September Newsletter

The UK Open Memory Championships

Congratulations to Ben Pridmore who retained his title as UK Memory Champion, for the 5th year in a row with a resounding victory.

The competition, sponsored by MWB Business Exchange, saw competitors from the Netherlands, Sweden and the USA as well as the home nations of Wales and England. We also had the pleasure of welcoming international arbiters, Gaby Kappus from Germany and Nathalie Lecordier from Denmark.

Nelson Dellis, reigning USA Memory Champion, took silver medal position and the ‘Best International Competitor’ trophy.

In addition to personal bests by several competitors, James Paterson from Wales set a new Word Record by memorising the names of 63 people in 15 minutes. Full scores below:

Position	Name	Names & Faces	Binary Number	Abstract Images	Speed Number	30 min Number	Words	30 min Cards	Historic Dates	Spoken Number	Speed Cards	Overall Points	Country
1	Ben Pridmore	347	874	720	681	747	687	1044	688	700	0	6489	England
2	Nelson Dellis	671	197	370	364	625	527	615	376	495	9	4248	USA
3	James Ponder	476	538	413	498	624	433	385	368	390	54	4177	England
4	Mattias Ribbing	435	326	423	345	450	433	538	224	420	402	3996	Sweden
5	James Paterson	741	259	363	440	362	480	231	432	408	128	3844	Wales
6	Rick de Jong	212	203	110	85	167	236	115	168	464	0	1760	Netherlands
7	Martin Mwaka	247	65	88	85	100	109	80	72	242	66	1154	England
8	Jay Adams	0	0	0	221	310	55	423	0	0	0	1009	USA

Graph

Mind Maps, Myths and Misconceptions

As World Mind Mapping Champion, it saddens me when people have been exposed to poor training or inferior visual thinking tools that purport to be Mind Maps but in fact are not. As a result, they come to believe myths about the limitations of Mind Maps. Of course, Mind Maps are not applicable in every area of life or study but in this article I aim to tackle some of the unfair criticisms that occasionally arise.

1) Mind Maps can’t be used for technical subjects like maths.

Mind Maps are very structured and follow a strict set of rules. So it should be no surprise to learn that they can lend themselves to mathematics. One of the aspects of maths is the categorisation and breaking down of a problem. Mind Maps are ideal for this. Another aspect of maths is following a process. Once again, this can be represented directly on a Mind Map or you can always add a diagram, flow chart or graph on a branch where appropriate. Mind Maps don’t directly help you to perform a specific calculation but arithmetic is a very narrow aspect of the subject. I prefer to describe maths as the study of patterns and the beauty of nature.

2) Images and colours are childish and have no place in business.

The most successful businesses and entrepreneurs are those that continually innovate and think creatively. The use of images and colour on Mind Maps stimulate and promote creativity. They also massively aid memory. The old adage that a picture is worth a thousand words is true. A visually rich Mind Map, once memorised, allows you to have facts at your fingertips whenever required. A truly invaluable business asset.

3) Mind Maps, concept maps, process maps, fish bones, bubble and spider diagrams are the same.

If you type ‘Mind Map’ into Google you get 51 million results. Many of the apps and software packages that claim to be Mind Mapping tools break most of the true Mind Mapping Laws. The laws are there for a reason and are based on psychology so the more you break the less effective your thinking will become. The iMindMap Software is the exception in that it follows all the Mind Map Laws and creates true Mind Maps (See more details above)

In ‘The Mind Map Book’ Tony Buzan warns of the danger of Mind Maps that aren’t really Mind Maps, “At first glance, they look like Mind Maps and seem to obey the fundamental Mind Mapping principles. There are, however, a number of differences. As both figures develop, their structure becomes increasingly random and monotonous. Furthermore, all the ideas are reduced to the same level and each one becomes disassociated from the others. Because the laws of clarity, emphasis and association have been neglected, what appeared to be developing into order and structure has in fact resulted in confusion, monotony and chaos.”

Not a Mind Map

4) Mind Maps don’t appeal to logical thinkers.

A Mind Map works as either a ‘top down’ or ‘bottom up’ process. For a holistic thinker you can start with a serious of main branches and dart about the Mind Map adding ideas as they come. In this case you start with a ‘big picture’ approach and refine it as the Mind Map develops. If, on the other hand, you prefer to think is a logical step by step approach you can draw the first main branch and fully develop the ideas from this before moving on to the second, and so on. The resultant Mind Maps are much the same regardless of how they were created. One of the most powerful features of a Mind Map is that you can see the details, interconnections, relationships and overview on a single page.

Despite the fact that I have a scientific and computer programming background making me very analytical and methodical, I have learned the flexibility to switch between holistic and logical thought depending on the situation.

That’s it for this month. Look out for the next newsletter at the beginning of October.

September's Quote of the Month

~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe .