**Created**:: [[2023-02-06 Monday]] **Link**:: https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE **Duration**:: 15:14 ![Unlock Your Creativity with Visualization: The Power of Spatial Thinking](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE) # Summary In this video, the presenter explores the importance of spatial thinking and how utilizing tools like Excalidraw and Excalibrain can enhance creativity and organization in personal knowledge management. By externalizing ideas through visual representations, individuals can better engage their cognitive processes and improve their understanding of complex information. The session culminates in a call to action for viewers to adopt physical representation strategies to boost their creativity. # Key Takeaways - Spatial thinking is a natural cognitive process that enhances our ability to understand and navigate our surroundings. - Tools like Excalidraw and Excalibrain provide structured visual environments that enhance clarity and organization in knowledge management. - Externalizing thoughts through physical mediums, like drawings on canvases or Post-it notes, can significantly boost creativity and understanding. # Content Hey everyone, in today's video, I'd like to walk you through this mind map to talk about spatial thinking. Why the topic, you might ask? I'm glad you asked! In Cohort 2 of the Visual Thinking Workshop, we are creating a book on a page for "The Extended Mind" by Annie Murphy Paul. As I was reading the book, I finally understood why Excalibrain is transforming the way I use Obsidian. [* ](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=0) Obsidian has a beautiful graph view. When you look at your vault on the graph view, it is really a work of art, and it's also insightful. Here you can see the different colors: greens are the notes that I imported from my previous personal knowledge management system called "The Brain." Reds are the Excalidraw drawings, and the other colors represent the other documents in my vault. For example, even though I've been using Obsidian for two years, my old notes from The Brain are still in a separate cluster. Now there are many connections with the new notes, but I can definitely see that there's a part that's green and another part that has a different color. Also, I can see that I have Excalidraw drawings all over the place, so I can see that I use it extensively for different purposes. [* ](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=5) Now, even though the graph view at the vault level is extremely helpful, I find the local graph view completely useless in Obsidian. Maybe if I have one or two links on a page, this is useful, but otherwise, unfortunately for me, this graph view is not very useful. Particularly because I don't see the directions here, and also this graph moves around when you touch a node, so things get into different locations, making it hard to orient myself on this graph view. [* ](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=101) If I look at the Excalibrain view for the same document, then here you can see that Excalibrain provides me with structure. I have the parent nodes at the top, the child nodes further down in the hierarchy at the bottom, and I have lateral thoughts on the side. These are nodes that are in a different hierarchy but are related to my note. On the lines, I have the ontology of the notes or the connections, which means it's a description of the connection, like "related to," "example of," "source," "author," etc. I also have different colors and icons for the different notes, representing the different types of documents I'm looking at. This helps me orient myself, and this view always looks the same for the same page. Things don't move around; it's organized in alphabetical order. I know what I need to look on this side, what I'm going to find up top, and what I'm going to find down at the bottom. This gives me spatial orientation in my world. [* ](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=136) So let's look at some of the theory behind why this works and some of the insights I learned from Annie Murphy Paul's book. I think the biggest learning is that we, as humans, have evolved to be spatial thinkers. The hunter-gatherer lifestyle, but also living on the savannah, required our ancestors to have a very strong understanding of their surroundings to navigate in a spatial environment and to be intelligent in that environment. For this reason, this approach to thinking is actually very far from natural for us. [* ](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=219) Now, writing your ideas down is one step better, and I tend to agree with Jordan Peterson that writing is thinking. It is the best thing we can do for people; we should teach them to write down their thoughts. It is a very important skill because you get your thoughts on paper, and you can externalize them; you can look at them and manage them on paper. But in reality, we've evolved to be spatial thinkers, and this view from the "Minority Report" is closer to what is natural for us as thinkers. [* ](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=268) So, let's look at some of the additional theories. First of all, the language we use and the way we speak is evidence of our spatial thinking. We reach for a lofty goal—the future is in front of us or it's up ahead; the past is behind us, and we endeavor to stay on top of things. Just a couple of examples of how our language represents our spatial thinking. [* ](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=343) The ancient Greeks had this method called the Method of Loci or the Memory Palace. According to the legend, Simonides of Ceos, a Greek poet, was attending a dinner banquet at a large hall, and the hall collapsed. For some reason, Simonides survived, and he was able to identify the bodies of the people who were killed in the accident by remembering who was sitting where. Using this memory, he was able to identify each of the people in the ruins. Memory champions use the Method of Loci to remember a long sequence of cards or numbers. They imagine a place that they are very familiar with—maybe their school, their office, their home—and they visualize walking up the stairs, opening the door, meeting the doorman, walking down the corridor, opening the door to their office, looking at their colleagues sitting at the desk, and so on. They have this strong visual, and at each step, they leave a piece of information they want to remember. For example, they leave the ace at the stairs, the Queen of Spades at the entrance door, and then hand another card to the doorman, etc. They need to remember to visually or in their mind walk through this area, and they can retrieve information using that. According to one theory, and you can have your own opinion whether this theory is correct or not, one reason why we don't remember our early childhood is because at that time we were not mobile. Other people were moving us around, and as a result, we don't have something to hang our memories on; we don’t have the scaffolding to remember. [* ](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=476) So, let's now move on to how we can use all of this knowledge to improve our thinking. First of all, imagine this example: close your eyes and picture a tiger in detail—picture its eyes, its nose, its paws, its tail. Build a strong image of that tiger in your head. When you have it, then answer me this question: how many stripes does the tiger have? I'm pretty sure you're not able to answer that question, and that is because you didn't draw your picture. You only had a mental picture, and however detailed a mental picture is, you will not have the details of the number of stripes. Interestingly, when we think and we draw, we include details that we don't even articulate for ourselves. It is quite often that engineers or scientists go back to their drawings and observe ideas they weren't consciously thinking about, but their hands drew those details on the picture. This is why, when you're thinking about something and you're creating a drawing, you're creating a visual of that idea; you include details and orientations of that information that you weren't articulating for yourself. When you observe it in detail, you're going to learn more about your thoughts, and you will understand your thoughts in more detail. [* ](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=574) One way to practice spatial thinking is to offload your ideas onto a physical environment. For example, put them on Post-it notes, or you can use the