When you study, follow a lesson, or work on a project, you probably take notes the same way you read a book: from top to bottom, paragraph after paragraph. It's the method everyone knows, the one we were taught in school, and it's also the most immediate way to capture the information you hear or read.
Linear notes work, that's clear. But if you think about it, do they really reflect how you reason and organize ideas in your head?
Let's reason together about how our thinking organizes information and which tools can help us do it more effectively.
The problem with linear notes
Traditional notes have structural limitations.
- They hide relationships
When you write a list of points, each point is separated from the others. You can number them, indent them, but in the end they remain isolated units. The connections between concepts are not visible. You have to reconstruct them mentally every time you reread.
If you're studying a complex system (a philosophical theory, a biological process, a marketing strategy), linear notes show you the pieces, but they don't show you how they fit together.
- They are difficult to review
When you reread your notes after a few days, you have to start from the beginning. Scrolling through pages and pages to find a specific concept or to reconstruct the overall picture. You don't have an overview, but only a sequence to retrace, point by point.
- They favor transcription, not processing
It's easy to fall into the trap of "copying" instead of reasoning. During a lesson or while reading, you transcribe entire sentences, try to capture everything. But this way the brain stays in passive mode. It records, it doesn't process. And as we've seen, without processing, memory is weak.
How mind maps work
Mind maps start from a different idea: representing information as the brain organizes it.
At the center is the main concept. From there, nodes branch outward, each representing a sub-concept. Each node can branch further, creating a hierarchical but flexible structure.
There's no rigid "above" and "below". There's a center and a network of connections.
- Relationships are visible
In a mind map, you immediately see how concepts connect. You don't have to mentally reconstruct relationships: they're already there, represented graphically.
If you're studying the causes of the French Revolution, you can have a node for economic causes, one for social ones, one for cultural ones. And from each, other nodes that deepen, through an intuitive visualization.
- They favor synthesis
To create a mind map, you have to make choices. You can't transcribe everything. You have to identify the key concepts, decide which are primary and which are secondary, understand how they connect.
This synthesis process is already learning. You're forcing the brain to reason about the structure of information, not just record it.
- They are easier to review
When you return to a mind map after days or weeks, the visual structure quickly brings you back into the topic. You see the overall picture in a few seconds, then you can decide which node to focus on.
While linear notes require starting from the beginning every time, the map gives you a direct entry point.
Mind maps and digital tools
Creating mind maps by hand is useful, but has limitations. The physical space of the page runs out. Reorganizing nodes requires redoing everything, integrating new information becomes complicated.
Digital tools solve these problems. You can expand, move, reorganize freely. You can link maps to original sources (PDFs, articles, notes).
By introducing AI into the process, it can help you automatically structure a map starting from text or audio, organizing concepts hierarchically.
It's a bit like having a collaborator who prepares the basic structure for you, and you reason about it. You save time in the organization phase and can focus on comprehension.
The point isn't choosing, it's understanding when to use what
Linear notes and mind maps are not in competition. They are different tools for different purposes.
Linear notes are quick, sequential, suitable for capturing information on the fly or for following ordered processes.
Mind maps are structured, relational, suitable for understanding complex systems and for reviewing large amounts of material in a short time.
The real question isn't "which is better", but "what am I trying to do right now"?
If you need to study for an exam on an articulated topic, a mind map helps you see the complete picture and remember better. If you need to annotate the steps of a technical procedure, a numbered list works fine.
The difference lies in recognizing that your brain doesn't think linearly. And when the topic becomes complex, having a tool that respects the natural way we think makes all the difference.
Conclusion: align the tool with how you think
Linear notes are comfortable, familiar, immediate. But when it comes to really organizing ideas, understanding connections, and remembering over time, mind maps offer something more.
It's not a question of being more "creative" or "visual". It's a question of aligning the tool with how the brain really works.
Try creating a mind map the next time you need to study a complex topic or organize an articulated project. You'll see that reviewing that material, even weeks later, will be much simpler.
