Use Your Head
Use Your Head
Use Your Head
CN 9046
USE
YOUR
HEAD
Tony
Buzan
GUILD PUBLISHING
LONDON
Other books by Tony Buzan:
Speed Memory
Speed Reading
Spore One
Advanced Learning and Reading - Manual
(with Bernard Chibnall)
The Evolving Brain
(with Terry Dixon)
Make the Most of Your Mind
Videotapes:
Business Brain
Audiotapes:
The Brain/Memory
Introduction 9
3 Memory 43
Questions on memory
Recall during a learning period
Recall after a learning period
Review techniques and theory
Review, mental ability and age
Memory systems
The Number-Rhyme system
Key words and concepts in remembering
4 Noting 71
A Keywords 71
Exercise - key words; standard responses
Key words and concepts - creative and recall
Multi-ordinate nature of words
Individual's interpretation of words
Memory - a comparison between standard note
and key word noting
B. Preparation 127
The best use of time
Defining the areas and amount of study
Distribution of the student's effort
Noting of current knowledge on the subject being studied
Planning approach to the new subject
Defining reasons for study and goals to be achieved
C. Application 137
Study overview
Preview
Inview
Review
Summary of the Buzan Organic Study Method
Bibliography 152
Index 154
Introduction
Use Your Head is written to help you do just that. By the time you
have finished the book you should understand much more about
how your mind works and how to use it to the best advantage, be
able to read faster and more efficiently, to study more effectively,
to solve problems more readily and to increase the power of your
memory.
This introductory section gives general guide lines about the
book's contents, and the ways in which these contents are best
approached.
The chapters
Each chapter deals with a different aspect of your brain's func-
tioning. First the book outlines the most up-to-date information
about the brain and then applies this information to the way in
which your vision can be best used.
Next, a chapter explains how you can improve memory both
during and after learning. In addition a special system is intro-
duced for the perfect memorisation of listed items.
The middle chapters explore the brain's internal 'maps'. This
information about how you think is applied to the way in which
you can use language, words and imagery for recording, organis-
ing, remembering, creative thinking and problem solving.
The last chapters deal with the new Organic Study Method
which will enable you to study any subject ranging from English
to Higher Mathematics.
In the centre of the book you will find mind maps which you
are advised to look at before reading each chapter - they serve as
a preview/review summary.
Your effort
It is essential that you practise if you wish to be able to use effec-
tively the methods and information outlined. At various stages in
the book there are exercises and suggestions for further activity.
USE YOUR HEAD
In addition you should work out your own practice and study
schedule, keeping to it as firmly as possible.
Personal notes
At the end of each chapter you will find pages for 'Personal
Notes'. These are for any odd jottings you might wish to make
during reading and can also be used when you discover relevant
information after you have 'finished' the book.
Bibliography
On page 152 you will find a special list of books. These are not
just books of academic reference, but include books which will
help you develop your general knowledge as well as giving you
more specialised information concerning some of the areas co-
vered in Use your head.
The Time-Life books give clear and graphic accounts of such
topics as Vision and the Mind, and can be used most effectively
for family reading and study.
My own book, Speed memory, is a combination of the special
memory techniques for recalling lists, numbers, names and
faces, etc. It should be used in conjunction with the information
from the Memory chapter.
10
I.
Yourmind
is better than
you think
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Since I wrote the introductory chapter on the brain for the first
edition of Use Your Head in 1974, research in that area has been
exploding with new and exciting discoveries. Rather than stating,
as I did then, that 'only in the last 150 years' has the bulk of pro-
gress been made in this area, I can now state that only in the last
ten years has the bulk of our knowledge been accumulated. This
seems extraordinarily late when you consider that homosapiens
appeared on earth 3,500,000 years ago. Bear in mind, however,
that mankind has only known the location of its brain for the last
500 years. In some ways this is not surprising. Consider for a
moment that you have no idea where your brain is to be found,
and a friend asks: 'Where is the centre of your feelings, emo-
tions, thoughts, memories, drives and desires located?'. You, like
12
YOUR MIND IS BETTER THAN YOU THINK
rhythm language
music logic
images number
imagination sequence
daydreaming linearity
colour analysis
dimension
Fig 2 Front view of the two sides of your brain and their functions.
16
YOUR MIND IS BETTER THAN YOU THINK
10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
000,000,000,000,000,000,000
10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000
Fig 4 In the late 1960's it was calculated that the number of different
patterns that the 10,000,000,000 individual nerve cells of the brain
could make was this number followed by 800 noughts. Recent
estimates have shown that even this number is too small! See text on
4• facingpage.
Earth-Moon 920,000 miles Inner planets 920,000,000 miles
20
YOUR MIND IS BETTER THAN YOU THINK
21
USE YOUR HEAD
They have failed to realise that their tests do not test basic hu-
man ability, but measure untrained and undeveloped human
performance. Their claims are much like those of an imaginary
surveyor of women's feet sizes in the Orient at the time when
their feet were restricted to make them small. From the crib the
foot was placed in bandages until the woman was nearly full
grown. This was done to stunt the growth and to produce 'dain-
ty' feet.
To assume, however, as the surveyor might have done, that
these measurements represent natural and fully developed bodily
dimensions is as absurd as it is to assume that intelligence tests
measure the natural dimensions of our minds. Our minds, like
the women's feet, have been 'bound' by the way we have mis-
judged and mistrained them, and are therefore not naturally de-
veloped.
