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October 28, 2005
Mind maps and Gantt Charts
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| A simple example of a FreeMind mind map |
My thesis project is shifting into high gear now--hurray! But all the ideas that keep popping up, and all the leads I want to chase down, are in serious danger of being lost. I need a place to collect all the various aspects of my work, but in a way that the information is readily accessible, easy to organize, and will give me the ability to see the whole project at once, but also to focus in on a particular point.
The answer to all of this, I believe, is FreeMind. FreeMind is free (open source) concept mapping software that allows you to construct mind maps -- diagrams that depict the aspects of a topic as nodes, and the interrelatedness of the nodes with branches (called "edges") and arrows. Mind maps have a central topic node, with all other nodes radiating out from it. (Note: FreeMind isn't strictly in the Tony Buzan sense of Mind Maps®, but the concept is similar.)
My husband has been using FreeMind for quite a while now and finds it very useful. He uses it to plan projects, to plan meetings, and even to take meeting notes. And we've used it quite a bit at home for planning trips--especially camping trips where there's a lot of gear to keep track of. But I've not really thought about using for my work until now.
FreeMind has recently launched a new version with lots of great features. You have more choices and control over how things look, can add internal and external (web page) links for easy jumping, add notes to any node, and there lots of choices for exporting and publishing your map. There are several HTML and XHTML options, including one with clickable links. I like the "export as Adobe PDF" option for sharing with my committee members. Printing out these maps can be unwieldy, though. I had to print one out recently and wound up printing it on multiple pages in Adobe Acrobat, then cutting and taping the pieces together.
But printing isn't really the point of it all for me anyway. The beauty of FreeMind is that you aren't constrained by a page style, or an outline format, or margins. I can open it up and just start adding things without immediately trying forcing things into a hierarchy. Then when I'm ready to group items, FreeMind makes it easy.
As an aside, when I was talking with my advisor about mind maps, he asked if they were similar to Gantt charts. That was a term I didn't know, so I did a little research. It turns out that I had seen many Gantt charts before without knowing what they were. Gantt charts are used primarily in creating project timelines, something else that might be useful to keep me on track and finishing on time. Perhaps I can use it to create a reverse calendar for my dissertation. If you're interested, there is also a free open source Gantt chart software called GanttProject. Check out their demo--it's pretty good.
Posted by rigd0003 at 2:47 PM | Comments (0)
October 25, 2005
Forest conservation
Forest conservation was on my mind today as a result of two stories that have crossed my path. First, Greenpeace will be launching a nationwide demonstration and educational event on November 3, dubbed Kleercut, against Kimberley-Clark's use of virgin (non-recycled) product in its paper products.
Second, I came across this article in a Scientific American news digest: Selective Logging Fails to Sustain Rainforest. A group of researchers studying the Brazilian Amazon rainforest developed a new method for measuring the impact of selective logging, which could not be measured by traditional analysis of satellite data. They estimate that "for every tree removed [by selective logging], 30 more will become severely damaged." The research, led by Gregory Asner at Stanford University, appears in this month's (October 2005) issue of the journal Science.
Posted by rigd0003 at 5:14 PM | Comments (1)
October 5, 2005
October baseball cricket
Ahh, October baseball... the thrill of post-season play. As I struggle to keep up with all of the division series games, I'm also keeping one eye on that other great bat-and-ball game: cricket. Last month I was glued to my computer catching all the action during a thrilling Ashes series. This was one for the record books. I toyed with the idea of blogging about it after England forced a follow-on in the third match against arch-rival, Australia (Yankees v. Red Sox has nothing on this rivalry). But then I felt I might have to explain the follow-on, the Ashes, and even the game of cricket to my fellow Americans. By then the Ashes were over, with glory going to England, and I was occupied by other things.
For those of you who have not yet caught cricket fever, I leave your edification in others' hands. All I will say is that to begin to understand how huge it was for England to win the Ashes series over Australia, you must know Australia's dominance in international cricket. They are so dominant, that they star in an ODI Super Series better known as Australia vs. the World XI (a.k.a. Australia vs. the Rest of the World, or Australia vs. the Best of the Rest). Despite their Ashes loss, and despite setting a fairly attainable goal of 256 for the first Super Series match, Australia won today's first match by 93 runs.
The World Series is one thing, but what about a Best vs. the Rest?
Posted by rigd0003 at 4:17 PM | Comments (2)
October 3, 2005
Crazy enough it just might win a prize
I was happy to hear that Drs. Barry Marshall and J. Robin Warren of Australia won this year's Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. I never really knew them by name, but simply as the Australian doctors with a kooky idea that turned out to be right. These are the fellows who had the bizarre notion that peptic ulcers might be an infectious disease caused by the spiral-shaped bacteria, Helicobacter pylori.
This is a great example of scientists who didn't take medical convention as absolute truth, but saw evidence with enough impartiality to search for answers wherever the evidence led them.
I came across a quote by Marcel Proust not too long ago, one which I think captures the spirit of Marshall and Warren's discovery:
"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes."
Posted by rigd0003 at 2:24 PM | Comments (1)