Excalidraw canvas for that, or the Obsidian canvas, or you can use a whiteboard. Really, your options are very broad. But offload your ideas onto a physical surface; the bigger the surface, the better. Because if you need to move your torso to look at the information, that is also going to trigger a different level of thinking and orientation. Use this to gain an external viewpoint to become detached from your thoughts. For example, I took two pictures from two series that I was watching over the past year: one is from "Manifest," where you can see the passengers on the airplane on the wall, and the other are two screenshots from "Dark," where the family tree and all the surrounding information are on the hotel wall and in the wall of the bunker. Externalizing information this way will help you think and reference this information in a different way. [* ](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=632) Now, dream with me for a moment and see how this could be turned into a knowledge management system of the future that is spatially driven. The first example I have in mind, I took from the game "Townscaper." This is a silly little game where you can build a town for yourself. The town looks beautiful, and it's very relaxing gameplay. I like to play with this. Imagine that the different parts of this town are actually document stores; they are kind of like folders. You have your book notes, project notes, people pages, creative ideas in different districts of the town. Maybe if you zoom into the garden of one of my projects, then you will see that I have the minutes of the meeting in one place, the decision log in another, the project charter in one place, the design documents, the change requests, etc. in different locations. Whichever building and room I go to, I find the relevant information, and I'm orienting myself in this spatial way. [* ](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=674) Another game I liked to play a couple of years ago was "The Witcher." Imagine that you're walking in a beautifully crafted environment, and the different characters you meet are AI-generated characters that represent different documents you have in your vault. You're having a dialogue with your documents in the vault, going to different towns and houses, meeting different characters that represent projects and people and other thoughts you might have in your world. [* ](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=755) Finally, this is something I spoke about in another video: the fantasy maps of content. Imagine using a fantasy map, a fantasy land of your own vault, and placing items here, your documents here, using this spatial representation to better understand your thoughts and ideas. [* ](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=802) In summary, I find that Excalibrain, even though it's very far from perfect, is sort of a minimum viable product—a proof of concept that I created. Ever since I've created it, it has transformed the way I use Obsidian. It has given me this spatial orientation in my vault, and I find it transformational. Finally, now I understand why. So if there's one thing that you want to take away from this video, I recommend you take away this idea of externalizing your thoughts, placing them in a physical space—maybe on Post-it notes or maybe on an Excalidraw canvas—and start to work with your ideas in that physical space. Take a step out of just typing text and having linear documents. Instead, create drawings, lay out your ideas in a physical space, and boost your creativity this way. [* ](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=860) That's all I wanted to share today. I hope you found this video inspiring and helpful, and I hope to see you in my next video. Thank you! [* ](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=911) # YouTube Details ## YouTube Description #obsidianmd #excalibrain #excalidraw #pkm Timestamps ------------ [00:00](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=0) Intro [00:32](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=32) Obsidian Graph View [02:15](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=135) ExcaliBrain [03:40](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=220) We have evolved to be spatial thinkers [05:16](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=316) Language as evidence of spatial thinking [05:43](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=343) The Memory Palace [07:57](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=477) Thoughts grow with visualization [09:42](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=582) The detachment gain [11:14](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=674) Dreaming of the PKM of the future [13:46](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=826) Closing thoughts & key takeaway idea ------------ If you find my videos helpful, please say thanks by buying me a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/zsolt If you want to connect, you can reach me (@zsviczian) in the Obsidian Members Group (OMG) on Discord or on Twitter. This video was created with the Obsidian-Excalidraw-Plugin. Links -------- Visual Thinking Workshop: https://www.visual-thinking-workshop.com/ Excalidraw Plugin: https://github.com/zsviczian/obsidian-excalidraw-plugin ExcaliBrain: https://github.com/zsviczian/excalibrain Obsidian: https://obsidian.md My blog: https://zsolt.blog ## YouTube Transcript [hey everyone in today's video I'd like](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=0) [to walk you through this mind map to](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=3) [talk about spatial thinking](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=5) [why the topic you might ask and I'm glad](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=8) [you asked so in cohort 2 of the visual](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=11) [thinking Workshop we are creating a book](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=14) [on a page for the extended Mind by Annie](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=17) [Murphy Paul and as I was reading the](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=20) [book I finally understood why ex-coli](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=23) [brain is transforming the way I use](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=27) [obsidian](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=31) [so obsidian has a beautiful graph view](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=33) [when you look at your Vault on the graph](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=36) [view it is really a work of art and it's](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=40) [also insightful so here you can see the](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=43) [different colors greens are the notes](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=46) [that I imported from my previous](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=49) [personal Knowledge Management System](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=51) [called the brain](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=53) [Reds are the xcoled row drawings and the](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=55) [other colors are the other documents in](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=59) [My Vault and for example what you can](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=62) [see here is that even though I've been](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=64) [using obsidian for two years](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=66) [my old notes from the brain are still in](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=69) [a separate cluster now there are many](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=73) [connections with the new notes but I can](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=76) [definitely see that there's a part](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=79) [that's green and there's a part that has](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=82) [a different color also I can see that I](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=85) [have excolil drawings all over the place](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=88) [so I can see that I use let's call it](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=91) [raw extensively for different purposes](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=94) [now