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How To Mind Map: The Thinking Tool That Will Change Your Life is a self-help book written by Tony Buzan. The book attempts to stretch the thinking and creative skills of the brain through a simple process of mapping. Summary Of The Book Our brain is said to be made of 1,000,000,000,000 cells. How does our brain receive signals, initiate actions, think, analyse and direct at the same time? How To Mind Map: The Thinking Tool That Will Change Your Life by Tony Buzan reveals how. The workings of the brain do not happen through communication using words, as we assume. It is carried through in pictures and colors. Buzan’s technique breaks down the process by creating a flow chart. This chart will aid in organizing, planning thoughts and creating new ones. An example for the brain’s process given in the book is as follows. When you think of an apple, the first thing that comes up in your mind is a basket of fruits. From there, Buzan guides us to create a map of sorts. From a patch of yellow or red, you proceed to think of a basket of apples or oranges, a woman carrying a basket, a tree, a beach where you lounge under a fruit tree, a glass of ice cold juice, a half-eaten apple, a bunch of bananas, and so on and so forth. Buzan guides us to use keywords, principal colors, images, codes, and dimensions to specifically tag our thinking. In the flowchart, the central idea must be connected to the word or image by drawing thick lines. Each image or word sits on its own line. The leading lines are of the same length. He recommends the use of at least three colors. The mind map should reflect each individual’s personal style. He tells us that we can improvise it with the use of emphasis and associations, but at the end of the process, the map should reflect utmost clarity and should not be cluttered. Buzan’s theory revolves around the fact that if you try to break down all your thoughts and knowledge by creating a map, then it is stored permanently and in an easy-to-retrieve format in your memory. Not only that, Buzan assures that such a thought process will spur creativity. Mind mapping can be used for challenging situations such as personal, business, educational, brainstorming situations. About Tony Buzan Tony Buzan is a well-known psychology author and academic consultant. Buzan’s other books include Use Your Head, Use Your Memory, Master Your Memory, Speed Reading, and The Memory Book. He was born in Middlesex and studied in Kitsilano Secondary School in Vancouver. He is a proponent of mind mapping and mnemonic techniques. More recently, Buzan has also penned a book on mind mapping for seven to fourteen year old children. The Buzan Organisation has bought the copyright of the term Mind Map.