Another most convincing case for the excellence of the hu-
man brain, is the functioning and development of the human
baby. Far from being the 'helpless and incapable little thing' that
many people assume it to be, it is the most extraordinary learn-
ing, remembering and intellectually advanced being - even in its
most early stages it surpasses the performance of the most soph-
isticated computers.
With very few exceptions, all babies learn to speak by the time
they are two, and many even earlier. Because this is so universal
it is taken for granted, but if the process is examined more close-
ly it is seen to be extremely complex.
Try listening to someone speaking while pretending that you
have no knowledge of language and very little knowledge of the
objects and ideas the language discusses. Not only will this task
be difficult, but because of the way sounds run into each other
the distinction between different words will often be totally un-
clear. Every baby who has learned to talk has overcome not only
these difficulties but also the difficulties of sorting out what
makes sense and what doesn't. When he is confronted with
sounds like 'koooochiekooochiekoooooooooaahhhhisn'tealove-
lelyli'ldarling!' one wonders how he ever manages to make sense
of us at all!
The young child's ability to learn language involves him in
processes which include a subtle control of, and an inherent
22
YOUR MIND IS BETTER THAN YOU THINK
26
READING MORE EFFICIENTLY AND FASTER
Teachers of reading and learning have noted over the past five
years that in each of their classes, the same general problems
arise. Below is the list of those most commonly experienced. The
reader is advised to check his own against these, adding to his
own list any others that apply - there will probably be quite a few.
Each of the problems in the table above is serious, and can by it-
self disrupt reading and learning. This book is devoted to solving
these problems, the current chapter being concerned primarily
with vision, speed, comprehension, time and amount, and the
learning environment.
Before getting down to the more physical aspects of reading I
shall first define the term properly, and in the light of this defini-
tion shall explain why the wide range of problems that exist is so
universally experienced.
Reading defined
Reading, which is often defined as 'getting from the book what
the author intended' or 'assimilating the written word' deserves a
far more complete definition. It can be defined as follows: Read-
ing is the individual's total interrelationship with symbolic in-
formation. It is usually the visual aspect of learning, and contains
the following seven steps:
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recognition
The reader's knowledge of the alphabetic symbols.
This step takes place almost before the physical aspect
of reading begins.
assimilation
The physical process by which light is reflected from
the word and is received by the eye, then transmitted
via the optic nerve to the brain. See fig 39.
intra-integration
The equivalent to basic understanding, and refers to
the linking of all parts of the information being read
with all other appropriate parts.
extra-integration
This includes analysis, criticism, appreciation,
selection and rejection. The process in which the
reader brings the whole body of his previous
knowledge to the new knowledge he is reading, making
the appropriate connections.
retention
The basic storage of information. Storage can itself
become a problem. Most readers will have experienced
entering an examination room and storing most of their
information during the two hour exam period! Storage,
then, is not enough in itself, and must be accompanied
by recall.
recall
The ability to get back out of storage that which is
needed, preferably when it is needed.
communication
The use to which the information is immediately or
eventually put; includes the very important subdivision:
thinking.
28
READING MORE EFFICIENTLY AND FASTER
29
USE YOUR HEAD
Later chapters deal with the majority of these problems. The re-
mainder of this chapter is devoted to eye movement, comprehen-
sion and the speed of reading.
\ conjunctiva
ciliary muscle
Two major errors are being made: the movement and the
speed.
Even if the eye moved as slowly as one line per second, words
would be covered at the rate of 600-700 words per minute
(wpm). As the average reading speed on even light material is 250
wpm, it can be seen that even those estimating slower speeds
assume that they cover words much more rapidly than they really
do.
If eyes moved over print in the smooth manner shown above
they would be able to take in nothing, because the eye can see
things clearly only when it can 'hold them still'. If an object is
still, the eye must be still in order to see it, and if an object is
moving, the eye must move with the object in order to see it. A
simple experiment either by yourself or with a friend will confirm
this. Hold a forefinger motionless in front of the eyes and either
feel your own eyes or watch your friend's eyes as they look at the
object. They will remain still. Next move the finger up, down,
sideways and around, following it with the eyes. And finally move
the finger up, down and around, holding the eyes still, or cross
USE YOUR HEAD
both hands in front of your face, at the same time looking at them
both simultaneously. (If you can accomplish this last feat write to
me immediately!) When objects move, eyes move with them if
they are to be seen clearly.
Relating all this to reading, it is obvious that if the eyes are
going to take in words, and if the words are still, the eyes will
have to pause on each word before moving on. Rather than mov-
ing in smooth lines as shown in fig 8, the eyes in fact move in a
series of stops and quick jumps.
fixations (1/4 - 11/2 sec)
eye movement
words
visual
wandering
back fixation
skipping regression
eye movement
words
33
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Yet another advantage is that the rhythm and flow of the faster
reader will carry him comfortably through the meaning, whereas
the slow reader, because of his stopping and starting, jerky
approach, will be far more likely to become bored, to lose con-
centration, to mentally drift away and to lose the meaning of what
he his reading.
It can be seen from this that a number of the commonly held be-
liefs about faster readers are false:
1 Words must be read one at a time: Wrong. Because of our
ability to fixate and because we read for meaning rather than
for single words.
