Anybody else here using Visual Mapping as thinking aid ? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: RJSV
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 21, 2024, 07:45:30 pm
content: I make a lot of maps. When thinking a map, or schematic gives a good focus, especially if I have to communicate.Does anyone else seem to operate this way, on engineering job, but also maybe when dealing with personal family dynamics.My example is a bit lame (see diagram) but attempts to show some conflict / frustration in dealings between other humans (supposedly, lol).You can see the fellow, off to the upper left of diagram, he needs to send some info to another person, but is BLOCKED. So, I've captured the essence of that, in upper part of diagram.Secondly, suppose you wished to keep trying, attempting contact with the little group of 3 people, (lower half of diagram). The graphic depiction, is supposed to be showing how your attempts to contact through this second group is also thwarted.This style of problem solving can get you thinking (out of the box, as the saying goes), "Hey, what if I try a 3rd avenue, contact some new person or group ?"Now this only partly demonstrates the topic, but idea of reforming or regrouping one's efforts, with needed changes, could be a useful tool.Some problems out there can be really intractable and maybe even unsolvable.Perhaps my myriad of 'maps' would help realize those qualities as well.

author: RJSV
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 21, 2024, 08:15:31 pm
content: My horrible drawings look like crime scene photos, (sorry).The revision lists that many Engineering departments require can perhaps have interesting features, if the text could be transformed into these maps, somehow.A good, solidly producing Firmware Engineer might have a few errors corrections, along a linear project path.A terrible, flakey Firmware Engineer might have a differently looking development path line or even display some sorts of 'oscillating' or erratic vector paths.

author: Analog Kid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 21, 2024, 09:02:02 pm
content: Quote from: RJSV on November 21, 2024, 08:15:31 pmAckshooly, they're not bad: a bit cartoon-y, which is good, and gets the point across.

author: RJSV
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 23, 2024, 07:00:40 pm
content: Here's my TEST, of visual hand and eye coordination, for Engineers or Draftsmen:I mentioned a bit about 'bragging rights', but that was in the now-locked thread (ARTASROBOT).Idea is to simply draw a freehand pair of measured division lines, at right angles. That came about due to my heavy involvement in construction of models and prototypes.That was a frustrated time of filing for PATENT rights, and dealing with, paragraph, (excuse me), uh, dealing with lawyers.So it was at least fun to show off my dimensioning and free-hand skills, to other fellow business owners.Today, it's nice to have a little fun, on a Saturday morn, and here presented is the personal 'TEST':Draw two lines, at perfect 90° or right angle, and divide those lines into 1/4 inch sections, out of a (perfect) 2 inch total length.Well, today, (21 years later), I've tried to repeat that TEST, and results aren't so stellar, but not too bad:My rt. angle comes to actual 94 degrees, not as bad as it looks.I even deliberately rotated the notebook, so as to not cheat.The lengths, you can see, are short, in my freehand, coming to total about 1/8 to 1/4 inch too short (about 8 mm short in 50 mm length).Mainly frivolous but I've found that these sorts of mechanical engineering 'PLAYFULNESS can help to offset various daily stresses, (and don't cost much).Next time, (~2045) I'll know to make my lines a few degrees more separated, and about another 1/8 inch longer, per inch.as to compensate.

author: Nominal Animal
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 23, 2024, 09:53:57 pm
content: Consider looking intomind mapsandconcept maps.

author: RJSV
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 23, 2024, 10:53:18 pm
content: Ah, HIERARCHY ; That's the fitting term.

author: Analog Kid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 24, 2024, 07:04:46 am
content: Rick: Get yourself a copy of this insanely wonderful book:Thinking With a Pencilby Henning NelmsAnd I do mean a book: you know, made out of that stuff, what's it called? oh yeah, paper.

author: RJSV
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 25, 2024, 06:59:48 am
content: Thanks for the book recommendation. My todo list is huge, intimidatingly bulky.Plus, bookstores near my area are, largely, Partisan,...in a very gross way.Yeah, WOKE, DEM, and whiney...very whiney.I'm realizing that my smaller town, here, does not even have a bookstore!The closest bookstore is only open, like 4 hours each day.Might that be in library, here ? Thanks, though, I'll check on the book.

