http://flyinglogic.com/

Flying Logic looks similar to Rationale which I've been using since the start of the year to sketch out and analyse problems: http://www.austhink.com/

The site is worth exploring for anyone wanting to find out more about critical thinking.

A useful, slightly out-of-date review here: http://sorted.imakecontent.net/2007/04/26/better-creativity-through-software-using-rationale-to-map-arguments/

Ike

Hi.

Flying Logic has been discussed in the Scrivener forum (the developer also joined the discussion):
http://www.literatureandlatte.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2496&start=0

There is also a lengthy description of how an German novelist used FL for plotting part of the novel he is working on:

http://forum.flyinglogic.com/index.php?topic=16.0

Franz

James Fallows, writing in the June 2007 issue of The Atlantic Monthly, discussed Rationale in the last part of an article called "What Was I Thinking." (He also briefly touches on OneNote, Zoot, The Brain and NoteMap among others.) His favorable remarks about the usefulness of an "argument processor" might apply to Flying Logic as well.

You can find the article on-line, but to read the whole thing you may have to register and/or be a subscriber. Here's the URL that works for me (but I am a subscriber, so no promises it will work for you):
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/prem/200706/digital-judgment

bboyd

I'd forgotten Rationale and had assumed that Flying Logic was more or less out on its own.

FL appears to score in at least two ways. It adds logical and arithmetic operators to its maps, so that proportional and numerical relationships can be made to flow through the nodes and links. The only other software that I can think of that also does this is a concept-mapping programme with some spreadsheet functions, development now discontinued, whose name I have forgotten but which has been mentioned here before.

The second immediately impressive aspect of the software is the degree of maturity that seems to have been achieved with the first released version. An uncommon amount of work and thought already appears to have been put into it and its documentation.

The price of the software, at least in the most versatile version, is in the DevonThink Pro Office/Curio/TinderBox drawer, and I guess people may find the UI cumbersome or clever according to taste.

It's interesting, however, that software that appears to have been targeted chiefly at the business operations market seems to have so far created most excitement amongst writers. A good example of the application of a Law of Less Intended Consequences?

Hugh Pile wrote:

I'd forgotten Rationale and had assumed that Flying Logic was more or less out on its
own.

FL appears to score in at least two ways. It adds logical and arithmetic
operators to its maps, so that proportional and numerical relationships can be made
to flow through the nodes and links. The only other software that I can think of that
also does this is a concept-mapping programme with some spreadsheet functions,
development now discontinued, whose name I have forgotten but which has been
mentioned here before.

I believe you're refering to B-Liner (http://www.bliner.com/

Steve Z.

Stephen Zeoli wrote:

Hugh Pile wrote:
>I'd forgotten Rationale and had assumed that Flying Logic was
more or less out on its
>own.
>
>FL appears to score in at least two ways. It adds
logical and arithmetic
>operators to its maps, so that proportional and numerical
relationships can be made
>to flow through the nodes and links. The only other
software that I can think of that
>also does this is a concept-mapping programme with
some spreadsheet functions,
>development now discontinued, whose name I have
forgotten but which has been
>mentioned here before.

I believe you're refering to
B-Liner (http://www.bliner.com/

Steve Z.

That's the one. Thanks Steve.
Similar price, too.

It looks like Rationale has some competition!

I heard there were plans for Austhink to release an enhanced version of Rationale towards the end of (this) year, so it will be interesting to see what they come up with and compare.

I think I'll stop by Boarder's today and pick up an LSAT logic games guide - looks like Flying Logic would make it a no-brainer!

A comparison program should probably be Axon.

I just wanted to revisit this thread about Flying Logic as I've had a chance to look at the software more closely.

As I work on my own I've never had much use for brainstorming software. I always start off knowing what the end result will look like because there is no input coming from anybody else's brain. I therefore only use the mind mapping software I have to create graphics for presentations.

Flying Logic helps me because it constantly re-draws the graphics as information is added, which for me acts as a feedback to my brainstorming - a second brain. By constantly representing the information differently, it makes me aware of links and structures I wouldn't have been so quick to see. And at the end of the process there's no extra drawing work required to produce output - the graphics are ready to export/print.