even though the graph View at the](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=97) [Vault level is extremely helpful I find](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=101) [the local graph view completely useless](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=105) [in obsidian maybe if I have one or two](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=108) [links on a page this is useful but](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=111) [otherwise unfortunately for me this](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=114) [craft view is not very useful](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=117) [particularly because I don't see the](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=119) [directions here and also this graph](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=123) [moves around when you touch a node so](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=126) [things get into different locations it's](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=129) [hard to orient myself on this graph View](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=132) [now if I look at the ex call it brain](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=136) [View for the same document then here you](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=139) [can see that xcoli brain provides me](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=142) [with structure I have the parent nodes](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=145) [at the top I have the child nodes so](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=148) [nodes further down in the hierarchy at](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=151) [the bottom I have the lateral thoughts](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=154) [on the side so these are nodes that are](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=158) [in a different hierarchy but are related](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=162) [to my note on the lines I have the](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=164) [ontology of the notes or the connections](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=168) [this means it's a description of the](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=171) [connection like related to example of](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=174) [source author Etc](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=178) [and then I also have different colors](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=181) [and icons for the different notes on](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=185) [this graph representing the different](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=189) [type of documents I'm looking at which](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=191) [also helps me Orient myself and this](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=194) [view always looks the same for the same](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=197) [page things don't move around it's](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=200) [organized in alphabetical order I know](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=203) [what I need to look on this side I know](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=206) [what I'm going to find up top and I know](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=208) [what I'm going to find down in the](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=211) [bottom this gives me a spatial](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=213) [orientation in my world](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=215) [so let's look at some of the theory](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=219) [behind why this works and some of the](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=221) [theory that I learned from Andy Murphy](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=224) [Paul's book](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=227) [so I think the biggest learning is that](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=229) [we as humans have evolved to be spatial](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=232) [thinkers the hunter-gatherer lifestyle](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=235) [but also living on the Savannah](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=239) [required our ancestors to have a very](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=242) [strong understanding of their](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=246) [surroundings to be able to navigate in a](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=249) [spatial environment and to be](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=253) [intelligent in that environment so for](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=256) [this reason](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=259) [this approach to thinking is actually](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=260) [very far from natural for us](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=264) [now writing your ideas down is One Step](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=268) [better and I tend to agree with Jordan](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=272) [Peterson that writing is thinking and it](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=274) [is the best thing that we can do to](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=279) [people is to teach them to write down](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=282) [their thoughts it is a very important](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=284) [skill because you get your thoughts on](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=287) [paper and you can externalize your](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=289) [thoughts you can look at them and you](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=291) [can manage them on paper](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=294) [but](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=297) [in reality we've evolved to be](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=298) [spatial thinkers and this View From The](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=303) [Minority Report is closer to what is](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=307) [natural for us as thinkers](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=310) [so let's look at some of the additional](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=313) [Theory so first of all the language we](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=315) [use the way we speak is an Evidence of](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=319) [our spatial thinking because we reach](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=322) [for a lofty goal the future is in front](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=326) [of us or it's up ahead the past is](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=329) [behind us and we Endeavor to stay on top](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=332) [of things just a couple of examples of](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=335) [how our language represents our spatial](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=338) [thinking](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=341) [the ancient Greeks had this](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=343) [method called the method of Loki or the](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=346) [Memory Palace according to the legend](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=350) [simonidas of Sears a Greek poet was](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=353) [attending a dinner a banquet at a large](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=356) [Hall](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=360) [and the hole collapsed and for some](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=361) [reason simonidas survived and he was](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=364) [able to identify the bodies of the](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=367) [people who were killed in the accident](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=370) [by remembering