CLICK HERE to open another window showing all of the posts to date (more than 20 are expected) in this series on The Great Visual Thinking Machine.

#TGVTM #TheGreatVisualThinkingMachine #MindMap #CognitiveDecline

#Aging #NormalAging #TypicalAging #Alzheimers

This is post is part of a projected series of at least 20 posts. Searching for any of the keywords given above in the search box for this site will list all of the tweets in this series. The search box is located in the upper left corner of each post. The most accurate search should come from TGVTM or #TGVTM.

In the three prior posts (Prologue, Part 1, Part 2) I have discussed a general model of cognitive information processing for improving thinking. It is my belief that the model can be used by adults with typical patterns of aging as well as those with cognitive impairment and dementia. The model is characterized by several major features. These are

1. a large percentage of the input and process and outcome information are in visual form;
2. the model uses a unique blend of methods of processing combinations of primarily visual materials.

I call the model The Great Visual Thinking Machine™. The acronym is TGVTM™. The TGVTM is not a physical machine like a computer or automobile. Rather it a combination of procedures and knowledge as well as computer and commonsense algorithms that allow you to easily process large amounts of visual and verbal information. The key to the TGVTM is a way of using “pictures” to organize information, thoughts, and the results of processes. It can aid in better understanding related information, coding complex information into high-information images, an advanced way of increasing the likelihood that the information can be retrieved. The intent of the TGVTM is to produce generally better overall thinking.

Click on the images to expand them.

Click on the images to expand them.

CLICK HERE to open another window showing all of the posts to date (more than 20 are expected) in this series on The Great Visual Thinking Machine.

#TGVTM #TheGreatVisualThinkingMachine #MindMap #CognitiveDecline

#Aging #NormalAging #TypicalAging #Alzheimers

This is post is part of a projected series of at least 20 posts. Searching for any of the keywords given above in the search box for this site will list all of the tweets in this series. The search box is located in the upper left corner of each post. The most accurate search should come from TGVTM or #TGVTM.

In the two prior posts (Prologue, Part 1) I have discussed a model for a general model of cognitive information process for improving thinking It is my belief that the model can be used by adults with typical patterns of aging as well as those with cognitive impairment and dementia. The model is characterized by several major features. These are

1. a large percentage of the information input and process and outcome information are in visual form;
2. the model uses a unique blend of methods of processing combinations of primarily visual materials.

I call the model The Great Visual Thinking Machine™. The acronym is TGVTM™. The TGVTM is not a physical machine like a computer or automobile. Rather it a combination of procedures and knowledge as well as computer and commonsense algorithms that allow you to easily process large amounts of visual and verbal information. The key to the TGVTM is a way of using “pictures” to organize information, thoughts, and the results of processes. It can aid in better understanding related information, coding complex information into high-information images, an advanced way of increasing the likelihood that the information can be retrieved. The intent of the TGVTM is to produce generally better overall thinking.

Some examples that you might want to consider to visualize my concept are:

1. the laboratory of Dr. Emmet Brown in the movies Back to the Future I, II, and II;
2. the chocolate factory of Willy Wonka in the film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory;
3. and — of course — the machines built by Cyberdyne Systems for Skynet which then produced the machines in The Terminator and its numerous sequels;
4. and the last but the best analogy is the programs, environment, and thought processes of the characters living inside The Matrix I, II, and III. Plug Neo, Trinity, and Morpheus into the Matrix and watch their information process become almost entirely visual as they battle Agent Jones and Agent Brown.

The following mind map summarizes some of my visual thinking about The Great Visual Thinking Machine and is procedures and processes.

Who benefits from using TGVTM? Originally I developed it for adults to compensate for Cognitive impairment and Dementia (in many of various forms). Then I considered adults with typical aging processes and believe that it is just as relevant for them, especially if they want to have tools for combatting cognitive decline and disorders. So, every adult.

My conception of TGVTM was partially derived from Tony Buzan’s work on mind mapping; research and theory by J. Singer, J. Antrobus, and G. Huba on daydreaming; research and theory R Gardner, D. Jackson, and S. Messick as well as H. Witkin in individual differences in cognitive process and their relationship to personality and intelligence; R. Sternberg on cognition and intelligence; M. Rohde on sketchnoting and doodling; and S. Brown’s seminal publication on doodling. My ideas about how to implement TGVTM were heavily influenced by C. Griffiths monumental work on the program iMindMap expanding and computerizing Buzan’s theories of mind mapping). Of course, research and writings of dozens of others have also influenced in many different ways.

