Visual Thinking
Thinking is not something that takes place solely inside our heads. It also takes place as we talk with others and as we manipulate objects and symbols, especially the maps, diagrams and images of Theory Garden MindDraw . Thinking takes place as we use tools, draw pictures, talk with others, or make notes. It might even take place better in that kind of interaction, than when we sit alone and contemplate something.
We use tools as an essential part of our thinking all the time. A compass is a good example. We use it to orient our selves by coordinating a mental image of our surroundings with its North - South coordinates. Coupled with a map, we can navigate a landscape and find our way to a destination. In this simple example, we can also use the sun and its location in the sky is also a tool that we can use in estimating the time of day, further orienting ourselves in a landscape.
This simple example shows us that naturally occurring physical objects, as well as special purpose devices, are an integral part of our ability to think about the world, to take action in it, and to seek a goal.
Visual thinking refers to those times when we create, analyze or manipulate visual images as an aid to thinking about something. Visual thinking tools include a carefully drawn map, as in our first example, or they could also be free form drawings, rough sketches, physical models or symbols that help us think about and understand a situation.
Drawing is a form of expression in which we show what we are thinking about, but it is also a form of thinking about something, in itself. When the brain, the hand, the eye, the pen and the paper are brought together in an act of drawing, they work as one thinking instrument. What we put on the paper will inevitably surprise us and engage us in an evolving process of developing new ideas, which will prompt further drawing and stimulate yet more ideas.
