Thank you to all who have shared answers!
1) Name
JL: John Leppik
MR: Mil Rosseau
5) Subjects of thought (for example, particular branches of science, particular activities)
16) Why do you think thoughts should be written down?
JL: In my computer I have permanent, unlimited and reliable memory. I do not have that in my head.
17) What kind of help or tools would you like for helping organize thoughts and creating new ones?
JL: WOW
18) Other comments and wishes:
JL: I would like to learn much more about what you are doing, what kind of response you have had to your survey, and your summary of the survey.
I have been working on this for many years now and your survey is my
first indication that there is someone else with a similar interest.
5) Subjects of thought (for example, particular branches of science,
particular activities)
Quality Engineer; Training; Management
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2) Subjects of thought (for example, particular branches of science,
particular activities)
Software development, Internet software development (web
site/
database and application integration), creative writing,
Humourous writing, music.
3) How often do you write down your thoughts?
A couple of times a day. The greatest challenge I
have is to ensure
I am carrying some means of idea recording.
4) Approximately how many thoughts do you have written down?
I have journals, notebooks and index cards going back several
years.
I dont write down ideas every day but usually something
every two
weeks.
If I had an idea recording medium with me all the time
I'm sure I
would
have recorded more ideas.
5) Where do you write them down (for example, notebooks, index cards,
computer, etc.)?
I use several methods for idea recording
- Sending emails to myself. When I am at work
(like right now), if
can email a message to my home email
address with the idea.
- Index cards. Carrying a bundle of index cards is
very useful,
because
each card can be used to record one
idea. Then the cards can be
categorised and filed under different
subject areas.
- A5 size journal/notebook - this is my journal for
carrying around
for recording ideas, sketches, mind
maps, etc. Unfortunately
I dont carry it with me all the time
and I should!
- A4 size journal for "morning pages". I've gone
through phases of
writing three full pages in a journal
- an exercise called morning
pages as described in Julia Cameron's
book THE ARTISTS WAY. These
journals are fascinating reading long
after the actual writing!
- Dictaphone. I've taken a dictaphone with me when
I go for long
walks on the weekend. When I get an
idea I can record it without
breaking the rhythm of the walk.
Later I transcribe the tape.
6) Do you use any kind of system for writing down your thoughts and
saving them?
See previous answer.
7) If so, try to briefly describe your system. Did you invent
it
yourself, or did you adapt it from another system?
NOne of my methods are original. I once
created a Hypercard
stack on my Apple Macintosh to capture
ideas and later I saw
a program called Thoughtpattern, but
the system wasnt practical
because I dont carry a MAcintosh with
me! The index card system
is very flexible.
Robert Pirsig's book LILA describes a
system of recording ideas
and filing/sorting them, and my friend
Bill Paton in Canada gave
me ideas for extending the filing card
system. Index cards
or system cards as they are sometimes
called can be used to
record inspiring quotations on creativity
or success, recipe cards
of creativity techniques, idea prompters,
checklists, etc....
8) Do you ever organize or reorganize your thoughts in different ways?
If so, what ways do you use?
I havent explored this but perhaps I
shoudl type out my ideas into
a
database or THOUGHTPATTERN and try rearranging
the ideas and
seeing
what comes out of it.
9) Do you use any methods or tools to help generate new ideas?
If so,
try to briefly describe these methods.
I'm aware of a lot of creativity techniques
but dont actively
practice a lot of them. I am rectifying
this situation. My
favourite idea generation techniques
are:
RANDOM INPUT, Who - What - When - Where
- Why - How,
PMI (Plus/Minus/Interesting) question
of de Bono.
10) Do you have any methods for locating a needed thought among all
of
your thoughts?
Sequential searching through the journals
and index cards.
Another reason for cataloguing the ideas,
but this takes time!
11) Do you exchange the thoughts you write with other people?
If so,
how do you typically do this?
Discussion in person over a coffee
Email with specific people.
12) What kind of obstacles or problems do you come up against in writing
down and organizing thoughts, as well as creating new ones?
It takes a lot more time to describe
an idea in writing, and
sometimes visual information is needed,
namely drawing pictures.
However, when I write about an idea
I find that the act of writing
generates more ideas probably because
I have to impose some
structure
on my thoughts.
13) Why do you think thoughts should be written down?
To protect against forgetting the ideas
To develop the ideas by forcing yourself
to write out as
much as possible about the
idea. I read in a course on freelance
journalism that if you get
an idea for a story to write a few
paragraphs
of the story in your notebook
to develop it.