2 Reading faster than 500 wpm is impossible: Wrong. Be-
cause the fact that we can take in as many as six words per
fixation and the fact that we can make four fixations a second
means that speeds of 1,000 wpm are perfectly feasible.
3 The faster reader is not able to appreciate: Wrong. Be-
cause the faster reader will be understanding more of the
meaning of what he reads, will be concentrating on the material
more, and will have considerably more time to go back over areas
of special interest and importance to him.
4 Higher speeds give lower concentration: Wrong. Because
the faster we go the more impetus we gather and the more we
concentrate.
5 Average reading speeds are natural and therefore the
best: Wrong. Because average reading speeds are not natural.
They are speeds produced by an incomplete initial training in
reading, combined with an inadequate knowledge of how the
eye and brain work at the various speeds possible.
34
READING MORE EFFICIENTLY AND FASTER
take their fingers off the page. It is now realised that it is we and
not the children who are at fault. Instead of insisting that they re-
move their fingers we should ask them to move their fingers fas-
ter. It is obvious that the hand does not slow down the eye, and
the added values that the aid gives in establishing a smooth
rhythmical habit are immeasurable.
To observe the difference between unaided and aided eye move-
ment, ask a friend to imagine a large circle about one foot in
front of him, and then ask him to look slowly and carefully
around the circumference. Rather than moving in a perfect cir-
cle, his eyes will follow a pattern more resembling an arthritic
rectangle.
Next trace a circle in the air with your finger asking your friend
to follow the tip of your finger as you move smoothly around the
circumference. You will observe that the eyes will follow almost
perfectly and will trace a circle similar to that shown below.
35
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Fig 14 Illustration showing how the mind 'gets used to' speed and
motion. The same kind of relativistic 'misjudgements' can be used
to advantage to help us learn to learn more adequately. See text pages
36 and 37.
The same applies to reading, and after a high speed practice you
will often find yourself reading at twice the speed without even
feeling the difference. See fig 14.
Motivational practice
Most reading is done at a relaxed and almost lackadaisical pace,
a fact of which many speed reading courses have taken advantage.
Students are given various exercises and tasks, and it is sug-
gested to them that after each exercise their speed will increase
by 10-20 wpm. And so it does, often by as much as 100 per cent
over the duration of the lessons. The increase, however, is often
due not to the exercises, but to the fact that the student's motiva-
tion has been eked out bit by bit during the course.
37
USE YOUR HEAD
Metronome training
A metronome, which is usually used for keeping musical rhythm,
can be most useful for both reading and high speed reading
practices. If you set it at a reasonable pace, each beat can indicate
a single sweep for your visual aid. In this way a steady and
smooth rhythm can be maintained and the usual slowdown that
occurs after a little while can be avoided. Once the most com-
fortable rhythm has been found, your reading speed can be im-
proved by occasionally adding an extra beat per minute.
The metronome can also be used to pace the high speed
perception exercises, starting at slower rates and accelerating to
exceptionally fast rates, 'looking' at one page per beat.
wpm (speed) =
Exercises
NB After any wpm calculation enter the number on the graph on page
40.
1 Exercise eye movements over page, moving eyes on horizontal and
vertical planes diagonally upper left to lower right, and then upper
right to lower left. Speed up gradually day by day. Purpose - to train
eyes to function more accurately and independently.
2 Read normally for 5 minutes from a book which you will be able to
continue using. Record wpm on continuing graph page 40.
3 Practise turning 100 pages at approximately 2 seconds per page,
moving eyes very rapidly down the page. (2X2 min. sessions).
4 a Practise as fast as you can for 1 minute, not worrying about com-
prehension.
b Read with motivated comprehension -1 minute.
c Calculate and record wpm on graph.
Repeat as time allows.
5 Use any book (light material) of your choice, preferably one in which
you are interested.
Try for as much comprehension as possible, but realise that exer-
cise is concerned primarily with speed. In this exercise reading
should continue from last point reached.
a Practise-read for 1 minute at 100 wpm faster than your highest
normal speed.
b Practise-read 100 wpm faster than (a).
c Practise-read 100 wpm faster than (b).
d Practise-read 100 wpm faster than (c).
e Practise-read 100 wpm faster than (d).
f Practise-read with comprehension for 1 minute from point reached
at end of (e). Calculate and record wpm on graph
39
USE YOUR HEAD
speed
wpm
900
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
40
READING MORE EFFICIENTLY AND FASTER
Overview
• Questions on memory
• Recall during a learning period
• Recall after a learning period
• Review techniques and theory
• The brain and ageing
• Memory systems - those used by the Greeks
and still used by stage performers to
astound audiences
43
USE YOUR HEAD
Test I
Below these instructions is a list of words. Read each word on this list
once, quickly, in order, and then turn to page 50 and fill in as many of
the words as you can. You will not be able to remember all of them, so
simply try for as many as you can. Read the complete list, one after the
other. To ensure you do this properly use a small card, covering each
word as you read it.
start now
went
the
book
work
and
good
and
start
of
the
late
white
and
paper
Mohammed Ali
light
of
skill
the
own
stair
note
and
rode
will
time
home
44
MEMORY
Next turn to page 50 fill in as many of these items as you can, and
answer the questions which immediately follow on page 50.
