Tool(s) for Reference Maps – Knowledge Building – First Steps

First Steps – relating to Reference Maps and Knowledge Building

I would like to use a ( multi dimensional? ) graphic interface , that enables me to VISUALISE RELATIONS between inputted elements / visualisations – on a scrollable map.

1 To start with :
Simply having a tool to manually map relations between inputted ideas, questions , issues, references, interests, … such as with a mindmap

2 and slowely building on this small piece of software as to be able to compare it / or add it / to other manually made maps of other people

3 and add a functionality that enables these to be accessible on the server by other authorized people ( or open to everyone )

4 then developping automated options that make it possible to translate wiki’s and other data sources into such representations

5 and end up with more and more extended maps / from wich options of comparisons, fusion , etc multiply, and from wich new questions of the development of such software will outcome

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first steps is to test existing softwares such as

http://www.deepamehta.de/install/client/

and others listed on

Reference Maps

related mailinglist

links collection

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pasted brainstorming from Reference Maps
About the reference system

I imagine it being some kind of open source software – simple in design – lite weight – that would also be available trough a online platform.

a (downloadable?/open source/free) software/and-or online platform on wich one freely can brainstorm:

ideas – phrases – concepts – questions – words – and also links

each of such becoming an entity that can then be linked to other entities,

according to their nature – issue – question – idea – ressource – person – book – other reference

and to the relation between them

Such a process would have some main aspects

one influenced by the person brainstorming he’s ideas, questions, and issues

ACTUALLY INTEGRATING IN A ANARCHIC WAY different elements of he’s/her reality

and then, eventually, making a few relations afterwords as he sees them – but without obligation

SO THIS PERSON WOULD BE ABLE TO BUILD HES/HER OWN INDIVIDUAL MAP OF ISSUES , RESSOURCES , IDEAS , PEOPLE , ETC

and then – the magic is that individual maps can be gathered together

( they can be kept private online , or put into a network with other maps of people joining your own group / OR THEY CAN ALSO BE MADE PARTIALLY OR FULLY PUBLIC – such as with delicious links http://del.icio.us )

wich could enable not only to develop maps that are individual, but to understand commonalities between maps , differences between maps ,

and WIDER MAPS integrating a few , hundreds, or thousands of maps , depending on choosen options

and MAKE IT EASIER TO FOCUS and understand issues , and have access to references – and build on ideas

EASING ALSO SELF LEARNING – and also , at the same time, academic learning –

easing freelance activism , project development, etc

trough such kind of global brain mapping – reference mapping – etc

trough the online platform – this might then further connect to social networks and solutions could be found to ease connections with ressources/people in geographic surroundings
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pasted brainstorming from Knowledge Building

I was wondering how to try to find ways to build ideas – ask questions and try to answer them + link them – in a cooperative and as efficient way as possible.

Blogs, mailing-lists,… are offcourse very usefull in this. Wikiwebs are also a interesting tool. ( websites like the wikipedia are great examples ) But is there a way to map even more efficiently collaborative building of questions, answers and ideas, and put them into perspective.

A certain epistemological model?

Maybe you are thinking about it too.

I realise there may be simple models like “question” – situation – suggestions – link to other related questions and information
I wonder, how could all these questions be (hyper)linked?

I’d like to be able to start with a very simple question, and from there build to more and more complex questions, trough the internet, in a collaborative way, in a way that allows me to have perspectives, make links, develop new questions and develop new ideas.

Although our brains are powerful processors, how can I manage to combine my brain and conciousness with the others?

Hmm… I’m wondering…Is there a place to simply brainstorm a question, or a few questions, and let the system self-organise itself ( because of the way it is modelled, and or and specific code/software that is capable of integrating a question and linking it within a whole ( ? ) ) but still being able to impact on the way the system organises the information, eventually being able to choose alternative organisation models ?

Currently, when I have a question I try to find a few words that might relate to it and do a search on google.
I know there are alot of ressources invested in trying to find even more efficient webcrawling practices.

But when I do a search, my search isn’t necessarily memorised on a platform for further utilisation.

Offcourse, one might ask the question whether this is desirable, especially when it seems current crawlers such as google are already capable of finding so much information.

But what if we see it on a different scale? One could for example imagine that this information and the questions we enter into this container ( even if I am the only one using this question container ) could then be used and automatically compared with other containers, and/or eventually with structures of the web.

There could for example be an option to compare ones container, and the relations between the questions in the container, with structures of another container, or a network of other structures such as the internet and/or inversely.

Hmm… although… yes… maybe this could be dangerous too since such a software might also be able to limit cooperative networked thinking within certain patterns.

What brings us to becoming concious of the question?

what may be different caracteristics of a question?