
be honest it's pretty you know it's
fairly rudimentary it's not cleaned up
i'd like to space it out a little bit
more because it's looking a little bit
cramped hopefully you can see if it's if
i put them side by side you know this
one is just impossible to follow whereas
this one although there is a lot going
on
it actually feels like it has a lot more
structure so this would be the way that
the the brain of someone that has really
thought about it has more expertise
would think about it and hopefully you
can tell that when you're sort of
looking at me doing it there's a lot
more time spent thinking about what's
going on looking at things
a lot less time on actually writing
most of that time just on thinking and
in your case it would also be time on
reading and looking things up and things
like that but again a good time
investment very solid returns on that
result the my map itself you know you
can see that they obviously look
different but to an untrained eye you
would say they're different but you
wouldn't really appreciate necessarily
the significance of the difference
especially if you're getting something
that looks kind of neat and tidy however
again like i mentioned before there are
multiple ways you could group it i've
decided to group it like this but there
are also completely other ways of
grouping it and different relationships
that you could have that another person
could think of that would be equally as
valid if that's the way that was most
intuitive for them and their knowledge
structures for me this feels very
intuitive because i'm used to thinking
about things in this kind of structure
so again it depends completely on your
own mind and the way that you process it
and you know if you put in the effort
and you seek that intuitive simple level
then you will find that the mind map
technique becomes much deeper a little
bit more uncomfortable but much more
effective than you
would have thought if you had previous
bad experiences with it so now what
we're going to do is we're going to
actually flick to a interview that i did
of a couple of my students
one of them is archer who is a
top point zero
five percent achiever he uh
you know got one of the highest results
in australia in his final year of high
school he sat um you know like double
the amount of papers that you normally
meant to sit in the year and he got
first in the state for i think six of
them uh he did two university papers in
his final year of high school getting
the highest possible grade at the same
time he got a 99.95 atar which is the
highest possible um rank that you can
get in the country uh he was awarded
like some middle of commemoration he's
currently going through medical school
on a perfect gpa and archer actually
works at i can study
and so i'm i'm in close contact with him
all the time and archer works more than
full-time hours
while going through medical school
and he's received the letter from the
dean two years in a row for being one of
the top performing students of the
cohort so
this is a guy that does not study very
much because he's got his efficiency
dialed in i started working with him
after year 12
and
giving him more advanced
slightly more refined skills that he
could tackle medical school and do even
more than he was doing when he was back
in year 12. the other person we're
talking to is derek derek's a student
that i was working with in his final
year of high school um i started working
with them
in the early part of the year or the
late part of a second to last year and
they ended up finishing the year with uh
one of the highest
ib grades in the world
uh obviously just completely clocking
out again the highest possible mark but
also beating the great boundary for the
highest mark uh beating the threshold
that you need to get by sometimes 20 to
30 percent
so
derek is also
going through medical school at the
moment and doing exceptionally well uh
getting you know great results so far
and so what we're going to talk about
with them is sort of their experience
with mind mapping and
the idea here is to get you a
perspective that's not just my own but
of other students that maybe a little
closer to your current background or
experience or level in terms of the way
that they think about this and the
things that they've seen and the things
that they've noticed
just
so that if you're on the fence about
what i've talked about you've at least
got a few more people uh there as well
both derek and archer are coaches at i
can study as well and look at that
interview it's pretty short um and if
you want to watch uh more sort of
interviews with you know many of the
students that i have then let me know in
the comments as well i can always do
more interviews i've hundreds of
students that are super willing to jump
on youtube and do an interview with me
talking about their experience if you're
interested in seeing some of those types
of things then definitely let me know as
well i'd love to hear your thoughts if
you found this video useful and
insightful then please share it with
your friends don't throw them under the
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so much for tuning in and i'll catch you
on the next one when did you have this
older method of mind mapping during yeah
year 11. okay the first time i i
actually did mind mapping was probably
like in year 10
so i would basically
and it was because my teacher said it as
like some task so basically we were told
to make a mind map on this topic so what
i did was i just got well i didn't even
collect keywords like it was just like
okay here's like a bunch of information
so let me try and like
vaguely
group it together but the groups would
basically just be like what how it was
taught and then i'll just it would just
be me reorganizing the information that
was like already taught to me
um
so it was essentially kind of like
useless like i like you i didn't really
remember much of it and yeah it was just
words right it was just like the topic
