Why does mind mapping work?

I'm a member of the mindmanager group on Yahoo for MindManager users, where I'm involved in a thread about Use Your Head and why mind mapping works, in particular why mind maps are better than linear notes for aiding retention and recall.

In the book Buzan asserts that:"In your brain there are 1,000,000,000,000 individual neurons or nerve cells. Each neuron can interact with from 1 to 100,000 other neurons in many ways. At the time of writing Use Your Head in 1974 the number of possible permutations had been been recently estimated as 1 followed by 800 noughts. The number of atoms in the known universe is 10 followed by 100 noughts. Thus, the number of possible thought-maps in one brain makes the number of atoms in the universe seem like a tiny number."

Whether the numbers would be considered accurate today or not, I think no one would question that there are a lot of possible connections in the brain. I also think the radiant nature of 1 to many connections in the brain means that mind maps are structurally a closer representation of how the brain makes links between ideas, thoughts, and words than linear notes. The concept that the human brain functions in a radiant, 1 to many connection fashion has some resonance with me as to why mind maps make information retention and recall easier than linear notes.

Does this make sense to you?

Tags: MindManager, Mindjet, Mind Mapping, information visualization, Tony Buzan, Use Your Head