There was no limit to what one could achieve.” Frank remembers Michael telling him that “God-given talent only gets you so far in this world.” Frank realized through mind mapping that dreams really do come true. On a bus trip through Scotland, Michael and Frank, then 16 years old, visualized places, people, images and “outsized fantasies” that inspired the two of them as they imagined their life goals.įrank writes, “while we worked on our mind maps, he helped me see that the opportunities were endless. Jackson saw mind maps as a way to visualize his dreams and creative goals. Frank Cascio, in his book about growing up with Michael Jackson as his friend and mentor, recalls that Michael was a “rare and inspired teacher” who taught him how to think visually using mind maps. Mind mapping was not just a tool to be used by philosophers and psychologists. Twigs sprouting off the relevant branches represented less important ideas that may increase in importance through multiple iterations of the mind map. Essential supporting concepts radiate from the central image as branches represented by photos, sketches or key words.

The main idea presented in the map’s central image. He defined mind mapping as a powerful graphic technique that provides a universal key to unlocking the potential of the brain.” He called the mind map “the Swiss Army knife of the brain.”īuzan’s mind maps have five components. Tony Buzan, a British psychologist, popularized mind mapping in the 1960s. Collins visualized creativity and learning networks with mind maps to illustrate the relationship among concepts. Collins is considered by some to have resurrected mind mapping in his studies of human cognition to envision how people learn. While there are subsequent recorded instances of mind mapping after da Vinci, visual thinking with mind mapping was not rediscovered until the 1950s. “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication,” wrote Leonardo da Vinci. He made extensive use of mind mapping to clearly articulate, reiterate and generate prototypes of his creations in science, engineering, art, sculpture and literature. Historians have also confirmed the use of mind mapping by one of the brightest minds of the Renaissance, Leonardo da Vinci. While his mind map looked quite different than contemporary computerized mind maps of today, Porphyry used visual thinking to categorize and organize the work of Aristotle.

Historians credit the philosopher Porphyry of Tyros as the first documented user of mind mapping in the 3rd century BCE. But in reality, visual thinking with mind mapping has been around for thousands of years. Most people think of mind mapping as just another tool for the Internet age. Porphyry of Tyros created the first documented mind map to organize the works of Aristotle