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General Software Discussion / Re: Mind-Mapping Software
« on: February 14, 2007, 08:05 PM »
I agree about the limitations of the pure hierarchical structure of mindmaps. Have you tried 3D mindmapping, where this is resolved? Topicscape ( http://www.topicscape.com ) allows as many parents for a node as you want, it also has a 'loose association' link for ideas that are outside the parent/child hierarchy, and a Topicscape Islands node where things can be parked for later consideration, to be moved once you've decided where they go.
Apart from the hierarchy problem with mindmaps, there's the matter of size. Any serious mindmapping - for innovation, business or creativity - can't afford to be fenced in by a 2D sheet, even when when you're looking at a portion of a virtual sheet in a window. Topicscape solves this one by moving away from the single center and letting you arrange the mindmap around any topic.
And finally there's the annoyance that nearly all mindmapping software needs one node for every file you save on it. When I'm brainstorming I'm just working with ideas, but when I go on to the next stage, I'm gathering information from all over and I want to manage that information in a mind map - often one culled from the brainstorming session, though heavily trimmed. If I have a six-page article from the web, I don't want six nodes. With Topicscape, I can put all six (or as many as I want) in one node.
See if it solves your problems with mindmaps.
Apart from the hierarchy problem with mindmaps, there's the matter of size. Any serious mindmapping - for innovation, business or creativity - can't afford to be fenced in by a 2D sheet, even when when you're looking at a portion of a virtual sheet in a window. Topicscape solves this one by moving away from the single center and letting you arrange the mindmap around any topic.
And finally there's the annoyance that nearly all mindmapping software needs one node for every file you save on it. When I'm brainstorming I'm just working with ideas, but when I go on to the next stage, I'm gathering information from all over and I want to manage that information in a mind map - often one culled from the brainstorming session, though heavily trimmed. If I have a six-page article from the web, I don't want six nodes. With Topicscape, I can put all six (or as many as I want) in one node.
See if it solves your problems with mindmaps.