who was sitting where and](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=373) [using this memory he was able to](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=377) [identify each of the people in The Ruins](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=379) [memory Champions use the method of Loki](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=382) [to remember a long sequence of cards or](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=385) [numbers they imagine a place that they](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=389) [are very familiar with maybe their](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=392) [school their office their home and they](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=394) [imagine walking up the stairs opening](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=397) [the door meeting the doorman walking](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=400) [down the corridor opening the door to](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=402) [their office looking at their colleagues](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=405) [sitting at the desk and so on so they](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=408) [have this strong Visual and at each step](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=410) [of the way they leave a piece of](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=413) [information they want to remember so for](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=416) [example they leave the ace at the the](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=418) [stairs and then they leave the Queen of](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=422) [Spades at the entrance door and then](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=425) [they hand another cart to the doorman](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=428) [Etc and then they need to remember they](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=432) [visually or in their mind they walk](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=435) [through this area they walk through the](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=438) [corridors and they're able to retrieve](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=441) [information using that and according to](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=443) [one of the theories and you can have](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=448) [your own opinion whether this theory is](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=450) [correct or not one reason why we don't](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=453) [remember our early childhood is because](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=456) [at that time we are not mobile we are](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=459) [not able to move ourselves other people](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=462) [are moving us around and as a result we](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=465) [don't have something to hang our](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=469) [memories on we don't have the](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=472) [scaffolding to remember](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=474) [so let's now move on to how we can use](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=476) [all of this knowledge to improve our](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=480) [thinking so first of all imagine this](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=482) [example close your eyes and picture a](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=487) [tiger in detail picture its eyes its](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=490) [nose its paws its tail build a strong](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=494) [image of that tiger in your head](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=498) [and when you have it then answer me this](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=502) [question](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=506) [how many stripes does the tiger have](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=507) [I'm pretty sure you're not able to](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=512) [answer that question and that is because](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=514) [you didn't draw your picture you only](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=517) [had a mental picture and however](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=519) [detailed a mental picture is you will](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=521) [not have the details of the number of](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=524) [stripes and interestingly when we think](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=527) [and we draw we draw details that we](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=530) [don't even articulate for ourselves it](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=534) [is quite often that Engineers or](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=537) [scientists go back to their drawings and](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=540) [observe ideas that they weren't](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=543) [consciously thinking but their hands](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=546) [Drew those details on the picture and](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=549) [this is why when you're thinking](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=552) [something and you're creating a drawing](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=554) [you're creating a visual of that idea](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=556) [then you are going to include details](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=559) [you're going to include orientations of](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=562) [that information](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=565) [that you've weren't articulating for](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=566) [yourself and when you observe serve it](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=570) [in detail then you're going to learn](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=572) [more about your thoughts you're going to](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=574) [understand your thoughts in more detail](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=577) [so one way to practice spatial thinking](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=581) [is to offload your ideas onto a physical](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=585) [environment for example put it on](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=590) [Post-it notes or you can use the X](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=593) [collateral canvas for that or the](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=596) [obsidian canvas or you can use a](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=598) [whiteboard really I think your options](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=600) [are very broad but upload your ideas](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=603) [onto a physical surface the bigger the](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=607) [surface the better because if you need](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=611) [to move your torso to look at the](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=613) [information that is also going to](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=616) [trigger a different level of thinking](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=618) [and orientation and use this to gain an](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=620) [external view to become detached from](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=624) [your thoughts and to have an external](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=628) [viewpoint on them](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=630) [for example some examples of this I just](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=632) [took two pictures from two series that I](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=636) [was