I started by using Flying Logic to analyse my information and task management/repository software use, and found that I am using 11 (eleven!!!) software packages to do this currently, with at least two others waiting in the wings - so much for joining this forum to help me to find a single solution! But the mind mapping process using Flying Logic allowed me to see why I was using so many packages - the strengths and weaknesses of each - and, where I was putting similar data into two or more packages, I could simplify my workflow as well as producing a structure diagram of the processes for future reference.

I am also using Flying Logic to work out a structure for my next book.

I would also like to say how incredibly stable this software is. The one "bug" I have been able to find is more of a hidden feature allowing users of lower-priced versions to use higher-priced version feature - hardly a problem!

Also by the same developers is Sciral Consistency (http://sciral.com/ which I don't think has been mentioned in this forum before. It is a simple program for repeating tasks which have flexible target dates, such as taking exercise. I've been looking for something like this for a long time, so was happy to find it and it might be something others find useful. The software isn't being actively developed any more, but I found a bug, reported it, and it was fixed within 24 hours.

Graham

PS: if anybody has an overwhelming desire to know which eleven packages I'm using, let me know :-)

Graham, thanks for the review of Flying Logic; I've been using B-liner for quite some time, but this looks quite more flexible in terms of structures (whereas B-liner seems more powerful on the calculation side of things).


Graham Rhind wrote:

PS: if anybody has an overwhelming desire to know which eleven
packages I'm using, let me know :-)

I do, I do (and wonder how many will overlap with mine :-)

Cheers
alx

Graham Rhind wrote:
if anybody has an overwhelming desire to know which eleven
>packages I'm using, let
me know :-)

I do, I do (and wonder how many will overlap with mine :-)

I was a little afraid of that! Let me try to represent the flow diagram through text - let me know if there is anything you'd like to know more about. The pros and cons are, naturally, related to the way I use the programs and the information I maintain. For example, I am documenting my family history, which others will not be doing:

- Scan management->PaperPort, then imported into OneNote

- Archive/library; unstructured information; graphics; time sheets; completed project data into OneNote.
- Pros: Can see the whole document; inbuilt screen capture; supports templates; can read anything into it and anything can be annotated; portable to a small extent (Windows Mobile 6); universal link support; data sharing across a network
- Cons: Not easy/fast to search; poor navigation

- Current projects; reference data; prospect information and family tree information into The Brain. The Brain also used as a navigation tool to link to resources in OneNote, Ultra Recall, Outlook and Whizfolders. Data from The Brain is later archived to OneNote.
- Pros: Can store more genealogy information; supports templates; html editting; good as a navigational tool
- Cons: Expensive; cannot output a traditional family tree; have to open documents to see their contents

- Family tree (genealogy) data also into Great Family 2.2
- Pros: Good reporting output
- Cons: Not actively developed; no bug resolutions; buggy output

- Structured information; customer data; data processing results into Ultra Recall Professional
- Pros: data entry form development possible; inbuilt browser; event triggers possible using logical links/saved searches; inbuilt viewers for many file types; html editting; univeral link support
- Cons: Unstable - particularly sensitive to memory issues; poor help system/steep learning curve; poor support for recurring tasks

- E-mail, timed tasks into Outlook 2007
- Pros: integrated e-mail
- Cons: poor task management

- Timed tasks; ad hoc tasks; recurring tasks; real world trigger/event system into Zoot 32
- Pros: Event triggers possible
- Cons: Plain text only, can't give an impression of length of time a task will take.

- Recurring tasks without strict timing into Sciral Consistency
- Pros: Allows flexibility of start/end time; cheap; good support
- Cons: Not actively developed

- Authoring; product manuals; product release history; any wiki system into Whizfolders Deluxe.
- Pros: Good printed output; templates supported; universal link support; data sharing across a network
- Neutral: RTF support
- Cons: have to open documents to view contents; poor graphics/tables management

- Passwords; registration data into Keeppass
- Pros: free; portable

- Lists/Checklists into Listpro
- Pros: portable (on Palm)

Dark horses: Surfulator, SQLNotes

I sure that I've missed a few information sources and programs along the way ......

Graham