Test 2
On page 51 you will find a blank graph. Fill it in with a line which repre-
sents the amount you think your memory recalls during a learning
period. The vertical left-hand line marks the starting point for the
learning; the vertical right-hand line marks the point when learning
stops; the bottom line represents no recall at all (complete forgetting);
and the top line represents perfect recall.
There are of course many other alternatives so now turn to page 51 and
complete the graph for the way in which you think your recall works.
45
B who thought he remembered more from the beginning of a learning
period and less from the end.
C who thought he remembered less from the beginning and more from
the end.
Test 3
On page 52 is a blank graph to show the way your memory behaves after
a learning period has been completed. The vertical left-hand line marks
the end point of your learning; there is no right-hand vertical line be-
46
MEMORY
cause it is assumed that the 'afterwards' would be for a few years!; the
bottom line represents no recall at all; and the top line represents per-
fect recall.
The graphs below show three people's assessment of their recall after
learning.
B who thought his recall was constant for a little while and then dropped
off fairly steeply.
47
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C who thought his memory stayed constant for a while and then dropped
off more slowly, levelling out at a certain point.
As with Test 2 there are many alternatives, so now turn to page 52 and
complete the graph in the way which most closely represents what you
feel to be your normal pattern of forgetting. For the purpose of the exer-
cise you can assume that nothing happens after your learning period to
remind you of the information you learned.
48
MEMORY
Test 4
Here is a list of words next to numbers. As with Test i read each item
once, covering the ones read with a card as you progress down the list.
The purpose of this is to remember which word went with which
number:
4 glass
9 mash
1 watch
6 chair
10 carpet
5 paper
8 stone
3 orange
7 banana
2 sky
Now turn to page 52 and fill in the answers in the order requested.
49
USE YOUR HEAD
Test 1: responses
2 How many of the words from the beginning of the list did you re-
member before making the first error?
3 Can you recall any words which appeared more than once in the list?
if so note them
4 How many of the words within the last five did you remember?
MEMORY
5 Do you remember any item from the list which was outstandingly
different from the rest?
6 How many words from the middle of the list can you remember
which you have not already noted in answers to previous questions?
Test 2: responses
Fill in, as demonstrated in the examples of fig 15 pages 45 and 46, the line
which represents the way your memory recalls during a learning period.
direction of time |
1 point in time where learning starts point in time where learning ends A
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Test 3: responses
Fill in the graph below in the way you think your recall behaves after a
learning period has been completed. See examples fig 16 pages 47 and 48.
Test 4: responses
Here are the numbers 1 to 10. Fill in next to each number the word
which originally appeared next to it. The numbers are not listed in the
same order as before. Do not refer back until you have filled in as many
as you can.
1 7
5 4
3 6
8 10
9 2
Score
52
MEMORY
Fig 17 As time goes on, recall of material being learned tends to get
progressively worse unless the mind is given proper rests. See text
this page.
53
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54
MEMORY
55
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Fig21 Graph showing how human recall rises for a short while after
learning, and then falls steeply (80% of detail forgotten within 24
hours). See text page 58.
57
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Memory - review
If review is organised properly, the graph shown in fig 19 can be
changed to keep recall at the high point reached shortly after
learning has been completed. In order to accomplish this, a
programmed pattern of review must take place, each review
being done at the time just before recall is about to drop. For ex-
ample, the first review should take place about 10 minutes after a
one-hour learning period and should itself take 10 minutes. This
will keep the recall high for approximately one day, when the
next review should take place, this time for a period of 2 to 4
minutes. After this, recall will probably be retained for approxi-
mately a week, when another 2 minute review can be completed
followed by a further review after about one month. After this
time the knowledge will be lodged in Long Term Memory. This
means it will be familiar in the way a personal telephone number
is familiar, needing only the most occasional nudge to maintain
it. See fig 22.
The first review, especially if notes have been taken, should
be a fairly complete note revision which may mean scrapping ori-
ginal notes and substituting for them revised and final copy. The
second, third and fourth etc. review sessions should take the fol-
lowing form: without referring to final notes, jot down on a piece
Fig 22 Graph showing how properly spaced review can keep recall
constantly high. See text on opposite page.
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60
MEMORY
61
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62
MEMORY
64
MEMORY
exaggerated
The image must be made exceptionally or grotesquely
large, or loud, etc.
absurd
Where possible the linked images should form a new
image which is humorous or ridiculous.
sexual
If sex can be brought in in anyway, bring it in!
vulgar
Things which are obscene are recalled exceptionally
well also!
sensual
As with sex, any of the basic bodily senses will help to
form a memorable image.
moving
A moving image usually lasts longer than a static one.
coloured
Coloured as brightly and gaudily as possible.
imaginative
Imaginative in any other way not yet mentioned.
pure
The two items must be linked together with as few other
items as possible. Linkages which are too witty,
abstract or confused will not help.
MEMORY
67
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Now fill in as many of the words as you can on the facing page.
In the spaces opposite write the rhyming key word for the Num-
ber-Rhyme System, and next to it the words used earlier in the
chapter to illustrate the system.
68
69
Personal Notes
4.
Noting
A: Key words
Overview
• Exercise key words; standard responses
• Key words and concepts - creative and recall
• Memory - a comparison between
standard note and
key word noting
• Transition from advanced key word
note taking to advanced Mind Map
key word note taking
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73
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74
NOTING
75
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Yet, after all, to devour one's own legs for hunger is not the
worst that can happen to a being cursed with the gift of song.