Oh, one other significant fact. I developed my entire theory and procedures between 2010 and the present (now 2019) during a period when I had cognitive impairment and dementia (of a type which is not Alzheimer’s Disease but rather a type of frontotemporal lobar degeneration) I started with a knowledge. The work started with ideas I had developed since the release of the computer program MindManager 2 a decade earlier and my experimentation with it and later versions.

As to the proof that The Great Visual Thinking Machine works, they are limited to the development of the method to personally assist me while having dementia and trying to lead a productive and full life with the condition. However before you run away muttering I’m nutz or live in a state where marijuana is legal,, consider the objective indices I would use to support the positive effects of The Great Visual Thinking Machine on me. Between 2012 and now (early 2919), I have built a following of about 135,000 on Twitter. I have about 5,000 additional followers on other social media platforms (Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest).  I wrote a well-reviewed book. I appear on many top 10, 25, or 100 lists of social media experts-influencers. I do my laundry, remember the places I loved most for vacations, have organized memories of everything from favorite movies and Allman Brothers songs to special moments and sporting events and concerts I went to. I’ve analyzed many daily-life decisions and their impacts for me and my family. Without the TGVTM I’ don’t believe I would have accomplished any of this, and the next post will explain why.

Click the images to expand them.

CLICK HERE to open another window showing all of the posts to date (more than 20 are expected) in this series on The Great Visual Thinking Machine.

The Great Visual Thinking Machine is a set of visual thinking procedures that help one collect new information (especially VISUAL information), remember and recall information, and plan, schedule, and make comparative judgments.

97% of all the topics discussed within 813 posts in this blog (Hubaisms.com) since 2012 have used my evolving vision of The Great Visual Thinking Machine™ or TGVTM™.

I developed this model between 2012 and now (early 2019). During that time I have had dementia.  Think about that. Now, think about that again. None of my blog posts has been written with anyone else, edited by anyone else, or “approved” by anyone else. The key part of the blog posts — the complicated mind maps and other visual material were similarly developed by me with no directions, information, or revisions by others.

Using methods embedded as parts of The Great Visual Thinking Machine” did not keep my brain from continuing to degenerate in the frontal and temporal lobes. This is clearly demonstrated in my most recent MRI and PET scans I reviewed with my primary neurologist last week. I personally NEVER expected that using methods of thinking that were visually-oriented would either heal my brain or slow its overall physical degeneration.

But, I did hope that maybe an enhanced ability to think in an effective and accurate way using would slow the decline of my quality of life. Could I do that? I hoped for such an outcome as a result of learning and using new methods of visual thinking and I think that I achieved it FOR ME. Would this work for you? I don’t know. There have been no gold standard random assignment clinical trials. In fact, while much research needs to be done, this blog illustrates over six years that I was able to retain significant parts of my overall cognitive processing levels.

The Great Visual Thinking Machine includes cognitive and behavioral skill building, not medical, psychological, or other forms of professional treatment or therapy. Collectively the methods are super-charged ways for taking notes and comparing options The methods include encoding and decoding information in visual ways so as improve memory. These techniques can super-charge virtually all aspects of cognitive processing.

One reason I decided to make posts to the blog every few days was that I wanted to document my level of using my brain and new technologies over a period of years. I have done so and you can easily compare the results from 2012 through the present online here.

The diagram below is a depiction of The Great Visual Thinking Machine. It is written in the way that I use visual thinking methods to outline my thoughts and communicate them to others. The program used here is iMindMap, the premier way of making mind maps on computers. It is also the core of the major set of different visual thinking techniques that I use, typically in various combinations.

Click on the image to expand it.

The next mind map shows the potential users of The Great Visual Thinking Machine.

This post is the start of a series that explain how to use components of The Great Visual Thinking Machine. I expect to make a new post in this series every 1-2 days.

#TGVTM #TheGreatVisualThinkingMachine

#MindMap #VisualThinking #MindModel