header and then just like a bunch of
sentences underneath
so that didn't really help at all and
that's why initially i was like yeah you
know my maps are useless but then
obviously like when i actually learned
how to do mind maps for real then it was
much different because i realized that
it's not about the physical act of
actually like writing things down on the
piece of paper it's the thing that like
is happening in my mind to
actually create that mind map like
cognitively in my mind in order to form
like a good quality mind map i need to
be like thinking about how things relate
and like the chunking and organizing my
trunking structure and comparing
different flows and chunk structures
with each other and that requires like a
lot of cognitive effort and that's
pretty much what the benefit is and i
realized that yeah it doesn't really
matter what the moment looks like as
long as what you're doing in your head
is you know correct so that was like my
revelation the biggest funniest thing
for me was essentially
when i was doing mind maps before it was
way easier felt way more i guess uh kind
of fun to like just draw lines and
connect it all together and then after
kind of learning how to mind map more
properly it just became way harder but
the difference was instead of me usually
like maybe my year 10 self where i'd
kind of like shy away from that um kind
of cognitive load and things instead i'm
like okay i actually know this effort
and um this discomfort's a good thing
and so i kind of always just relate it
to the way in which um yeah you might go
to the gym and lift weights you don't
want to lift like the five kilograms you
want to lift like 50 kilograms or
something like that which is actually
going to make you get better at that
process um and that's been like the like
a much bigger change for me and also you
know it's kind of like always uh
kind of against what you may expect like
my mind maps now
may have way less words
than um kind of my previous mind maps
which looks like they had way more going
on so if you were to look at my mind
maps now you'd probably be like well
archer probably doesn't know too much
about what's going on here but it's
actually completely the opposite when my
mymath doesn't have that many words and
there's very clear
relationships you can see the backbone
very clearly i actually know way more
and i can talk about it way more which
is just funny that's an important thing
right because like people think that if
there's more going on it means that it's
better but actually it's it's the other
way around because you need to have a
deeper level of knowledge to be able to
prioritize very strictly and know what
is relevant where to place things and
how to make it clean like if you don't
know that you got to overcompensate by
just drawing more arrows and writing
more words because you're just trying to
fill in these like knowledge gaps that
just i don't know like never really
bothered to think about i think my i've
had quite a few experiences with my mets
before learning the technique i think
the first one was out when i was
introduced to it really really young and
i think what the idea of a mind map that
was taught to me was like the main idea
in the center and it will be in a cloud
and then you'd have all the
big topics coming out from the cloud so
some arrows pointing out and i really
thought it was pointless because i might
as well have that same information
written out on a page that's easier and
neater rather than just a cloud with
some words here another group of words
here another group of words here and
just more in different colors i just
hated it i thought my maps were rubbish
because i didn't really like all these
colors and i was kind of a weird kid i
didn't really like all these colors and
extra decorations yeah that's how i
first learned it as well and i i thought
it was useless too when i first
encountered it yeah the clouds thing eh
yeah oh my god
so from there i every time i heard about
my map i
internally just felt some uh disgust i
don't know
but then i think the next time i
actually learned about similar
note-taking techniques was when i was
introduced to the idea of concept
mapping so this one is a little bit more
structured okay i don't remember
precisely how it works but it has a
structure of like linking different
ideas together by action verbs and then
you put the action verb in a square
so i think i've sent some of these in
the discord before but i don't think
i've actually shown it what i found that
it did help was much more effective than
the whole cloud thing but i found it way
too messy to be to be much used because
there were too many arrows with too many
words pointing here and then and things
get got crowded very fast
but i think like what you said is
it's not about what the mymap looks like
like what i just said it looks like
there's a lot going on and you think you
probably know what what but everything
is not really organized in your head but
when you're able to prioritize and see
the big picture and see how things
relate and you can see that very clear
structure in your mind map and that is
reflecting what's going on in your head
then you realize oh
actually when you've talked about it
more and you're able to simplify it does
show in your mind map and i think that
is the important thing and the other
thing as well as like
when i first saw mind mapping ages ago
maybe like early days of high school i
didn't really associate it with i guess
like a hard-working student it's like
too creative and fun to be you know a
thing that um someone who's getting like
top grades would be doing and so
something like having really nice i
don't know typed out notes of all these
diagrams and big terminology words was
something that when i was much younger
i'm way more preferred because it looks
like you're doing something
which again in this case you want to be
doing the opposite
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you
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