There are human crickets who must eat their own hearts in
order to sing.
paragraph i
paragraph 2
paragraph 3
paragraph 4
paragraph 5
Below you will find sample key words and phrases from the notes
of students who have previously done this exercise. Briefly com-
pare and contrast these with your own ideas.
main secondary
main secondary
77
USE YOUR HEAD
Words which seemed quite good at the time have not, for some
reason, proved adequate for recall. To explain why, it is
necessary to discuss the difference between key recall words and
key creative words, and the way in which they interact after a
period of time has passed.
same order of
information funnelled
out when key word is
triggered
Fig 26 Diagram representing key recall word. See text on opposite page.
79
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80
NOTING
Key recall words would have forced the mind to make the proper
links in the right direction, enabling it to recreate the story even
if for all other intentional purposes it had been forgotten.
81
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82
NOTING
a few seconds to get to the next. The longer the time between
connections, the less chance there will be of proper connec-
tion being made.
6 The key words are separated in space by their distance from
each other on the page. As with the point made about time,
the greater the distance between the words, the less chance of
there being a proper connection.
You are advised to practise key word and phrase selection from
any previous notes made during periods of study. It will also be
helpful at this point for you to summarise this chapter in key note
form.
In addition, reconsider key and creative words in the light of
the information in the chapter on Memory, especially the section
dealing with mnemonic techniques. Similarly the memory chap-
ter itself can be reconsidered in the light of this chapter, with a
similar emphasis on the relationship and similarities between
mnemonic systems and key and creative concepts.
The review graph is another important consideration. Review
is made much easier when notes are in key form, because less
time is expended, and because the recall itself will be superior
and more complete. Any weak linkages will also be cemented
more firmly in the early stages.
Finally, linkages between key words and concepts should
always be emphasised and where possible simple lists and lines
of key words should be avoided. In the following chapter
advanced methods of key word linking and patterning will be
explained in full.
Personal Notes
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Overview
• Exercise
• Linear history of speech and print
• Contrast: the structure of the brain
• Advanced note taking and mapping techniques
86
NOTING
Exercise
In the space below, and starting immediately after having reached the
end of this paragraph, prepare a half-hour speech on the topic of Space
Travel. Allow no more than five minutes for the task, whether or not you
have finished. This exercise will be referred to later in the chapter,
before which time the problems experienced in performing the task
should also be noted here or in a notebook.
Problems experienced
87
USE YOUR HEAD
Fig32 Speech has traditionally been seen as a list-like affair. See text
page 87.
Print was seen as even more linear. Not only was the individual
forced to take in units of print in consecutive order, but print was
laid out on the page in a series of lines or rows.
This linear emphasis overflowed into normal writing or note tak-
ing procedures. Virtually everyone was (and still is) trained in
school to take notes in sentences or vertical lists. (Most readers will
probably have prepared their half-hour speech in one of these two
ways, as shown in fig33). The acceptance of this way of thinking is so
long-standing that little has been done to contradict it.
However, recent evidence shows the brain to be far more multi-
dimensional and pattern making, suggesting that in the speech/
print arguments there must be fundamental flaws.
The argument which says that the brain functions linearly
because of the speech patterns it has evolved fails to consider, as
do the supporters for the absolute nature of IQ tests, the nature
of the organism. It is easy to point out that when words travel
from one person to another they necessarily do so in a line, but
this is not really the point. More to the point is, the question:
'How does the brain which is speaking, and the brain which is
receiving the words, deal with them internally}
The answer is that the brain is most certainly not dealing with
them in simple lists and lines. You can verify this by thinking of
the way in which your own thought processes work while you are
speaking to someone else. You will observe that although a single
line of words is coming out, a continuing and enormously
complex process of sorting and selecting is taking place in your
NOTING
89
USE YOUR HEAD
Fig 34 It is the network inside the mind, and not the simple order of
word presentation, which is more important to an understanding
of the way we relate to words. See text pages 88-go.
90
NOTING
Fig35 Initial ideas jotted around a centre. See text this page.
91
USE YOUR HEAD
In connection with these points, and especially with the last one,
you should now do an exercise similar to your space travel
speech notes at the beginning of this chapter, but this time using
a mind map rather than the more linear methods.
In the space provided on page 94 branch out in the manner
indicated in figure 35 in preparation for a speech on 'Myself.
While doing this exercise a number of things should be noted.
1 Words should be printed in capitals. For reading-back pur-
poses a printed map gives a more photographic, more im-
mediate, and more comprehensive feed-back. The little extra
time that it takes to print is amply made up for in the time
saved when reading back.
2 The printed words should be on lines, and each line should
be connected to other lines. This is to guarantee that the mind
map has basic structure.
3 Words should be in 'units', i.e. one word per line. This leaves
each word more free hooks and gives note-taking more
freedom and flexibility
4 In creative efforts of this nature the mind should be left as
'free' as possible. Any 'thinking' about where things should go
or whether they should be included will simply slow down the
92
NOTING
93
USE YOUR HEAD
94
NOTING
With the map approach each idea is left as a totally open pos-
sibility, so that the map grows organically and increasingly,
rather than being stifled.
You might find it interesting to compare your efforts so far
with the efforts of three school children. See figs 36 to 38.