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 25, 2024, 07:15:12 am
content: Quote from: Analog Kid on November 24, 2024, 07:04:46 am*Cough* Vashta Nerada *Cough*

author: ebastler
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 25, 2024, 07:22:05 am
content: Quote from: RJSV on November 25, 2024, 06:59:48 amIt's long out of print. So yes, the library is worth a shot. And you won't find it in any local store for new books, but would need to check secondhand bookstores (probably online) or ebay etc.You can also browse it online via the archive.org link Analog Kid had shared, or find the full PDF for download with a bit of Google-Fu. But as Analog Kid said, if you like the online preview and want to dive deeper, it probably makes sense to get a printed copy for this subject matter -- so you can focus on the "pen & paper experience".

author: Analog Kid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 25, 2024, 12:09:57 pm
content: I bought a copy of it--two copies in paperback, ackshooly, as I gave one away--not too long ago, I think throughbookfinder.com, and they didn't cost very much. Very undervalued book.

author: RJSV
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 25, 2024, 01:57:47 pm
content: The thing I want to experiment with is mapping out some Medical System things. I did some mention, in the section for GENERAL TOPICS, but there it is somewhat out of place, not being a heavily Electronics subject, more of a systems management set of problems.Anyway, a visual map, on my notebook here would diagramically show the interactions. Many US Medicare members will have a primary care doctor, and, in my case 9 (or more) specialists, such kidney specialist.If I try to MAP that, I put the main doctor in the middle, and 'surround' with ICONs for each specialist doctor. Ridiculous is one of the specialists, who then does appointments at a special facility, that's ORG #3, and THEY use yet another specialist (still in ORG #3), who then has their specialist, for interpreting test results.That would be ORG #4, with each of these entities having a 'blob' or similar ICON, in any mapping.Keep in mind all that crap-age is in addition to that, all important primary doctor...so we really have another ORG icon.Plus, I'm wondering HOW, to graphically symbolize 'LAZY'...(I guess I could depict that person as a 'Slumped over' doctor.Whatever. It's new enough to take time to develop Maps, in order to view a 'landscape' with solutions possible.

author: Nominal Animal
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 25, 2024, 04:13:59 pm
content: I use pen and paper mostly as a cache, for offloading context I need to consider but don't need to focus on when solving a specific problem. Often, after just a few days, the scribbles become meaningless even for myself...However, I usetoolsto create maps/graphs quite often.For graphs and especially directed graphs, I often useGraphviz. Basically, a directed graph isdigraph {"node A" [ label="text" ];"node B" [ label="text" ];"node A" -> "node B" [ taillabel="text" ];}although there are a lot of otherattributesbesides labels one can use, to control node shape, labels, et cetera. The nice thing about Graphviz is that it will draw the diagram for me, from the above descriptions –– which is why my most typical use case is to have my test programs output such graphs for visual verifications. For example,thisgraphs show how the naïve Fibonacci(4) is calculated using the recursive algorithm, showing how often the same results are used, and why auto-caching languages are so "fast" when running the naïve algorithm.After I get a visual graph from Graphviz, I often redraw it in Inkscape in a more organized form, using grids and such. (For example, thecat-dog finite state machinediagram as a vector graphics SVG file.)When drawing 3D shapes, I often use gridded paper and 2:1 slope (26.565°) Isometric Perspective. For example,hereis a cube with one eight volume (one half side/edge length) centered in an unit cube, andthisis the resistor cube and its flattened version (for computing the resistance between any two vertices in a cube formed by eight resistors). The projection math is so simple I often write scripts that generate such SVG files directly. Essentially,xaxis is 1:2 diagonal down,yaxis is 2:1 diagonal up, andzaxis is vertical up.

author: Analog Kid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 25, 2024, 10:32:52 pm
content: Quote from: RJSV on November 25, 2024, 01:57:47 pmRick,I scanned a couple pages of Nelm's book to give you an idea of what kind of stuff he covers:Many many examples of getting ideas down on paper ...

author: RJSV
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 26, 2024, 09:20:13 am
content: Thanks, folks, for the downloads, Thinking with a Pencil. 60 mbyte file.