Conceptmapping Thesis: Chapter 2, part 10.2b: Imagery and recall
Imagery and recall
To explain point 9 of Figure 2-1, we note that a principle law of Mind Mapping is to emphasise. [p. 97, The Mind Map Book] advises ‘Always use a central image’ and ‘Use images throughout your Mind Map’. The justification for this is simple:
“While both words and pictures are symbols, they are different in many ways of the greatest importance. So little are they equivalent to each other that if communication were confined to either alone, it would become very limited in its scope. All words need definitions, in the sense that to talk about things we have to have definitions for them. Verbal definition is a regress from word to word, until finally it becomes necessary to point to something which we say is what the last word in the verbal chain of definition means. Frequently the most convenient way of pointing is to make a picture. [pp. 158-59]”
[NOM, quoting from Ivins (1953)]
Specific images are something that our minds can grasp and because they persist beyond transient thought, they are directly shareable with others and open to comment or criticism.
[NOM, p.48] continues:
… furthermore, picture symbols are far more specific than word symbols. For example, the word “chair” is a term with a general meaning quite distinct from specific details of style, colour and so on, but on the other hand, any picture of “chair” must refer to a particular chair. This specifically makes the picture either more or less useful, depending on the need one has for “chair information”
The extent to which a specific picture connotes a particular chair is dependant on the representation. However, an iconic form is usually intended to show the features of the ‘class’, and none of the features of any particular member of that class, denoting the spirit of the generality that we label[1] “chair”.
The Roman Room memory technique[2] is a mnemonic system invented by the Romans that exploits imagery. A forgetful person is instructed to imagine a tidy room and in this, to mentally place specific objects to denote specific thoughts. Then, by regularly visualising and mentally exploring this room, thoughts can be kept at hand. The key aspect is to use bright and memorable images, so that the creative side of our minds will want to revisit this bright and pleasant scenario.
[1] There is an argument that maintains a table could be a chair if we allow our definition of a chair to be fluid or flexible enough for the purpose for which we intend to use it.
[2] A technique mentioned in, among others, Buzan’s book “Use Your Memory.”