Figure 37, page 103 is the mind map of a boy who twice failed O
level Economics and who was described by the teacher as having
enormous thinking and learning problems combined with an
almost total lack of knowledge of his subject. The map which
also was completed in five minutes, shows quite the reverse.
95
The mind maps on pages 97-100 represent a new method for
noting.
There are four of them, and they summarise the first four chapters of
the book.
A fifth page has been left blank for you to create a mind map of
Chapter 5 for yourself.
In these mind maps key words and images are linked to each other
around a main centre (in these cases, the overall theme of a chapter),
and a mental picture is built up of an entire thought structure.
• The theory and method for making these patterned notes is fully
outlined in sections B and C of chapter 4, starting on page 86.
• Use the notes for each chapter as a preview of what is to come; they
will make the reading of the chapter easier.
• After finishing a chapter, look at its patterns once again. This will
serve as a good review, and will help you to remember what you
have read.
CHAPTER ONE
97
CHAPTER TWO
98
CHAPTER THREE
I
99
CHAPTER FOUR
100
Draw your own mind map of chapter five
101
USE YOUR HEAD
Fig 36 The 'best notes' in linear writing of a 14 year-old boy, and his
mind map notes on English. See text page 95.
102
Fig37 Mind map by a boy who twice failed O level Economics. See
1
text page 95.
USE YOUR HEAD
104
Personal Notes
105
USE YOUR HEAD
Overview
• Models for the brain
• Technology and new insights into ourselves
• The left and right brain and mind mapping
• Advanced techniques
• Wider application of patterning techniques
106
NOTING
object
human eye
human brain
107
USE YOUR HEAD
Modern technology
Recent developments in more refined technology have fortu-
nately given us a much better analogy: the hologram.
In this technique, an especially concentrated light or laser
beam is split into two. One half of the ray is directed to the plate,
while the other half is bounced off the image and then directed
back to the other half of the ray. The special holographic plate
records the millions of fragments into which the rays shatter
when they collide. When dais plate is held up in front of laser
beams directed at special angles towards it, the original image is
recreated. Amazingly, it is not recreated as a flat picture on the
plate, but is perfectly duplicated as a three-dimensional ghost
object that hangs in space. If the object is looked at from above,
below or the side, it is seen in exactly the same way as the original
object would be seen.
Even more amazingly, if the original holographic plate is ro-
tated through 90 degrees, as many as 90 images can be recorded
on the same plate with no interference.
And to add still further to the extraordinary nature of this new
development, if the plate is taken and smashed to smithereens
with a hammer, each particle of the shattered plate will, when it
is placed in front of the specially direct lasers, still produce the
complete three-dimensional ghost.
The holograph thus becomes a far more reasonable model
than the camera for the way in which our brain works, and begins
to give us some idea of just how complex an organism it is that
we carry about with us.
But even this extremely refined piece of technology falls far
short of the unique capabilities of the brain. The holograph cer-
tainly approximates more closely the three-dimensional nature of
our imaginations, but its storage capacity is puny compared to
the millions of images that our brains can call up at an instant's
notice, and randomly. The holograph is also static. It cannot per-
form any of the directional exercises of the kind described on
pages 107 and 108 which the brain finds so easy and yet which
must involve the most unimaginably intricate machinery. And
even if the holograph were able to accomplish all this, it would
108
NOTING
not be able to do what our minds can: to see its own self, with
eyes closed, performing the operations!
The above gives considerable cause for thought, and even our
most advanced sciences have as yet made little progress in this
most interesting area of current research.
codes
Asterisks, exclamation marks, crosses and question
marks as well as many other indicators can be used next
to words to show connections or other 'dimensions'.
geometrical shapes
Squares, oblongs, circles and ellipses e t c . . . . can be
used to mark areas or words which are similar in nature
- for example triangles might be used to show areas of
possible solution in a problem-solving pattern.
Geometrical shapes can also be used to show order of
importance. Some people, for example, prefer to use a
square always for their main centre, oblongs for the
ideas near the centre, triangles for ideas of next
importance, and so on.
109
USE YOUR HEAD
creativity/images
Creativity can be combined with the use of dimension
by making aspects of the pattern fit the topic. One man,
for example, when doing a pattern on atomic physics,
used the nucleus of an atom and the electrons that
surrounded it, as the centre for his pattern.
colour
Colour is particularly useful as a memory and creative
aid. It can be used, like arrows, to show how concepts
which appear on different parts of the pattern are
connected. It can also be used to mark off the
boundaries between major areas of a pattern.
110
NOTING
Fig 41A mind map on the uses of mind maps. See text page 112.
L 111
USE YOUR HEAD
112
NOTING
Note taking
It is advisable, when taking notes, to have two blank pages
ongoing at the same time. The left-hand page should be for
mapped information and the right-hand page for more linear or
graphic information such as formulas, special lists, and graphs
etc. See fig 42.
When taking notes, especially from lectures, it is important to
remember that key words and images are essentially all that is
Fig42 Recommended general form for note taking. Two pages should be
used concurrently, one for mind maps, the other for graphic or more linear
information. These example notes on body, mind and spirit may originally
'look messy' but they are in fact neater than traditionally 'neat' notes. See text
pages 112 and 114.
113
USE YOUR HEAD
114
NOTING
116
5.