14) What kind of help or tools would you like for helping organize
thoughts and creating new ones?
Organising thoughts - really
easy to use program that allows
fast entry of ideas
- words and pictures, categorising and
searching.
Creating new ideas - an online
library of creativity techniques,
templates, checklists
to use for processing ideas and programs.
An "idea mill" or
"thought factory" - containing an input area,
processes, and output
area and warehouse for ideas. I like the
name of IDEA MILL
because Adobe have a product called Page Mill
and the name of Idea
Mill says a lot about a place or factory
to generate new ideas
from raw materials.
15) Other comments and wishes:
I am interested in
helping the Virtual Laboratory as well as
watching your progress.
For many years I have
collected newspaper and magazine articles
of interest and pasted
them in scrapbooks. I keep meaning to
catalogue the contents
on the computer as I'm sure it would be
a useful place to
get ideas say for articles. I collect
cartoons and photos
and put them in the scrapbook.
16) May we share your answers with others? In particular, do you
retain
copyright to your answers above, or do you place them in the public
domain? (Your placing them in the public domain makes it feasible
for
us to share them with others.)
Please share
the ideas ... they are in the public domain and
hopefully some
of these ideas will help other people come up
with new ideas.
1) J?sø vardas ir pavard?: Saulius Maskeli?nas
5) M?stymo sritis ar sritys (pvz., mokslo ar veiklos ?aka):
Tiesioginis darbas (t.y., ?iniø baziø sistemos
ir visa kita, apie
k? tenka ra?yti straipsnius) + dienora?tin?s mintys (apie visk?, kas
esamu metu svarbu, kad nepasimir?tø) + veiklos planai.
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6) Kaip da?nai u?ra?in?jate savo mintis?
Esant reikalui; t.y., suvokus u?sira?ytin? id?j? ar i?kilus poreikiui
susivokti esamoje pad?tyje.
Skirtingais laikotarpiais u?sira?in?ju labai skirtingu intensyvumu.
Kartais - vis? dien? (su nedidel?mis pertraukomis) pras?di vien jas
u?ra?in?dmas, kit? kart? - savaitæ jokiø neu?sira?ai.
7) Kiek ma?daug min?iø turite u?sira?æs?
Neskai?iuoju.
Beje, tokie skai?iavimai labai subjektyvus dalykas:
kas laikoma "viena mintimi" (koks atraminis kriterijus sprend?iant,
kad tam tikra id?ja jau yra atomarin?) - skirtingiems ?mon?ms gali
b?ti visai skirtingi dalykai. Be to, ?vairiai galima nuspræsti
ir
apie trumpo (pvz., i? vieno ?od?io) priminimo u?sira?ym? sau:
ar tai jau yra mintis ?..
Skai?iavimo b?d? nesunku b?tø pasirinkti nebent
visus savo u?ra?us tvarkant tik kompiuteriu.
8) Kur jas u?ra?in?jate (pvz., u?ra?ø knygut?se, kortel?se,
kompiuteryje ir t.t.)?
s?siuviniuose, ant popieriaus lapø ar pan.
9) Ar naudojate koki? nors min?iø u?ra?ymo ir i?saugojimo sistem??
Naudojuosi keletu prisiimtø tvarkos taisykliø.
10) Jei taip, pabandykite trumpai apib?dinti ?i? sistem?. Ar suk?r?te
j? pats (-i) ar pasinaudojote kokiu nors ?altiniu?
Laikausi tokiø susigalvotø taisykliø:
-- darbines kokybi?kai skirtingas mintis (pvz.: padarytini darbai,
strateginiai sprendimai, kilæ klausimai ir svarstymai, apsisprendimai,
etc.) ra?ausi skirtingose vietose (atskiruose lapuose). Kai gerai
sekasi - juos visus turi ?alia savæs, ir - tik sp?k ra?ytis vienoje
ar
kitoje vietoje;
-- u?sira?au ra?ymo dat?;
-- tai, kas suk?l? mint? - dienora?tyje prie? ?i? u?ra?om?j? mint?
para?oma [...] skliausteliuose ir po to dedamas dvita?kis;
-- jei u?sira?ytam ?od?iui randu ai?kiai geresn? pakaital? - tai
pakeitim? i?rei?kiu pilnai i?trindamas (o ne tik u?braukdamas)
ankstesn? variant? ir jo vietoje ?ra?ydamas nauj?j? variant?;
-- jei prireikia k? tai pratæsti, o n?ra vietos - ry?iui pa?ym?ti
naudoju graiki?kas raides, apvestas ratuku;
-- ...