watching over the past year one is](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=639) [from manifest and here you can see the](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=642) [passengers on the airplane on the wall](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=646) [here and the other are two screenshots](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=648) [from dark where the family tree and all](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=652) [the surrounding information is on the](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=656) [hotel wall and in the wall or on the](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=659) [wall of the bunker](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=661) [so externalizing information this way](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=663) [will help you think and reference this](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=667) [information in a different way](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=671) [so now dream with me for a moment and](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=674) [let's see how this could be turned into](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=677) [a knowledge management system of the](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=679) [future that is spatially driven so the](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=682) [first example I have in mind I've taken](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=685) [this from the game townscraper this is a](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=688) [silly little game you can build a town](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=692) [for yourself the town looks beautiful](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=694) [and it's a very relaxing gameplay I like](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=697) [to play with this](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=701) [and imagine this that the different](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=703) [parts of this town are actually document](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=706) [stores they are kind of like folders and](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=710) [then you have your book notes you have](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=713) [your project notes your people Pages](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=715) [your creative ideas in different](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=717) [districts of the town and maybe if you](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=720) [zoom in to the Garden of one of my](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=723) [projects then you will see that I will](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=727) [have the minutes of meeting in one place](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=729) [the decision login another the project](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=733) [Charter in one place the design](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=735) [documents the change requests Etc in](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=737) [different locations and whichever](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=741) [building and room I go to I find the](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=743) [relevant information and I'm orienting](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=747) [myself in this spatial way](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=749) [or another game I like to play with or](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=752) [liked to play that couple of years ago](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=755) [was The Witcher and again imagine that](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=757) [here you're walking in a very](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=761) [beautifully crafted environment and](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=763) [imagine that the different characters](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=767) [The Witcher meets are AI generated](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=769) [characters that represent different](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=773) [documents you have in your Vault and you](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=777) [are having a dialogue with your](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=780) [documents in the vault and you're going](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=782) [to different towns and different houses](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=785) [and buildings and meeting different](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=787) [characters that represent projects and](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=789) [people and other thoughts that you might](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=794) [have in your world](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=798) [and then finally this is something that](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=800) [I've talked about in another video the](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=802) [fantasy maps of content imagine using a](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=806) [fantasy map a fantasy land of your](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=810) [own Vault and placing items here placing](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=813) [your documents here and using this](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=818) [spatial representation to better](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=820) [understand your thoughts and ideas](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=822) [so in summary I think this is why I find](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=827) [EX call it brain even though it's very](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=831) [far from perfect it is](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=835) [sort of a](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=837) [minimum viable product a](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=838) [proof of concept that I created but ever](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=842) [since I've created it this has](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=846) [transformed the way I use obsidian it](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=848) [has given me this spatial orientation in](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=852) [My Vault and](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=855) [I find it transformational and finally](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=857) [now I understand why so if there's one](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=860) [thing that you want to take away from](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=865) [this video I recommend you take away](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=867) [this idea of externalizing your thoughts](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=870) [placing them in a physical space maybe](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=874) [on Post-it notes or maybe on an ex call](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=877) [it raw canvas and start to work with](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=880) [your ideas in that physical space take a](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=883) [step out of just typing text and having](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=886) [linear documents instead create drawings](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=891) [lay out your ideas in a physical space](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=895) [and boost your creativity this way](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=898) [so that's all I wanted to share today I](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=902) [hope you found this video inspiring and](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=905) [helpful and I hope to see you in my next](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=908) [video](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=911) [thank you](https://youtu.be/oRMh-5S0zoE?t=912)