The Buzan
organic study
method
A: Introduction
Overview
• Problems of 'getting down' to study
• Reasons for the fear and reluctance many people feel
when approaching study books
• Problems arising from the use of standard study
techniques
• New study techniques
117
USE YOUR HEAD
118
THE BUZAN ORGANIC STUDY METHOD
119
USE YOUR HEAD
120
THE BUZAN ORGANIC STUDY METHOD
121
USE YOUR HEAD
122
THE BUZAN ORGANIC STUDY METHOD
123
USE YOUR HEAD
124
THE BUZAN ORGANIC STUDY METHOD
125
Personal Notes
126
THE BUZAN ORGANIC STUDY METHOD
B: Preparation
Preparation Time
Amount
Knowledge
Questions
Application Overview
Preview
Inview
Review
Overview
• The browse
• Deciding on the best use of time
• Defining the areas of study (amount)
• Gathering all the information the reader currently has
about the subject
• Defining goals and reasons for studying in the first place
127
USE YOUR HEAD
The Browse
Before doing anything else, it is essential to 'browse' or look
through the entire book or periodical you are about to study. The
browse should be done in the way you would look through a book
you were considering buying in a bookshop, or in the way you
would look through a book you were considering taking out from
the library. In other words casually, but rather rapidly, flipping
through the pages, getting the general 'feel' of the book, observ-
ing the organisation and structure, the level of difficulty, the
proportion of diagrams and illustrations to text, the location of
any results, summaries and conclusions sections etc. A particu-
larly useful method for browsing is that as outlined in the Chap-
ter on reading more efficiently and faster, Exercise 7b, page 41 -
using the visual guide to scan each page at four seconds a page,
continuing, not for only one minute, but until the complete book
has been surveyed.
Once the browse has been completed, the four major steps of
preparation can then be dealt with far more effectively.
128
THE BUZAN ORGANIC STUDY METHOD
2 3
4 5
6 7
8 9
129
USE YOUR HEAD
130
THE BUZAN ORGANIC STUDY METHOD
1 They give the body a physical rest and a chance to relax. This
is always useful in a learning situation, and releases the build-
up of tension.
2 They enable recall and understanding to 'work together' to
the best advantage.
3 They allow a brief period of time for the just-studied in-
formation completely to relate each part of itself to the other
part - to intra-integrate. See fig 21.
This last point also relates to the Memory chapter and the
graph on forgetting as time progresses. During each break the
amount of knowledge that can immediately be recalled from the
section just studied will increase and will be at a peak as the next
section is commenced. This means that not only will more be re-
called because the time period itself is best, but also that even
more will be recalled because of the rest period.
USE YOUR HEAD
132
THE BUZAN ORGANIC STUDY METHOD
tion, aptitude etc. Each group is given the same study text and is
given enough time to complete the whole book.
Group A is told that they are going to be given a completely
comprehensive test on everything in the book and that they must
study accordingly.
Group B is told that they will be tested on two or three major
themes which run through the book, and that they also must
study accordingly.
Both groups are in fact tested on the entire text, a situation
which one would immediately think unfair to the group that had
been told they would be tested only on the main themes.
One might also think that in this situation the second group
would do better on questions about the themes they had been
given, the first group better on other questions and that both
groups might have a similar final score.
To the surprise of many, the second group not only does bet-
ter on questions about the themes, but they achieve higher total
scores which include better marks on all parts of the test.
The reason for this is that the main themes act like great
grappling hooks through the information, attaching everything
else to them. In other words the main questions and goals acted
as associative and linking centres to which all other information
became easily attached.
The group instructed to get everything had no centres at all to
connect new information to, and because of this were groping
with no foundations through the information. It is much like a
situation where a person is given so much choice that he ends up
making no decision; the paradox where attempting to get every-
thing gains nothing.
Asking questions and establishing goals can be seen, like the
section preceding it, to become more and more important as the
theory behind becomes better understood. It should be empha-
sised that the more accurately these questions and goals are
established, the more able the reader will be to perform well in
the Application section of the Organic Study Method.
134
Personal Notes
135
Personal Notes
136
THE BUZAN ORGANIC STUDY METHOD
C: Application
Overview
• Study Overview
• Preview
• Inview
• Review
• Note taking
• Continuing review
• Summary
137
USE YOUR HEAD
Study Overview
One of the interesting facts about people using study books is
that most, when given a new text, start reading on page one. It is
not advisable to start reading a new study text on the first page.
The following situation is a parallel illustration of this point:
Imagine that you are a fanatic jigsaw-puzzle-doer. A friend
arrives on your doorstep with a gigantic box wrapped in paper
and tied with string, and tells you that it's a present: 'the most
beautiful and complex jigsaw puzzle yet divised by man!'. You
thank her, and as you watch her walk away down the front path,
you decide that from that moment on you are going to devote
yourself entirely to the completion of the puzzle.
Before continuing, note in precise detail the steps you would take
from that point on in order to complete the task.
Now check your own answers with the following list compiled
from my students:
138
THE BUZAN ORGANIC STUDY METHOD
139
USE YOUR HEAD
140
THE BUZAN ORGANIC STUDY METHOD
Preview
The second section of study application is the preview - covering
all that material not covered in the overview. In other words the
paragraphed, language content of the book. This can be likened
to organising the colour areas of your puzzle.
During the preview, concentration should be directed to the
beginnings and ends of paragraphs, sections, chapters, and even
whole texts, because information tends to be concentrated at the
beginnings and ends of written material.