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11) Ar b?na taip, kad sutvarkote, pertvarkote tas pa?ias mintis
?vairiais b?dais?
Taip. Pvz., kai para?yto straipsnio mintis reikia i?d?styti kaip prane?imo
skaidres, ankstesnio straipsnio id?jas panaudoti ra?ant koki?
ataskait?, dienora??io mintis perkeliant ? kam nors ra?om? lai?k?
ir pan.
Jei taip, tai kokie tie b?dai?
svarbiausiø dalykø pasibraukimai / 'pasenusiø'
i?braukimai,
kilnojimai ("stumdymai"), redagavimai (anstesniø min?iø
tikslinimas
naujos situacijos, pagil?jusio supratimo kontekste), papildymai, ...
12) Ar naudojate kokius nors b?dus ar reikmenis, padedan?ius kurti
naujas mintis? Jei taip, pabandykite tuos b?dus trumpai apra?yti.
B?das: Turi b?ti pakankamai pails?jæs ir ?inoti, ko sieki.
Reikmenys: popierius, pie?tukas ir trintukas; kartais reikia
kompiuterinio tekstø redaktoriaus.
13) Ar turite b?dus, kaip surasti reikiam? mint? visose mintyse?
B?das: d?mesio sutelkimas r?pimu klausimu Tada - neadekva?ios mintys
pa?ios pasitraukia ? ?al?. Ta?iau jei kyla pakankamai s v a r
b i
mintis neatitinkanti svarstymo temos - geriausia, kai turi atskir?
viet? jø u?sira?ymui (apsaugojimui nuo pasimir?imo).
14) Ar kei?iat?s savo u?ra?ytomis mintimis su kitais ?mon?mis? Jei
taip, kaip tai da?niausiai darote?
Taip: publikuodamas para?ytus straipsnius, pokalbiuose ir pan.
15) Su kokiomis kli?timis ir problemomis susiduriate u?ra?in?dami ir
tvarkydami mintis, kurdami naujas?
Da?niausiai - tik laiko stoka; techniniø problemø neturiu.
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16) Kod?l manote, kad reikia u?ra?in?ti savo mintis?
-- kad nepasimir?tø [beje, ra?ymo metu veikia ir mechanin?
atminis
(rankos mikrojudesiø), ir vizualin? atminis (atsimenant
u?ra?ø lap?
tarsi fotografij?). Tod?l tai, k? jau buvai u?sira?æs -
geriau
atsimeni net ir nepa?i?rint ? u?ra?us. Sveikai raminan?iai veikia
ir
?inojimas: <tam tikra> mintis jau apsaugota nuo u?mar?ties:
kai tik
panor?siu -gal?siu j? pa?i?r?ti ir pilnai prisiminti];
-- pilnesnio po?i?rio gavimui (pa?velgimui i? ?vairiø pusiø,
susira?ant bei apsvarstant visus 'u?' ir 'prie?').
17) Kokios nor?tum?te pagalbos ar reikmenø, padedan?iø
tvarkyti
mintis ir kurti naujas?
Jokios: ra?ant straipsnius ar pan. - pakanka kompiuterio su
tekstø redaktoriumi (pvz., Microsoft Word 97); dienora?tin?ms
mintims - pakanka po ranka tur?ti s?siuviniø (ar balto popieriaus),
pie?tuk? ir trintuk? (klaidø i?taisymui, sugalvojus ai?kiai
tobulesnæ
formuluotæ, i?rai?k?).
Tiesa, vienu metu buvo, kad ir informacijos apie reikiamus/galimus
atlikti darbus palaikymui prireik? kompiuterizuoto tvarkymo
priemon?s. U?davinys buvo toks:
-- kiekvienas darbas tipizuojamas ir (kartais) apib?dinamas
a p r a ? u ;
-- tam tikrus darbus galiu atlikti b?damas skirtingose
v i e t o s e (namie, darbe, nuvykæs pas t?vus,
nuva?iavæs ?
