Are we, outliners fans, just a bunch of outlined mind maniacs?

Posted by Dr Andus
May 3, 2013 at 03:36 PM

Two points. First, I think that outlining is a very big category, and within that there are quite different thought processes accommodated (from note-taking, brainstorming, organising, analysing, synthesising, outlining, writing, reverse outlining etc.), so it is difficult to generalise about it. This is why we have so many different products in this category (single-, dual,- three-pane outliners, mind mappers, concept mappers, wikis etc.).

Second, I do believe there are some people more predisposed towards categorising-type thought processes than others. It can become pathological both ways, i.e. you can become obsessively organising or pathologically disorganised (the latter may still try to become desperately organised but can’t handle the mental and/or manual task of categorising).

It doesn’t mean the latter can’t be successful (or that the former always are), it’s just that they better suit some professions than others. I’ve known some artists in the latter group, who are hopelessly disorganised, can’t put things in boxes, can’t organise files in folders, but still can produce something beautiful out of total chaos and manage to pull off complex projects (exhibitions). Perhaps the extreme cases in the former group become obsessive stamp collectors or work as accountants :)

These are just my observations based on anecdotal evidence, not based on any rigorous research.