141
USE YOUR HEAD
142
THE BUZAN ORGANIC STUDY METHOD
Inview
After the overview and preview, and providing that still more in-
formation is required, inview the material. This involves 'filling
in' those areas still left, and can be compared with the filling in
process of the jigsaw puzzle, once the boundaries and colour
areas have been established. It is not necessarily the major read-
ing, as in some cases most of the important material will have
been covered in the previous stages.
Fig 51 Sections covered after inview has been completed. See text this
It should be noted from fig 50 that there are still certain sec-
tions which have been left incomplete even at the inview stage.
This is because it is far better to move over particularly difficult
points than to batter away at them immediately from one side
only.
Once again the comparison with the jigsaw puzzle becomes
clear: racking your brains to find the pieces that connect to your
'difficult bit' is a tension-producing waste of time, and jamming
the piece in, or cutting it with a pair of scissors so that it does fit
(assuming or pretending you understand in context when really
you don't) is similarly futile. The difficult sections of a study text
are seldom essential to that which follows them, and the advan-
tages of leaving them are manifold:
143
USE YOUR HEAD
difficult
section
144
THE BUZAN ORGANIC STUDY METHOD
creative leap
standard development
the present
Review
Having completed the overview, preview and inview, and if
further information is still required, a review stage is necessary.
In this stage simply fill in all those areas as yet incomplete,
and reconsider those sections marked as noteworthy. In most
cases it will be found that not much more than 70 per cent of that
initially considered relevant will finally be used. Then complete
your mind map notes.
Noting
145
USE YOUR HEAD
146
THE BUZAN ORGANIC STUDY METHOD
Continuing Review
Apart from the immediate review, a continuing review pro-
gramme is essential, and should be constructed in the light of the
knowledge we have concerning memory as discussed in the
chapter on Memory.
It was seen that memory did not decline immediately after a
learning situation, but actually rose before levelling off and then
plummeting.
147
USE YOUR HEAD
Fig56 This graph shows how quickly forgetting takes place after
something has been learned. It also shows how review can 'warp'
this graph to enormous advantage. See text this page.
148
THE BUZAN ORGANIC STUDY METHOD
149
USE YOUR HEAD
Afterword
As you approach the end of Use Your Head I hope that you will
be realising that it is not the end, but the real beginning. With the
physical beauty and complexity of your brain, and its enormous
intellectual and emotional powers, with your ability to absorb in-
formation and to manage the memorisation of that information,
and with the new techniques for allowing your brain to express
and organise itself in matters which are more comprehensibly
attuned to the way you function, reading, studying, learning, and
life in general should become what they-can be: delightful and
flowing processes that bring not pain and frustration, but plea-
sure and fulfilment.
150
Personal Notes
Bibliography
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Alexander, F. M. The Alexander technique: the essential writings of
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Alexander, F. M. The use of the self: its conscious direction in relation to
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Bergamini, D. The universe Time-Life International, 1968.
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D'Arcy, P. Reading for meaning Hutchinson for the Schools Council, 2
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Edwards, B. Drawing on the right side of the brain. Boston MA; Houghton
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Encyclopaedia Britannica 30 volumes E.B., rev. anniversary edn. 1982.
Einstein, A. Relativity Methuen, 1920. o.p.; rev. edn. paperback 1954;
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Eyken, W. van der The preschool years Penguin Books, 1967. o.p.; n.e.
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Farb, P. Ecology Time-Life International, 1965.
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154
Index
Anokin, Pyotr 16
Assimilation 28,29
Atom 16,17,20
Baby 22
Behaviour 20
Berkeley Creativity Study 21
Biology 13,123,124
Brain 12-16,20,23,28,29,36,56, 61,77, 80,86,88,91,93,106,107,108,
109, no, 121,128,143,144,150
Céezanne 15
Chemistry 13,16,123,124
Communication 16,28,87,112,114,115
Comprehension 27,30
Concentration 21,29,34,59,132,141
Creativity 21,23,68,81,86,92,95,109, no, 112,119,124,144,145
Einstein 14
Extra-integration 28
Eye, the 20,25-41,125,140
Hemispheres (brain) 14
Mathematics 13,15,23,123,124,148
Meetings 112,114,115
Memory 12,16,21,23,43-69, 82,84,121,122,125,131,140,141,147,148
Mind 13,20,21,33,53,55, 62,81, 87,90,93,107,109,132
155
USE YOUR HEAD
Neuron 16,17
Note-taking 15,16,56,60,71-115,132,145-47
Perception 36,38
Physics 123,124,148
Picasso 15
Potential 13,16
Problems 26-29,30,32,93,115,117,121
Psychology 123,124
Reading 25-41,121,125,149,150
Recall 27,28,45-48,53-60,63,68,76,77,82,86,92,93,109-115,124,131,
i33» 141
Recognition 28,29
Retention 27,28
Review 56,57,60-62,92,96,114,132,145-49
Speeches 87,88,93,112,133
Speed reading 30,34-41
Sperry, Roger 14,15,109
Study, Organic 21,33,38,117-151
Thinking 20,23,28,60,86,88,92,124
Understanding 33,45,53-56,60,90,109,115,125,130,131,144
Universe 13,15,16,17,18,19
Vinci, Leonardo da 15
156