miest?), kiekvienas darbas turi 1 ar daugiau nei 1 vykdymo viet?;
-- darbai b?na skub?s, atliktini iki tam tikro t e r m i n o
,
neskub?s, neapibr??to termino (kuriuos galima atid?lioti), ...;
-- kiekvienas darbas yra tam tikros s v a r b o s (prioriteto);
-- kiekvienas darbas yra tam tikros r ? ? i e s (tiesioginio
darbo,
antraeiliø pareigø, tam tikros visuomenin?s veiklos,
namø ruo?os,
ar pan.). Tam tikri darbai kartais gali priklausyti vienu metu
kelioms r??ims;
Reikalingos galimyb?s:
-1- patogiai u?sira?yti apra?ytos r??ies darbø informacij?;
-2- per?i?r?ti darbus pagal vykdymo viet?, r???, sur??iuotai pagal
?vykdymo terminus, svarb? (t.y., patogia forma gauti atsakymus
?
klausimus: k? galiu veikti X vietoje?, kurie darbai 'dega'?,
kurie
darbai, i? tø, kuriuos dabar galiu atlikti, yra svarbiausi?
ir
pan.);
-3- palaikyti informacijos ?vie?um?: atlikin?ti reikiamus poky?ius,
?vykdytus darbus pa?alinti i? s?ra?ø [?is reikalavimas
buvo
svarbiausias, d?l ko u?ra?ai popieriuose netiko: i?braukin?jant
atliktus darbus - bendras s?ra?as 'u?siter?ia' ir vis sunk?ja
jo
per?i?r?jimas] ir pan.
Man tiko Lotus Notes ?ablonin? laisvai Internete platinama baz?,
kuri? ne?ymiai pamodifikavæs ir sulietuvinæs - s?kmingai
naudojau.
18) Kitos pastabos ir pageidavimai.
Pastaba:
?mon?s ir jø poreikiai yra labai skirtingi; tod?l sunku ?sivaizduoti
universali? (?vairiems asmenims tinkan?i?) mastym? palengvinan?i?
priemonæ. Geriausiu atveju - galimos specializuotos tam tikros
r??ies
naudotojams skirtos pagalbin?s u?sira?ytø min?iø tvarkymo
programin?s
priemon?s. Pavyzd?iui, tinklalapyje
http://www.ms.lt/ms/projects/formatkinds/990707shn.html
skyrelyje "Designing a psychological experiment" Andrius ra?o:
We might ask a subject to
down an interesting thought, and then to
rewrite it with different
words, and perhaps to keep rewriting it,
about a dozen times, each
time so that it is basically the same.
Tai - tikrai puikus u?si?mimas pvz. besilavinantiems poetams, tuo
tarpu kitiems (pvz. man) - toks eksperimentas gali pasirodyti kaip
tu??ias laiko gai?imas.
Gal b?t, tiesiog kiekvienas ?mogus mintis u?sira?in?ja savitai.
Galiu nupasakoti savo da?nai naudojam? strategij?:
Bendrumo lygis u?ra?ant atskir? mint? priklauso nuo to, k? nori
pasakyti, nuo pragmatikos. Tod?l u?sira?ai mint? - ir patikrini
ar
tenkina paskirt?. Toliau: (1) jei netenkina - ie?kai tikslesn?s
formuluot?s, radæs geresnæ (stipresnæ, ai?kesnæ)
- prastesni?j? be
jokio gailes?io u?mir?ti; (2) jei gauni tenkinan?i? i?rai?k?
-
laikai, kad u?davinys baigtas spræsti ir kitø galimø
alternatyvø
nebeie?kai. Jei po kiek laiko mintyse nu?vinta ai?kiai geresnis
variantas - j? u?sira?ai (bet, kaip min?ta, turint tenkinam?
sprendin? - jo jau specialiai neie?kai).
Pasi?lymas:
Pasakymas "m?stytojas" paprastai turi vertinam?j? pob?d?.
M?sto - visi ?mon?s. M?stytojais paprastai vadinami tie, kieno
m?stymo procesas akivaizd?iai vaisingas ir vertingas visuomenei;
o tie, kas daug m?sto bet nepasiekia rimtesniø gerø rezultatø
-
vadinami "m?stytojais" (tarp kabu?iø).
Dabartin? antra?t? sukelia ?ypsen?: "?tai, u?pild?iau anket? -
ir jau esu vienas i? m?stytojø; galiu savimi tokiu did?iuotis".
Tod?l si?ly?iau anketos pavadinim? keisti, pavyzd?iui, ? :
"Anketa u?sira?in?jantiems (ir tvarkantiems) savo mintis".
Viso geriausio,
Saulius